Every day trading strategy taught by Kunal Desai at Bulls On Wall Street — from scanning and checklists to the Opening Range Break, First Pullback, VWAP, and Earnings plays. Updated March 2026.
I have been day trading stocks since 1999. I went full-time in 2007 and founded Bulls On Wall Street in 2008. Since then, I have trained over 7,000 students through the 60-Day Live Trading Bootcamp. What I have learned across 27 years and 79+ bootcamp classes is this: day trading is not about finding one magic setup. It is about building a repeatable system — scanning, planning, executing, and reviewing — and doing it every single day with discipline.
This page is the hub for every day trading strategy I teach at BOWS. Each strategy below links to a full deep-dive guide with real trade examples from my own account, step-by-step execution rules, and the exact tools I use. Whether you are brand new to trading or a veteran looking to sharpen your edge, start with the strategy that fits your current skill level and work through them in order.
Most trading education teaches strategies in isolation. You learn the ORB. You learn pullbacks. You learn VWAP. But nobody tells you how they connect into a single, cohesive daily process. That is what separates BOWS from everyone else.
Every morning before 8 AM, I wake up, spend time with my son Colt, and clear my head. No screens. No charts. Just fresh air and perspective. When I sit down at the computer at 8 AM, I am centered and focused. I run four scans in TC2000 — pre-market gappers, liquid gainers, liquid losers, and sector ETFs — to build a 5-8 name watchlist. I cross-reference each name against my pre-trade checklist to separate clean setups from dirty ones. By 9:25 AM, I know exactly which stocks I am trading and which patterns I am looking for on each one.
At the bell, I execute using the specific intraday patterns below. The Opening Range Break fires first in the 9:30-10:00 window. The First Pullback Buy fires 20-45 minutes after the open when momentum stocks pull back to the VWAP or 9 EMA. And throughout the day, I manage risk using the rules in my risk management guide.
This is not random chart-staring. This is a system. Scan. Filter. Plan. Execute. Review. Every single day.
These are the bread-and-butter patterns I trade every day and teach in the bootcamp. Each one has a full guide with real trade examples, entry and exit rules, and the exact TC2000 setup I use.
The ORB is the first pattern that fires every morning. In the first 15-30 minutes after the open, the stock establishes a range. When it breaks above or below that range with volume, you enter. This is my highest-frequency setup during the first hour of trading. On clean gappers with momentum, ORB gives you 3-8% follow-through. On normal trending stocks, expect 1-3%.
Read the full Opening Range Break guide →After a stock gaps up or runs hard on the open, it pulls back. The question is where. At BOWS, we buy the first pullback into the Bone Zone — the shaded area between the 9 EMA and 20 EMA on the 5-minute chart. When the pullback happens on decreasing volume and a green candle prints inside the Bone Zone, that is the entry. This pattern has the highest win rate of any setup I trade because you are buying into established momentum at a discount.
Read the full First Pullback Strategy guide →VWAP — Volume Weighted Average Price — is the institutional benchmark that tells you whether a stock is trading above or below fair value for the day. When a stock pulls back to VWAP and holds, it is a buy. When it breaks below VWAP and fails to reclaim, it is a short. VWAP is the anchor for every intraday trade I take. If you do not understand VWAP, you are flying blind.
Read the full VWAP Trading guide →Earnings season is the single biggest source of opportunity in my trading calendar. But I never guess before earnings. I wait for the stock to gap, then I read the daily chart to see if the move will continue. I use the T-BONE Framework — 10% Short Float, Big Base, 100M Float or Under, Neglected, Earnings catalyst — to identify the gappers that run the hardest. This same system works on press release gaps, FDA approvals, and any catalyst that moves a stock 3%+ pre-market.
Read the full Earnings Season Trading guide →When a stock goes parabolic — running 50%, 100%, 200% in a single session — it will eventually crack. The parabolic short is one of the most profitable setups in day trading, but it is also one of the most dangerous. You need precise timing, tight risk management, and the discipline to wait for confirmation. This guide covers the exact exhaustion signals I look for and the position-sizing rules that keep the risk controlled.
Read the full Parabolic Short Setup guide →The ORB is the first pattern that fires every morning. In the first 15-30 minutes after the open, the stock establishes a range. When it breaks above or below that range with volume, you enter. This is my highest-frequency setup during the first hour of trading.
Read the full Opening Range Break guide →After a stock gaps up or runs hard on the open, it pulls back. At BOWS, we buy the first pullback into the Bone Zone — the shaded area between the 9 EMA and 20 EMA on the 5-minute chart. This pattern has the highest win rate of any setup I trade because you are buying into established momentum at a discount.
Read the full First Pullback Strategy guide →VWAP — Volume Weighted Average Price — is the institutional benchmark that tells you whether a stock is trading above or below fair value for the day. When a stock pulls back to VWAP and holds, it is a buy. When it breaks below VWAP and fails to reclaim, it is a short. VWAP is the anchor for every intraday trade I take.
Read the full VWAP Trading guide →Earnings season is the single biggest source of opportunity in my trading calendar. I use the T-BONE Framework — 10% Short Float, Big Base, 100M Float or Under, Neglected, Earnings catalyst — to identify the gappers that run the hardest. This same system works on press release gaps, FDA approvals, and any catalyst that moves a stock 3%+ pre-market.
Read the full Earnings Season Trading guide →When a stock goes parabolic — running 50%, 100%, 200% in a single session — it will eventually crack. The parabolic short is one of the most profitable setups in day trading, but it is also one of the most dangerous. You need precise timing, tight risk management, and the discipline to wait for confirmation.
Read the full Parabolic Short Setup guide →Strategies are useless without the right preparation. These guides cover everything that happens before and after you click the buy button.
