THE MONEY HEIST

A Day on Wall Street

📖 USER MANUAL

Complete Guide to Operating Your Options Trading Platform

The Gold Standard in Trading Alerts

🏠 Back to Platform

📋 Table of Contents

1. Platform Overview

Welcome to The Money Heist - your complete options trading education and analysis platform. This system provides real-time trading alerts, educational resources, performance tracking, and practice trading tools.

🎯 What This Platform Does

📊 Three Core Strategies

Strategy Goal Time Frame Best For
Swing Trading Capture multi-day trends 1-5 days Trend followers, less screen time
Scalping V2 Quick intraday moves 5-30 minutes Active traders, fast decisions
VWAP Reversion Mean reversion plays 15-60 minutes High win rate seekers

2. Getting Started

🚀 First Steps

  1. Open the Platform: Visit your platform URL and click "ENTER PLATFORM"
  2. Explore the Dashboard: This is your command center - see all active alerts here
  3. Check Market Conditions: Scroll down on Dashboard to see if it's a good day to trade
  4. Review Education: Visit the Learn tab to understand strategies and options basics
  5. Start Your Journal: Track your first trade to build good habits
💡 Pro Tip: Spend your first week just watching alerts without trading. Learn to recognize high-quality setups before risking real money.

📱 Navigation Overview

The platform has 11 main sections accessible from any page:

3. Live Dashboard

Your command center for real-time trading alerts.

📊 Understanding the Dashboard

Top Section: Market Countdown

🚨 Reading an Alert

Each alert card shows:

  1. Symbol: The stock ticker (e.g., SPY, AAPL)
  2. Direction: BUY_CALL (bullish) or BUY_PUT (bearish)
  3. Entry Price: Where the signal triggered
  4. Current Price: Live price (updates every 30 seconds)
  5. Strike Price: Recommended options strike
  6. Take Profit (TP): Target exit price
  7. Stop Loss (SL): Where to cut losses
  8. Time Generated: When the alert was created
  9. Strategy: Which scanner found it (Swing/Scalping/Reversion)

🎨 Status Colors

Color Status Meaning
Blue Active Trade is live, no profit/loss yet
Green Approaching TP Price is moving toward take profit
Red Near SL Price is close to stop loss - be careful!

📈 How to Use Dashboard Alerts

  1. Wait for Alert: Check dashboard during market hours
  2. Verify Signal: Click "View Chart" to see the setup visually
  3. Check Market Conditions: Scroll down to see if conditions are favorable
  4. Calculate Position Size: Use the position sizing calculator
  5. Enter Trade: Buy the option at current market price
  6. Set Alerts: In your broker, set TP and SL alerts
  7. Monitor: Check dashboard periodically for price updates
⚠️ Important: This platform generates signals only - it does NOT place trades automatically. You must manually enter trades through your broker.

4. Trading Strategies

⚡ Scalping Strategy V2

Purpose: Fast intraday trades with tight stops and quick profits.

When Scalping Works Best:

What the Scanner Looks For:

💚 VWAP Reversion Strategy

Purpose: High win-rate mean reversion trades when price stretches too far from VWAP.

When Reversion Works Best:

What the Scanner Looks For:

📊 Swing Trading Strategy

Purpose: Multi-day trend trades with larger profit targets.

When Swing Trading Works Best:

What the Scanner Looks For:

💡 Pro Tip: Each strategy has a dedicated page (⚡ Scalping and 💚 Reversion buttons) where you can see ONLY those alerts. Use this to focus on one strategy at a time.

5. Trade Journal

Your personal trading diary for tracking performance and learning from every trade.

📝 How to Use the Journal

  1. Navigate: Click the "📝 Journal" button
  2. Add Entry: Click "Add Trade" after closing a position
  3. Fill Details:
    • Symbol (e.g., SPY)
    • Entry Price (what you paid)
    • Exit Price (what you sold for)
    • Profit/Loss amount
    • Notes (what worked, what didn't)
  4. Review Stats: Your win rate, average win/loss, and best trades appear at top

📊 Understanding Your Stats

Metric What It Means Goal
Win Rate % of trades that were profitable 50%+ is good, 60%+ is excellent
Total P/L Net profit or loss across all trades Positive and growing
Avg Win Average profit on winning trades Should be larger than Avg Loss
Avg Loss Average loss on losing trades Keep this small with tight stops
💡 Pro Tip: Write detailed notes for every trade. Your future self will thank you when you review what works and what doesn't.

✍️ What to Write in Notes

6. Smart Watchlist

Track your favorite stocks and get notified when they generate alerts.

📋 How to Use the Watchlist

  1. Navigate: Click "📋 Watchlist" button
  2. Add Symbol:
    • Type stock symbol (e.g., AAPL, TSLA, NVDA)
    • Click "Add to Watchlist"
    • Symbol appears as a card
  3. Remove Symbol: Click "Remove" button on any card
  4. Monitor: System automatically highlights when your watchlist stocks get alerts

🎯 Best Practices

💡 Pro Tip: Your watchlist is saved to your browser session, so you'll see the same symbols every time you visit.

