Lots of programs will let you run a Scan and give you a list of stocks that meet the criteria, but it's time consuming and a PITA to investigate these using the usual methods.

DDAmanda is structured very differently.

The philosophy behind the software is to let you Rapidly evaluate the stocks that meet your scan criteria.

This is done by evaluating possible stocks One at a Time, very quickly.

Here are 3 Videos that explain this in more detail, or if you prefer, the text after the videos will also explain this:

 

Trading Stocks Basics with DDAmanda

 

How DDAmanda Scanning works

 

Quick DDAmanda Overview

 

 

By pushing the Next button, DDAmanda will zip to the next stock that fits the bill and display it on the screen. (the Prev button takes you to the previous stock)

Then you can usually tell at a glance whether that stock is worth your time or not.

You can very rapidly go through a list of stocks in this manner.

So how does it work?

After you first log in (Member Login on the DDAmanda Home Page), enter a stock symbol...any symbol or enter an 'A' (Beginning of Database) and hit Enter. That will bring up the main DDAmanda Screen.

Now you are in the Database at that particular Symbol. Be aware that the database runs from Symbol A to Symbol ZZZZZ, so if you want to start at the beginning of the Database, enter A for the Symbol.

1. Find a Stock

Pick a scan from the drop down list in the scanner area. (Try the Test Easy or Insider Scan).

1. Push the Next Button. (This starts scanning from the Symbol you are at in the Database).

2. Evaluate the stock that DDAmanda stops at.

3. Repeat.

When you get to the last stock, 'ZZZZZ', you are done. (The first stock in the database is 'A')

2. Evaluate a Stock

One of the most unique features of Amanda is seeing the actual $ Traded for each day on the far right. This information is priceless, because knowing the volume is pretty much meaningless unless it is combined with the actual stock price. $ Traded is also a scan parameter, so you can select stocks based on that.

Seeing the $ Traded gives you an instant view of the liquidity of the stock.....and also the changes in the money going through the stock.

The Factor column shows the relationship between today's $ Traded and the average $ Traded. This is probably the most significant indicator of DDAmanda.....and can be found nowhere else. (Ex: A Factor of 10 means the stock traded 10 times the $ that it usually trades). The Factor is also a scanning parameter, so you can select stocks based on the increase in $ Traded.

You can look at the last 200 Days of Trading Data. This will show you where the money has gone before, and also show you any front loading, which will help indicate any resistance that may occur in the future, and also let you know when those shares have been churned.

When a stock is on the screen, you can push the buttons on the far left side to gain more insight into that stock.

At the top left are your different Chart Buttons: S Chart, P Chart, 1(Yr), 2(Yr), 3(Yr) and F(ull)

There is also a button for Twitter (What are people saying on Twitter about the stock?)

The IHub Talk button shows you what people are saying on IHub Message Boards...and Board Central is a summary of many other message boards.

You can push the Filings button to check those.

There is a Summary button to get an overview of the stock.

You have a News button to look for news.

There are various buttons to check other aspects of that stock..

All of these buttons will automatically take you to pages that are already preset for the particular stock you are looking at.

So all the information about a stock is available with just the push of some buttons.

Last: It is important to verify possible stocks that you have found. That means watching the trading the next day to see how they are trading, to make sure that whatever triggered the scan alerts is not just a fluke, or one time event. However, if your research finds clear evidence backing the activity, then it is fine to take a position as soon as possible.

Some Considerations

Pushing the Stock List button will give you a list of the stocks that meet the scan criteria, and you can copy/paste that into a streamer and watch those stocks in Real Time. This is useful if you didn't have time to research the stocks. Just watch the streamer the next morning and focus on stocks that are getting activity.

How to create watch lists in Think or Swim: Watchlist Video

You can think of the Scanner Settings as a series of sieves/filters that are on top of one another. Each sieve/filter will eliminate some stocks. And what you are left with after all the stocks are filtered out is stocks that are likely to run.

As you are scanning, you can keep notes in the Quick Notes area. You can also add notes to a particular stock. Members are encouraged to add these notes. The notes can either be Public (all members can see them), or Private (only you can see them).

Avoid pushing a button right after you change a scanner field. You should click in an empty area first to update the field.

When you push one of the stock research buttons on the left side, Amanda will open a new window for that data.

You should close those windows when you're done looking at them (Alt+F4 is faster than clicking on the X).

Otherwise you will wind up with a lot of open windows. For Windows users, using Alt+Tab will rapidly switch you from window to window. (Hold down the Alt key with your left thumb....then while keeping the Alt key down, push the Tab key with your left index finger. Each time you hit Tab, the next window will highlight. Release the Alt key when the window you want is highlighted. (Try it to make this clearer.)

These are the basics, and it's really very simple. See the Help Page in Amanda for further documentation.

Remember that we are always here for you if you have questions, or other issues. You can phone us anytime (Phone Nr is on the Help Page), or talk to us in our Telegram room.

Extra Info:

To see what kinds of patterns you are looking for, you can go to the IHub DDAmanda Board and find lots of examples: DDAmanda Board .

Also, the Trading Charts page in the Main Menu above also has examples.