Start here: how to read the board
Welcome to the Nickel Millionaire Challenge. Here's how to read everything on this site in about two minutes.
What this is
Twice every trading day, software scans the entire U.S. stock market: every listed stock and major ETF, about 5,700 of them. It throws out anything illiquid or under $2, runs full technical analysis on the strongest few hundred, and ranks the best 120.
The goal of the Challenge is three nickels on the dollar: 15% a week. That's an aggressive target, and I'll show you every week whether we're hitting it or not.
When the board posts
- 10:30 AM ET: the morning board, after the opening noise settles
- 3:15 PM ET: the afternoon board, in time to act before the close
- Friday: the weekly scorecard
Each board lands on the site and in your inbox.
How to read the board
Every stock gets a Nickel score out of 100, built from nine signals:
| Signal | What it means | Points |
|---|---|---|
| Volatility squeeze | Price range is unusually tight. Big moves often follow | 15 |
| Relative volume | Trading volume is surging versus normal | 15 |
| MACD momentum | Momentum just turned up | 15 |
| Trend stack | Price above the 20-day, which is above the 50-day | 15 |
| RSI zone | Strong, but not overheated | 10 |
| 20-day breakout | At or near a fresh 20-day high | 10 |
| Accumulation (OBV) | Volume is flowing in, not out | 10 |
| Strength vs SPY | Beating the market over 20 days | 5 |
| Range (ATR%) | Moves enough to be worth trading | 5 |
Before a stock can rank, its data has to pass four checks: current prices, enough history, clean bars, and a live quote that agrees with the chart. If the data is off, the stock doesn't make the board.
The three tiers
Ready: score 70 or higher, all four data checks passed, at least $20M traded per day, and RSI under 75 so we're not chasing. These are the setups I'd act on.
Building: score 55 to 69. The setup is forming. Building names are the most likely to show up in Ready next.
Watch: made the top 120 but needs more confirmation.
The trade plan on every Ready pick
Shares: risk 1% of the account per trade. The stop goes 1.5 ATR (average daily range) under entry. Sell half at +2R (twice the risk), then trail the rest on the 20-day EMA.
Calls: only when the option chain is clean: delta between .35 and .55, tight spreads, real open interest, and implied volatility that isn't inflated. Out at -35%, half off at +50%, the rest at +100%.
The locks: up 5% on the day, stop for the day. Up 15% on the week, stop until Monday. Down 3% on a day or 8% on a week, stop. The locks exist so one bad week can't wreck the account.
The $20K Challenge
I started a $20,000 paper account on October 14, 2026. Every trade the rules take goes into the ledger at real market prices, wins and losses, posted in the open. The Friday scorecard shows exactly where the account stands against the 15%-a-week line.
Disclosures
If I personally own a stock that appears on the board, the post says so: "Disclosure: I own $TICKER." I don't feature a stock I plan to sell within three days.
Questions
Email support@nickelmillionaire.com. I can't give personal advice about your account or tell you whether to buy something, but I'm happy to explain how the board works.
Not financial advice. Everything on this site is my personal opinion, based on a full-market scan run by software. Challenge trades are paper trades at real prices, not real-money results. Past results don't predict future ones. Stocks can fall and options can lose 100% of their cost. Do your own research and talk to a licensed professional before investing.
Not financial advice. Personal opinion based on a full-market scan. Paper trades, not real-money results.