Recently, Mark Minervini’s trading stories have been flooding my feed, and this guy is really a bit out of the ordinary. To be honest, I initially looked into him out of curiosity, but the more I read, the more I feel that this whole methodology is worth studying.

His record in U.S. trading competitions is unbelievable—on his first attempt, he won the top prize with a 155% return, and a few years later he came back again and delivered a 334.8% performance to win another crown. Even more astonishing is that his worst year across his entire trading career still produced a 128% return. This isn’t hype—there are official competition records to back it up.

Mark Minervini never keeps things to himself. He often shares his trading methods. He once said something quite interesting: he’s been using the same strategy for many years, and he’s gotten extremely proficient; what he’s doing now is completely the same as in the past. To prove that this approach can make money across different times and markets, he decided to compete again.

At the core of his philosophy is treating trading like a battle with a detailed plan—no fighting unprepared battles. This system is called SEPA (Specific Entry Point Analysis). Put simply, that name means a strategy focused on specific entry points—finding those super-strong stocks whose fundamentals and technicals are both rising, entering at the right time and at the right position, and using strict risk control to maximize returns.

Step one is screening. Mark uses a set of standards to select the instruments that match the system, and then waits for the catalyst. He recommends using TradingView’s screener—this tool really is useful; it can automatically filter by conditions, and the efficiency is excellent.

He has a famous trend filter, with four conditions that are all indispensable. First, both the price and the 50-day moving average must be above the 150-day and 200-day moving averages, forming a bullish alignment. Second, the 200-day moving average needs to stay rising for at least a month; four or five months is even better. Third, the current price must be at least 25% higher than the 52-week low—the higher, the better. Finally, the price must be no more than 25% below the 52-week high—the closer it is to a new high, the better. These criteria can filter out over 90% of junk stocks, leaving only strong candidates that are in an assertive push.

Next comes waiting—waiting for what? Waiting for a catalyst: new products, regulatory approvals, positive changes in the industry, big contracts, cutting-edge tech (“black tech”), new solutions—things like these can move the stock price. You can benchmark against similarly strong stocks from history to get a clear sense of what you’re looking for.

Step two is to find VCP (Volatility Contraction Pattern), a consolidation pattern where price movement and trading volume gradually contract. In a strong trend, the longer the consolidation period, the larger the eventual price swing.

Mark Minervini especially emphasizes two effective types of VCP. One is the classic “three bottoms” formation. When a powerful advance runs into resistance and then falls back to form a swing low, the stock begins to consolidate; the lows keep rising, and eventually it forms three bottoms. This kind of horizontal or downward-converging setup is typically a bullish continuation pattern, with a high probability of further gains. Breakouts are usually accompanied by rising volume and price. The key point is to set your stop-loss not too close to the last bottom—you can place it at the low of the breakout candle, or at least below the second low.

The other is the cup-and-handle pattern. This one takes a comparatively long time to form. First, you get a U-shaped base, showing that after a decline, the stock begins to climb steadily, along with declining volume. After the cup forms, it enters a short-term consolidation zone—the handle—during which volume contracts even further. The critical part is identifying the breakout from the handle; it must be accompanied by increasing volume.

The PAG stock Mark bought in 2021 is a textbook-level example. After more than a year of rising, the price pulled back in mid-May, then surged again in July to form a U-shaped cup. In August, it went into a narrow consolidation within a channel to form the handle. Mark entered on a breakout with heavy volume on September 1, and the move was very impressive—after that, the price never returned to that level.

The final key is the exit mechanism. Based on years of experience, Mark has summarized sell standards that signal whether the market is getting stronger or weaker, as well as early warning signals before a sharp drop. This is the kind of material worth keeping as warnings.

After going through Mark Minervini’s methodology, it really feels like trading is a craft that requires deep thinking and strict discipline. It’s not gambling—it follows rules.