Finding the right stocks to trade is 80% of the game. I use four scans every morning in TC2000 — pre-market gappers, liquid gainers, liquid losers, and five-day sector sort — to narrow 10,000+ stocks down to a 5-8 name watchlist.
Read the full Stock Scanning guide →Before every single trade, I run a 5-point checklist: trend confirmation, volume verification, support/resistance check, risk-reward calculation, and position sizing. This checklist has saved me from more bad trades than any single strategy.
Read the full Pre-Trade Checklist guide →The number one reason traders fail is not bad entries — it is bad risk management. I never risk more than 0.5% of my account on a single income trade and 2-3% on rare account-builder setups. I scale into positions. I take profits on velocity. I cut losers fast.
Read the full Risk Management guide →If there is one concept that defines the BOWS trading system, it is the Bone Zone. The Bone Zone is the shaded area between the 9 EMA and 20 EMA on your chart. On the 5-minute chart, it is the pullback entry zone for day trades. On the daily chart, it is the pullback entry zone for swing trades. On the weekly chart, it signals longer-term reversals.
When a stock is trending, the 9 EMA leads and the 20 EMA trails. The space between them represents healthy momentum. When price pulls back into this zone on decreasing volume, institutional buyers step in. When a green candle prints inside the Bone Zone, that is your confirmation that buyers have taken control again.
You will see the Bone Zone referenced in every strategy guide on this page. It is the thread that connects the ORB, the first pullback, the VWAP trade, and the swing trading setups. Learn it. Trust it. It is the single biggest edge I teach.
TC2000 is the only charting and scanning platform I use. I have tested dozens of platforms over 27 years. TC2000 gives me the cleanest charts, the fastest scans, and the most customizable layout of anything on the market. Every scan, every chart setup, and every watchlist in my guides uses TC2000.
Set up TC2000 at TC2000.com/pricing/Bulls →If you are new to day trading, do not try to learn everything at once. Here is the order I recommend:
1. Start with Risk Management — Before you learn a single pattern, understand how to protect your capital. 2. Learn to Scan — You cannot trade what you cannot find. Set up TC2000 and learn the scanning workflow. 3. Master the Pre-Trade Checklist — This keeps you out of bad trades. 4. Learn the First Pullback Buy — This is the highest win-rate pattern and the easiest to learn. 5. Add the Opening Range Break — Once you can spot pullbacks, add the ORB for the first 30 minutes. 6. Study VWAP — VWAP ties everything together. 7. Explore Earnings and Advanced Setups — Once you have the basics, add earnings trading and parabolic shorts.
This is the same progression I use in the 60-Day Live Trading Bootcamp. The bootcamp walks you through each strategy live, with real trades, daily accountability, and structured progression from simulator to live trading.
Q: What is the best day trading strategy for beginners? A: The First Pullback Buy. It has the highest win rate, the clearest entry signal, and the most forgiving risk-reward of any pattern I trade.
Q: How much money do I need to start day trading? A: The SEC Pattern Day Trader rule requires $25,000 minimum in a margin account for unlimited day trades. I recommend starting with at least $30,000 so you have a buffer above the PDT threshold.
Q: What is the best time of day to trade? A: The first hour (9:30-10:30 AM EST) and the last hour (3:00-4:00 PM EST) have the highest volume and the cleanest setups.
Q: How many trades should I make per day? A: Quality over quantity. I typically take 3-5 trades per day. One perfect setup beats five mediocre ones.
Q: What charting platform do you use? A: TC2000. I have used it for over 15 years. It has the best scanning engine, the cleanest charts, and the most flexible layout of any platform I have tested.
Q: How long does it take to become consistently profitable? A: It took me 7 years (1999-2006). The average is 3-7 years for traders who stick with it and follow a structured process.
Q: Should I quit my job to trade full-time? A: Not yet. I teach The Double Dip — keep your day job while learning to trade. Stack cash for 2+ years. Only go full-time when your results consistently show profitability over 6+ months.
Q: What is the Bone Zone? A: The Bone Zone is the area between the 9 EMA and 20 EMA on any timeframe. It is the BOWS entry zone for pullback trades. When price pulls back into the Bone Zone on decreasing volume and a green candle prints, that is your entry signal.
Q: Do I need to watch the market all day? A: No. The best setups fire in the first 90 minutes. After 11 AM, I reduce activity significantly. Most of my P&L comes from 9:30-11:00 AM.
Q: Can I day trade with a small account? A: Yes, but you are limited to three day trades per week under $25K. Focus on the highest-conviction setups only.
Q: What is the difference between day trading and swing trading? A: Day trading means entering and exiting positions within the same trading day. Swing trading means holding for days to weeks. Both use the Bone Zone, but on different timeframes.
Q: How do I know if a stock is worth trading? A: Run it through the pre-trade checklist. If the stock has relative volume above 1 million shares, a clean daily chart, and a catalyst driving the move — it is worth putting on your watchlist.
Reading strategy guides is the first step. But the step from reading to making money is execution and experience. The 60-Day Live Trading Bootcamp is where I take traders from theory to practice. You will watch me trade live every day, execute the strategies on this page in real-time, and build a structured trading process with daily accountability. 7,000+ students since 2008. 79+ bootcamp classes. Featured in Forbes, Fortune, and Inc.
Join the 60-Day Live Trading BootcampKunal Desai is the founder and CEO of Bulls on Wall Street. He has been trading professionally since 1999 and went full-time in 2007. Since founding BOWS in 2008, Kunal has trained over 7,000 students through the 60-Day Live Trading Bootcamp. His work has been featured in Forbes, Fortune, and Inc. He trades momentum stocks daily using TC2000 and shares live trade analysis on the Bulls on Wall Street YouTube channel. Kunal lives in Destin, Florida with his family.
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