7. Paper Trading Simulator

Practice trading with $10,000 virtual money - no risk, real learning.

💰 How Paper Trading Works

  1. Navigate: Click "💰 Paper" button
  2. View Account: You start with $10,000 virtual balance
  3. Simulated Trading: Framework is ready for opening/closing practice trades
  4. Track P/L: See your total profit/loss and open positions

🎯 Why Use Paper Trading?

⚠️ Important: Paper trading results don't include slippage, emotions, or real execution delays. Real trading will feel different - start small when you go live.

📈 Graduating to Real Trading

You're ready for real money when you can show:

8. Strategy Performance Comparison

Compare how well each strategy is performing so you know which to focus on.

📈 How to Use Performance Page

  1. Navigate: Click "📈 Performance" button
  2. View Comparison: See three cards showing each strategy
  3. Analyze Metrics:
    • Win Rate (% of profitable trades)
    • Total Signals (how many alerts generated)
    • Wins vs Losses
    • Profit Factor (total wins ÷ total losses)

📊 Interpreting the Results

Metric What It Means Good vs Bad
Win Rate How often the strategy wins 60%+ = Excellent, 50-60% = Good, <50% = Needs work
Profit Factor Ratio of wins to losses >2.0 = Great, 1.5-2.0 = Good, <1.0 = Losing money
Total Signals How active the strategy is More signals = more opportunities (but watch quality)
💡 Pro Tip: Focus on the strategy with the highest profit factor AND win rate. If Reversion shows 70% win rate but Scalping shows 2.5x profit factor, test both to see which fits your style.

9. Backtesting Results Viewer

View historical performance data to see how strategies would have performed in the past.

🔬 How to Use Backtests

  1. Navigate: Click "🔬 Backtests" button
  2. Generate Sample: Click "Generate Sample" to create demo data
  3. Review Results: Each backtest shows:
    • Total Return (%)
    • Win Rate
    • Max Drawdown (biggest loss)
    • Sharpe Ratio (risk-adjusted return)

📊 Understanding Backtest Metrics

Metric Explanation What's Good
Total Return Overall profit/loss percentage Positive is good, 20%+ annually is excellent
Max Drawdown Biggest peak-to-trough decline Lower is better, <20% is manageable
Sharpe Ratio Return per unit of risk >1.5 = Good, >2.0 = Excellent
⚠️ Remember: Past performance doesn't guarantee future results. Backtests assume perfect execution and no slippage - real trading has more friction.

10. Options Greeks Calculator

Calculate option prices and Greeks (Delta, Gamma, Theta, Vega) for any trade.

🔢 How to Use the Calculator

  1. Navigate: Click "🔢 Greeks" button
  2. Enter Trade Details:
    • Stock symbol (e.g., SPY)
    • Current stock price
    • Strike price
    • Days to expiration
    • Call or Put
  3. Click Calculate: System fetches live data and computes Greeks
  4. Review Results:
    • Option Price (theoretical value)
    • Delta (price sensitivity)
    • Gamma (delta acceleration)
    • Theta (time decay per day)
    • Vega (volatility sensitivity)

📚 Quick Greeks Reference

Greek What It Measures Example
Delta How much option price changes per $1 stock move Delta 0.50 = Option moves $0.50 when stock moves $1
Gamma How fast Delta changes High Gamma = Delta changes rapidly
Theta Time decay per day Theta -0.10 = You lose $0.10 per day
Vega Volatility sensitivity Vega 0.15 = Option gains $0.15 if IV rises 1%
💡 Pro Tip: Use the calculator BEFORE entering a trade to understand your risk. If Theta is -$50/day and you're holding for a week, you need the stock to move enough to overcome $350 in time decay.

11. Educational Platform

Complete learning hub covering strategies, chart patterns, and options fundamentals.

📚 What's Inside Education Hub

Available Courses:

🎯 Recommended Learning Path

  1. Week 1: Read "What is Options Trading" and "Strike Price Selection"
  2. Week 2: Study "Options Greeks" and use the calculator daily
  3. Week 3: Learn Chart Patterns and identify them on Dashboard charts
  4. Week 4: Deep dive into one strategy (Swing, Scalping, or Reversion)
  5. Week 5+: Practice with paper trading while reviewing education material
💡 Pro Tip: Don't rush through education. Spend 20-30 minutes daily reading and practicing. Solid fundamentals prevent costly mistakes later.

12. Interactive Quizzes

Test your knowledge with quizzes on trading strategies and options Greeks.

