Building Your Top Trader Watchlist: Best Practices
Why Build a Watchlist?
Not every top trader is worth following. Some specialize in markets you don't understand. Others have strategies that don't match your risk tolerance. A curated watchlist focuses your attention on traders who matter to you.
Step 1: Define Your Criteria
Before adding anyone to your watchlist, decide what you're looking for.
Performance Metrics
- •Minimum ROI: What return percentage is worth your attention? (e.g., >15%)
- •Minimum Win Rate: How consistent should they be? (e.g., >55%)
- •Trade Count: Do they trade enough to be useful? (e.g., >50 trades)
Market Focus
- •Categories: Politics? Crypto? Sports? Match your knowledge areas.
- •Time Horizon: Do they trade short-term events or long-term markets?
Trading Style
- •Frequency: Active traders (daily) vs. selective traders (weekly)
- •Position Size: Do they take concentrated bets or diversify?
- •Contrarian vs. Momentum: Do they bet against consensus or follow trends?
Step 2: Filter the Leaderboard
Use Oddy's leaderboard filters to narrow down candidates:
- Sort by ROI to find the most efficient traders
- Filter by category if you have a specific focus
- Check trade count to ensure statistical significance
- Review recent activity to confirm they're still active
Step 3: Deep Dive on Candidates
Before adding someone to your watchlist, review their profile:
Trade History
- •Are wins clustered or spread out?
- •How do they handle losing streaks?
- •What's their average position size?
Market Selection
- •Which markets do they trade most?
- •Do they stick to their expertise or trade everything?
- •What's their hit rate by category?
Timing Patterns
- •Do they enter early or wait for momentum?
- •How long do they hold positions?
- •Do they scale in/out or enter all at once?
Step 4: Start Small
Begin with 5-7 traders on your watchlist. Too many and you'll be overwhelmed with notifications.
Diversify by Strategy
Don't follow 5 traders who all do the same thing. Mix it up:
- •2 high-frequency traders
- •2 selective traders
- •1-2 contrarian specialists
- •1-2 category specialists
Diversify by Time Zone
Traders in different regions may have different information sources. A mix gives you broader coverage.
Step 5: Set Up Alerts
Once your watchlist is built, configure alerts in Oddy:
- •Trade alerts: Get notified when watchlisted traders enter positions
- •Threshold alerts: Only notify for positions above a certain size
- •Category filters: Only alert for markets you care about
Alert Fatigue
If you're getting too many alerts, you've added too many traders or set thresholds too low. Quality over quantity.
Step 6: Review and Refine
Your watchlist isn't permanent. Review it monthly:
Questions to Ask
- •Is this trader still performing?
- •Am I actually following their trades?
- •Have I learned anything useful from watching them?
- •Are their alerts actionable or just noise?
When to Remove a Trader
- •Significant performance decline (ROI drops below your threshold)
- •Strategy change (they start trading categories you don't follow)
- •Inactivity (no trades in 30+ days)
- •Alert fatigue (their trades don't inform your decisions)
When to Add a Trader
- •Rising on the leaderboard with consistent performance
- •Specializes in a market you're starting to follow
- •Different strategy than your current watchlist
Common Mistakes
Following Too Many Traders
More is not better. A focused watchlist is more useful than a comprehensive one.
Chasing Recent Winners
A trader who had one huge win might not be consistent. Look at long-term metrics.
Ignoring Market Fit
A crypto specialist won't help you trade political markets. Match traders to your focus.
Never Reviewing
Set a calendar reminder to review your watchlist monthly. Stale watchlists lead to stale strategies.
Conclusion
A well-curated watchlist is one of your most valuable tools. It filters the noise and surfaces the signals that matter. Take time to build it thoughtfully, and refine it regularly. Your future trading self will thank you.