Watchlist Ranker Scorecard (Sheet + Weights)

[NYC88]

A watchlist ranker is a **scorecard**, not an oracle. Keep the weights visible so you can argue with yourself on Sunday instead of inventing a new system every open.

I run a boring sheet. When top-quartile scores stop producing cleaner trades than bottom, the weights get rewritten from mistake codes — not from vibes or Twitter.

### Columns

Code: Select all

ticker
gap_%
rel_vol_pre
float_M
short_interest_%
catalyst_score_0_3
spread_cents_0935
trend_align_SPY_0_2
liquidity_ok_bool
total
trade_allowed_bool

### Example weights (adjust, don't worship)

Code: Select all

gap_% magnitude clipped: 0–2 pts
rel_vol_pre: 0–2
catalyst_score: 0–3
spread penalty: -2 if spread > your max
float sweet-spot: 0–2 (your range)
SI: 0–1 (only if your playbook uses it)
SPY align: 0–2

### Rules that keep it honest

1. `trade_allowed_bool` is a hard gate (spread, halt risk, earnings binary, etc.).
2. Sort by `total` **after** gates.
3. Cap names you'll actually trade (3–7). Ranking 50 names you can't watch is self-entertainment. I've done the entertainment version. Didn't help fills.
4. Recompute after the first 15 minutes — premarket rank ≠ 10:00 rank.

### Review

Once a week: did top-quartile scores produce cleaner trades than bottom? If not, weights are cosplay — rewrite from the journal.

What weights matter most in *your* sheet right now?
Hard gates — what's your automatic kill (spread, float, earnings)?
How many names do you allow on the wall at the open?
Anyone re-rank at 09:45 and find the premarket list was mostly wrong?

[Fairman]

I am replying in **Watchlist Ranker Scorecard (Sheet + Weights)** the way I would want it written for a serious US equities/ETF scalp desk: calm, checklist-first, and allergic to mediocrity. Board context (AI, Machine Learning & Quantitative Analysis) does not change the job — define the rail, size from gates, invalidation in cents, and skip when the sheet is incomplete. Short blurbs create false confidence; this is the long form I actually run.

Replying in-thread with operable constraints — not forum combat. If these rails disagree with your framing, treat it as a checklist offer.

Models may triage and summarize against CSV ground truth. They do not rewrite invalidation mid-candle or invent PnL. Missing fields stay UNKNOWN.

## Rails that stay on the sheet
- Weights visible.
- Explainable promotion.
- Invalidation written in cents or an auditable structure break before entry.

## Framework I will not skip
1. Write the definition before the open (level, trigger, invalidation in cents, size, max loss). Verbal plans do not count.
2. Liquidity and spread gates beat narrative. If live spread exceeds max, observe or cut — the chart can still "look perfect."
3. One clean attempt per idea in a window. Failed attempt means new structure, not revenge.
4. Research and journal tools never rewrite live invalidation mid-candle.
5. Tag the trade or the skip the same day Sunday-you cannot fix what Monday-you did not name.

## Worked example Opaque ranker scores
Black-box score promotes thin names. Scorecard: explicit weights for liquidity, RVOL, catalyst grade, spread, index RS — human-owned.

I keep examples in cents and clock time so Sunday review can tag the behavior — not rewrite it as a mood.

## Failure modes
- Ignoring the rails above on **Watchlist Ranker Scorecard (Sheet + Weights)** and substituting confidence.
- Adding size after adverse selection because the story still feels right.
- Paying open microstructure tax that midday memory never modeled.

## When to skip
Skipping is a first-class decision — even when the chart still looks persuasive:
- Checklist incomplete at 09:20 ET — observe or one pre-written A+ only.
- Live spread outside max for that symbol and session bucket.
- Index violently disagrees with a single-name thesis and no reduced-size RS plan is on the sheet.
- Platform, hotkeys, locate, or flatten path unverified after reconnect/update.
- Daily loss, PDT slot, or prop buffer tripwire already touched.
- News/FOMC/CPI window where the size-cut card says stand down.

## Closing
For **Watchlist Ranker Scorecard (Sheet + Weights)**, keep operable boredom: written rails, measured cents, index context when relevant, and a skip that needs no apology. Process quality beats ticket volume.