🎓 Available Quizzes

📝 How to Take Quizzes

  1. Access: Quizzes are available via API at /api/quizzes
  2. Take Quiz: Answer all questions (multiple choice)
  3. Submit: System grades and provides explanations
  4. Review: Learn from explanations on incorrect answers
  5. Retake: Practice until you score 100%
💡 Pro Tip: Aim for 80%+ before considering yourself proficient. Read the explanations even for correct answers - they contain extra tips.

13. Winning Trades Gallery

Study successful trades to understand what high-quality setups look like.

🏆 How to Use Winners Gallery

  1. Navigate: Click "🏆 Winners" button
  2. Browse Trades: See alerts that hit take profit successfully
  3. View Charts: Click any trade to see annotated chart with entry/exit marked
  4. Study Setup: Note what made the trade successful:
    • Clean breakout or reversal
    • High volume confirmation
    • Multiple timeframe alignment
    • Proper risk/reward ratio

🎯 What to Look For

Common Traits of Winners:

💡 Pro Tip: Compare winners to your losing trades. What was different? Usually it's patience (waiting for confirmation) or discipline (respecting stop losses).

14. Market Conditions Dashboard

Real-time market analysis helping you decide which strategy to use today.

📊 How to Read Market Conditions

Located at the bottom of the Dashboard, this section shows:

Key Metrics:

🎯 Strategy Recommendations

Market Condition Best Strategy Why
Trending + High Volume Swing Trading Momentum carries for days
Volatile + Active Scalping Quick moves in both directions
Range-bound + Low VIX VWAP Reversion Mean reversion is reliable
💡 Pro Tip: Check Market Conditions BEFORE trading. Don't force Reversion trades on a trending day or Swing trades in a choppy market.

15. Browser Push Notifications

Get real-time alerts delivered to your browser or phone when new signals are generated.

🔔 Setting Up Notifications

  1. Enable in Browser: When prompted, click "Allow" for notifications
  2. Subscribe: API endpoint at /api/notifications/subscribe
  3. Receive Alerts: You'll get instant notifications when:
    • New alert is generated
    • Alert approaches take profit
    • Alert near stop loss
⚠️ Note: Push notifications framework is ready but requires VAPID keys for full functionality. Check with platform administrator for activation.

16. Pro Tips & Best Practices

💎 Golden Rules of Trading

  1. Never Risk More Than 2% Per Trade: If your account is $10,000, don't risk more than $200 on any single trade.
  2. Always Use Stop Losses: Every alert comes with SL. Honor it. Cut losses quickly.
  3. Let Winners Run: If price is moving toward TP, don't exit early out of fear. Trust the system.
  4. Quality Over Quantity: It's better to take 2 great setups per week than 10 mediocre ones.
  5. Journal Everything: Track every trade. Patterns emerge over time.
  6. Respect Market Conditions: If VIX is spiking and market is choppy, reduce position size or sit out.
  7. Paper Trade First: Spend 1-3 months in paper trading before risking real money.
  8. One Strategy at a Time: Master one approach before mixing all three.
  9. Review Weekly: Every Sunday, review your trades for the week. What worked? What didn't?
  10. Take Breaks: After 3 losses in a row, step away. Clear your head.

⚠️ Common Mistakes to Avoid

📅 Daily Routine Recommendation

Morning (Before Market Open):

  1. Check Market Conditions (VIX, SPY direction)
  2. Review any overnight news on your watchlist stocks
  3. Decide which strategy fits today's conditions

During Market Hours:

  1. Monitor Dashboard for new alerts
  2. Verify setups on charts before entering
  3. Set TP/SL alerts in your broker
  4. Check Dashboard every 30-60 minutes for updates

Evening (After Market Close):

  1. Log any trades in Journal with notes
  2. Review winning trades in Winners Gallery
  3. Spend 15-20 minutes on Education or Quizzes
  4. Update Watchlist if needed

🎓 Continuous Learning

Monthly Goals:

📌 Quick Reference Card

Feature Where to Find It What It Does
Live Alerts 📊 Dashboard Real-time trading signals
Scalping Alerts ⚡ Scalping Quick intraday trades only
Reversion Alerts 💚 Reversion Mean reversion plays only
Trade Tracking 📝 Journal Log and review your trades
Favorite Stocks 📋 Watchlist Track symbols you follow
Practice Trading 💰 Paper Risk-free virtual portfolio
Strategy Stats 📈 Performance Compare which strategy wins
Historical Data 🔬 Backtests Past performance results
Options Calculator 🔢 Greeks Price options and see Greeks
Learn Trading 📚 Learn Complete education hub
Successful Setups 🏆 Winners Study winning trades

🆘 Need Help?

Troubleshooting:

💡 Remember: This platform is educational. It generates signals but does NOT place trades automatically. You are responsible for executing trades through your own broker.

🏆 The Gold Standard

Master the strategies. Respect the process. Build your wealth.

The Money Heist: A Day on Wall Street - User Manual v1.0

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