cd. CALCULATED
DEGENS PRO DEGENERATE
HOW WE WORK

Methodology & disclosures.

Calculated Degens is a financial education and independent market research publication. This page explains, in plain terms, how our charts are drawn, how our research is graded, where our numbers come from, and the limits of everything on this site. Nothing here — or anywhere on this site — is financial advice, a trade call, or a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security.

The charts

Our own chart plates — the plates in the editions and on the home page — are built from end-of-day price bars. They are historical snapshots, not live prices: each plate is dated, shows completed sessions only, and prices on it are as of that date’s close. Zones are drawn mechanically from price structure — the base of candles a strong move departed from — and a zone is retired when price closes through it. Zones are drawn on the same timeframe as the chart they appear on, overlapping zones are merged, and on the chart a zone is labelled with its price range. Levels describe structure. They never recommend.

Alongside our plates, this site embeds live market tools provided by TradingView: the index board on the home page and the members’ shelf, the market map, the economic calendar, the symbol snapshots on the education hub, and the chart and per-stock news wire on the members’ shelf (the shelf’s header prices and scores remain the board’s last completed close). That data is TradingView’s — it streams live from TradingView into your browser, it is not collected or checked by us, and it is not our data. Two of these tools deserve a plain word of their own:

The research scorecard

Every weekday and weekend edition of The Degenerates Journal states its reads in print — levels expected to hold or break, and how the edition’s screened names are expected to compare with the index. The week’s editions are graded against what the market actually did, and the receipts are published on the scorecard: how many graded reads hit, how many supports held, and how the picks fared against the S&P 500 the next session. The scorecard grades the Journal’s published research. It is a record of our homework, published whether it flatters us or not.

The Degen Lens

The Degen Lens is a research ranking that scores the names in an edition’s screened universe across three lenses, each a different horizon:

Each lens scores 0 to 100; the three combine into the Lens read printed on a name, with its rank among the names scored in that edition. Scores are computed for an edition and carry that edition’s date: a score is a summary of market and fundamentals data at a point in time, not a probability that a name will profit. Scores describe; they never recommend.

A name can be Not scored: when the inputs are too far apart to trust — a price that reflects far more growth than the company’s current earnings show, or a business not yet profitable at the operating level — the edition prints the reason instead of a number. A name scored on fewer than three lenses says so where its read is printed. The scoring methodology is versioned; when the rules change, the scorecard notes the change rather than restating history under the new rule. The Lens is produced by our research partners and presented here in the editions; its formula and weights are not published.

The Degen Meter

Beside the Lens, each scored name carries the Degen Meter: a gauge of trend structure built from the name’s price against its own moving averages — how the averages stack, whether they agree, how far price sits from them, and which way they slope. It reads from −100 to +100 and carries a plain label, from Strong Bearish to Strong Bullish. One pack of Meter values is computed for each Lens board, and those are the values the members’ shelf shows beside each name. The Meter describes structure at the board’s date; like the Lens, it never recommends.

Sample pages

The Pro page shows pages from a past edition of the Journal as exhibits — samples of the product exactly as it was published on that date, shown so a reader can see the work before joining. They are that date’s research. They are not current reads, and they are not updated after the fact.

The performance record

The author’s personal trading record is kept entirely separate from the Journal’s research scorecard above. It is not the scorecard, not a fund, and not a promise of anything: past performance does not guarantee future results, and your results will differ.

Data sources and timing

All times on this site are Eastern Time (ET) unless stated otherwise.

Coverage — two lists, kept separate

The Degen Lens board — 26 names as published on October 30, 2026 — is the screened universe the Lens rates, and the members’ shelf presents that same board. The stock hubs track their own set of names, and the Final Hour’s breadth line counts a wider desk tracking list. These sets are different, and a breadth count is a count of its own list only.

Corrections

Errors are corrected in the open. A corrected figure carries a dated note where it was published, and the question registry and scorecards keep their original entries with corrections appended rather than substituted — history is never silently rewritten. If you spot an error, the fastest routes are a reply to any edition email or the community channels — and every confirmed correction is kept on the public corrections page, where errors can also be reported directly. Billing, access and account questions: PRO DEGENERATE members manage their membership in the member portal on this site, where billing runs through Stripe; Ultimate Degen memberships are managed and cancelled the same way, in the member portal on this site.

Limitations

Risk disclosure

Trading and investing involve risk, including the possible loss of principal. Past performance — of the author’s personal record, of the Journal’s graded reads, or of any security discussed — does not guarantee future results. Options, futures, and leveraged products carry additional risk and are not suitable for every investor. Do your own research and talk to a licensed professional before making investment decisions.

Questions about this page: reach us through the community links in the footer.

How we make money

The Degenerates Journal is reader-funded. Our only revenue is memberships: the Basic edition is free, Pro Degenerate is $7.99 a month, and Ultimate Degen is $14.99 a month. Nobody pays to be covered, ranked, or mentioned — the screens choose the names, and we don't sell our readers' data. Albert trades stocks and options, including names the journal covers; his position book prints in the open, and every statement the journal registers is graded at the close, right or wrong. Nothing here is financial advice. It's one trader's documented read of the tape, sold to readers — and to no one else.

Our use of AI

AI works in this newsroom; it doesn't run it. Albert — the Golden Hour Trader — sets the screens, makes the calls, and registers every statement in his own name. AI assistants help assemble the research, check the numbers against their sources, build the editions, and keep the archive — and the podcast is narrated by a synthesized clone of Albert's own voice. Nothing prints unchecked, and the scorecard grades the results at the close no matter what produced the draft. If a number is wrong, it's our error. The byline doesn't hide behind the tools.