Don't understand a term? Click any green highlighted word to see its definition in our Glossary.
Through the tape, we learn how the market moves.
Our edge is seeing Smart Money in the prints and understanding where they are taking the stock. We follow institutional movement with precision and discipline. We are the shadow to their move.
Built for traders who want structure, data, and accuracy from the start.
Don't understand a term? Click any green highlighted word to see its definition in our Glossary.
"I don't follow news or technicals,
I follow the prints."
" I don't follow news or technicals, I follow the prints. "
Founder of Market Making Strategies, a master tape reader with over a decade of experience in equities and options. Trained by one of the industry's most respected traders, he developed a strategy that tracks institutional order flow to anticipate market direction with over 83% accuracy. Today, he teaches traders how to read the tape, follow Smart Money, and execute with precision through the proven framework that has made Market Making Strategies one of the most trusted names in options education.
Over a decade of dedicated tape reading experience in equities and options trading.
Developed a strategy that tracks institutional order flow to anticipate market direction with over 83% accuracy.
Teaches traders how to read the tape, follow Smart Money, and execute with precision through a proven framework.
Join thousands of traders learning to follow Smart Money movements
Master the three pillars of profitable tape reading
Spot institutional buying and accumulation in the tape the true language of Smart Money.
We use options as our trading tool because they offer lower risk and higher returns in our Smart Money strategy.
90% of consistent trading comes down to mindset and discipline. Learn to build a performance psychology that keeps you consistent.
A systematic approach to following Smart Money and building consistent trading success.
Build the performance mindset needed to trade successfully. Includes bi-weekly psychology sessions and mindset tools.
Smart Money represents the large institutions and hedge funds whose accumulation drives markets. We teach you how to follow their prints to anticipate major moves.
Learn to classify short, mid, and long-term institutional builds and strategies.
Set precise price targets based on the accumulation or buying seen from Smart Money.
Execute on your strategy, manage your trade, and reflect post trade for consistent improvement.
Consistent trading isn't just about strategy, it's about state. Learn to regulate emotion, build focus, and sustain discipline through our psychology framework taught live every two weeks.
Choose the Level That Fits Your Journey.
RECOMMENDED
Includes Skool courses, psychology sessions, Discord community, and full Smart Money education.
Even if you're at work, on holiday, or just busy, you'll always have your community to lean on for insights, updates, and live prints.
Join the Full ProgramIncludes all features of Discord only live chat, trade discussions, and community access.
No courses, calls, or resources
Take your trading to the next level with AI-powered mentorship or institutional grade strategy.
Your 24/7 Trading Mentor
Exclusive AI agent providing real-time feedback, discipline reinforcement, and institutional grade coaching.
Institutional-Grade Strategy
Reserved for serious capital seeking institutional intelligence, AI integration, and private consultation.
Hear from traders who mastered the tape and built consistent profits with Smart Money strategies.
Hear more success stories from traders building wealth with Smart Money concepts
Building wealth through understanding Smart Money.
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Everything you need to know about getting started
The large institutional investors, hedge funds, and market makers whose capital drives price movement. Smart Money builds positions quietly over time before moving the market in their direction.
The process of Smart Money building a position in a stock or option through controlled buying. This buying pressure creates footprints visible in the tape.
The opposite of accumulation. When Smart Money is exiting or offloading a position in a controlled manner before a reversal or price decline.
Firms or professionals who provide liquidity in the market. They facilitate trades but also build positions and use specific patterns to control price movement.
The live record of transactions between buyers and sellers. Every print represents a trade, and analyzing them reveals where Smart Money is active.
Large, unusual, or repetitive prints that indicate institutional accumulation or distribution these are key signals for MMS traders.
The live data stream showing executed orders in the market. Tape reading means analyzing this flow to identify Smart Money activity before it becomes visible on a chart.
The sequence of buy and sell orders that move price. Understanding order flow allows traders to identify who controls the market at any moment.
The availability of buyers and sellers at different price levels. Smart Money uses liquidity to enter and exit positions without causing major price spikes.
A formation or structure of Smart Money accumulation or distribution that happens over time. MMS traders learn to identify short-, mid-, and long-term builds.
A smaller accumulation that may cause a quick short-term move.
A moderate accumulation that sets up swing trades lasting days or weeks.
A deep accumulation phase by Smart Money that can create large market reversals or trends.
The destination or range Smart Money is building toward based on their accumulation pattern. MMS traders set price targets by identifying where the institutions intend to move the market.
The process of entering a trade once Smart Money confirmation appears on the tape. Execution includes timing, contract selection, and position sizing.
After executing, traders manage their open position, then review the trade post-close to refine accuracy and discipline.
Financial contracts used by MMS traders to mirror Smart Money moves. Options offer lower capital risk with higher potential returns compared to owning the stock directly.
The list of available option contracts for a stock, showing strikes, expirations, and pricing where Smart Money often leaves clues about direction.
The portion of an option's price based on time until expiration. MMS traders often trade contracts with time value 3–4 months out to align with Smart Money builds.
Indicators of activity in the options market. Unusual volume can reveal Smart Money positioning.
The mental and emotional framework a trader operates from. Doug emphasizes that 90% of consistent, effective trading comes from discipline and mindset.
A focused, consistent psychological state that allows traders to make objective decisions and avoid emotional reactions.
The ability to stay calm and disciplined during trades. This is a core part of MMS psychology training.
The internal story or role a trader takes on. MMS teaches traders to align their identity with the version of themselves that trades with confidence and control.
A structured review process after each trade to understand what worked, what didn't, and where mindset or discipline broke down.
The price range where Smart Money is accumulating or distributing. MMS traders identify this zone to align entries and exits.
A concentration of stop orders or pending orders that Smart Money uses to generate movement or fill positions.
When Smart Money pushes price beyond a key level to trigger retail orders, then moves the market in the opposite direction.
A deliberate price move designed by Smart Money to mislead retail traders before reversing.
A moment when buying or selling pressure heavily outweighs the other, revealing control by Smart Money.
The core educational course covering tape reading, Smart Money identification, and performance psychology.
A weekly community call where members review Smart Money activity and discuss live setups.
The private online chat network where traders share live prints, updates, and ongoing education.
The education and research portal for MMS courses, live sessions, and archives.
An artificial intelligence model trained on Doug Patel's strategies to simulate Smart Money logic and assist traders with real-time insight.
Individual traders who typically react to price rather than anticipate it. MMS strategies teach traders to think like institutions instead of retail.
A misleading market move created by Smart Money to trap retail positions before reversing.
Where Smart Money exits or begins to distribute after a large move.
Period of controlled institutional buying before price markup.
Period of controlled institutional selling before price markdown.
Doug's principle that consistency comes from disciplined execution, not emotional trading.
Core MMS mantra: ignore news, opinions, and indicators — the tape tells the truth.
Another principle: focus on reading Smart Money behavior, not guessing market direction.
Refers to MMS's strategic advantage, watching and following Smart Money through the tape to trade with clarity, not emotion.
Click on any highlighted term throughout the site to quickly access its definition. Understanding these concepts is key to reading the Smart Money game.