← Back to DashboardHow to Use PokeClaw
A beginner-friendly guide to understanding the dashboard, reading market signals, and making smarter trades. If you're new to Pokémon TCG investing, start here.
What is PokeClaw?
PokeClaw tracks prices for Pokémon TCG cards across marketplaces like TCGplayer and eBay. It shows you which cards are going up, which are going down, and where the best deals are — all in real time. Think of it as a stock market dashboard, but for Pokémon cards.
The dashboard has three main tabs at the top:
Market
The main view. Browse cards, see price charts, find deals, and check buy signals. This is where you'll spend most of your time.
Set Heat
A bird's-eye view of which Pokémon sets are hot right now. Great for spotting trends before they hit individual cards.
Portfolio
Track cards you own. Add your collection and watch your total value, profit/loss, and which of your cards are moving.
💡 Hover over any label with a dotted underline ⓘ on the dashboard to see a quick explanation of what that indicator means.
The Market View
The Market view is split into three columns:
Left Column — Card Browser
This is your card list. You can search by name, filter by set or rarity, and sort by price or % change. Click any card to load its details in the center.
Each card in the list shows small colored pills underneath:
Signal Pill (BUY / SELL / WATCH / HOLD)
Our algorithm's recommendation for this card based on price trends, volume, and momentum. Green = BUY, Red = SELL, Yellow = WATCH, Blue = HOLD.
Trend Pill (RISING / FALLING / BREAKOUT)
The card's current price direction. RISING means the short-term average is above the long-term average. BREAKOUT means it's surging unusually fast.
Velocity (e.g. 12/wk)
How many copies of this card are selling per week. Higher = more liquid and easier to buy or sell.
Center Column — Price Chart
When you select a card, the center shows its price history chart with three lines:
Price (solid gold line)
The actual market price over time. This is the main line you're watching.
SMA 4w (dashed cyan line)
The 4-week Simple Moving Average — it smooths out the price over the last 4 weeks. When this line is above the 12w line, the card is trending up.
SMA 12w (dashed purple line)
The 12-week Simple Moving Average — a longer-term trend line. Think of it as the "big picture" direction.
💡 When the cyan SMA 4w line crosses above the purple SMA 12w line, that's called a "bullish crossover" — it often means the price is starting to climb. When it crosses below, it's "bearish" and the price may be dropping.
Below the chart you'll see the Stats Bar with five key numbers:
Market Low
The lowest sale price recorded in the current time range.
Market Mid
The current TCGplayer market price (what most people pay).
Market High
The highest sale price in the current time range.
Velocity
How many copies sell per week (4-week average).
Supply
Estimated weeks of supply remaining based on current sell rate. Lower = scarcer.
You can also switch tabs above the chart:
Cards Sold tab
Shows a bar chart of weekly sales volume. The dashed gold line is the average. Spikes above the average mean unusual demand.
Momentum tab
Shows the SMA Crossover signal (Bullish/Bearish/Flat), the Sales Ramp multiplier, and a velocity trend chart.
Right Column — Intelligence Panels
Understanding Signals
PokeClaw uses algorithms to generate buy/sell signals. Here's what each one means:
STRONG_BUY
The card is underpriced relative to its momentum and volume. High confidence buy signal.
MOMENTUM_BUY
The price trend is rising with increasing sales. Good time to buy before it peaks.
BUY
General buy signal — the card looks like a good value at the current price.
HOLD
If you own it, keep it. The price is stable or slowly growing.
WATCH
Not a clear buy or sell yet. Keep an eye on it — something interesting may be developing.
SELL
The price may be peaking or declining. Consider selling if you're holding.
💡 Signals are generated by algorithms, not humans. They're helpful guides but not guarantees. Always do your own research before buying or selling.
Liquidity Score
The Liquidity Score (0-100) tells you how easy it is to buy or sell a card. It's based on how consistently the card has been selling over time.
LIQUID (green, 80-100)
Sells frequently and consistently. You can buy or sell this card quickly without much trouble.
SEMI LIQUID (yellow, 40-79)
Sells regularly but not every week. May take a bit longer to find a buyer or seller.
ILLIQUID (red, 0-39)
Rarely trades. Hard to sell quickly. Be careful — you might get stuck holding it if the price drops.
Velocity (/wk)
The average number of copies sold per week over the last 4 weeks.
Momentum
Whether the price trend is RISING, FALLING, or FLAT based on moving average crossovers.
Finding Deals
The Live Dealspanel shows eBay listings where the price is significantly below TCGplayer market value. These are potential arbitrage opportunities — buy low on eBay, sell at market price on TCGplayer.
Discount %
How much cheaper the eBay listing is compared to TCGplayer market price.
Net Profit
Estimated profit after buying on eBay (including shipping) and selling at TCGplayer market price. Does not account for seller fees.
ROI %
Return on investment — how much profit you'd make as a percentage of your purchase cost. Higher is better.
DEEP DEAL
A listing that is 30% or more below market price. These are the best bargains.
The Buy Opportunities panel highlights cards where the algorithm sees a good entry point based on price trends and signals.
The Volume Spikespanel shows cards where sales volume has suddenly jumped. A spike often means something is driving demand — a tournament result, a new product release, or social media hype. The number (e.g. "3.2x") shows how many times above normal the volume is.
Set Heat Map
The Set Heat Map shows which Pokémon sets are seeing the most activity right now. Each block represents one set. Bigger blocks = more sales. The color tells you the "temperature":
FIRE (red)
Extremely hot — sales, breadth, and prices are all surging. Highest activity tier.
HOT (orange)
Above average activity across most metrics. Worth watching closely.
WARM (yellow)
Moderate activity. Some movement but nothing extreme.
COLD (gray)
Below average activity. Low demand or declining interest.
Hover over any set block to see detailed stats:
Heat Score
A composite score combining velocity, breadth, and price momentum. Higher = hotter.
Velocity Z-Score
How far above or below average the set's sales volume is. Measured in standard deviations (σ). Positive = above average. +2σ or higher is exceptional.
Breadth Z-Score
How many different cards in the set are actively selling. High breadth means broad demand across the set, not just one or two chase cards.
Price Momentum (Price Δ)
How much the set's median card price has changed over the last 4 weeks.
Portfolio Tracker
The Portfolio tab lets you track the cards you own. Your data is saved in your browser — it never leaves your device.
Total Value
The current market value of all cards in your portfolio, adjusted for condition.
P&L (Profit & Loss)
How much your portfolio has gained or lost compared to what you paid (your cost basis). Green = profit, red = loss.
Cost Basis
The total amount you paid for all your cards. This is what your P&L is measured against.
Condition Multipliers
Card condition affects value. NM (Near Mint) = 100% of market price, LP (Lightly Played) = 85%, MP (Moderately Played) = 70%, HP (Heavily Played) = 50%, DMG (Damaged) = 30%.
Top Movers (7d)
Which of your cards have moved the most in price over the last week.
Allocation by Set
A pie chart showing how your portfolio value is distributed across different sets. Helps you see if you're too concentrated in one set.
Glossary
Quick reference for all the terms you'll see on the dashboard:
Arbitrage (Arb)
Buying a card on one platform (like eBay) for less than it sells for on another (like TCGplayer) and pocketing the difference.
Breadth
The percentage of cards in a set that are actively trading. High breadth = widespread demand.
Bulk Flip
Buying cheap cards (often under $1) in bulk and reselling at a higher price. Even small margins add up at volume.
Composite Score
An internal score that combines multiple factors (price, volume, trend, liquidity) into a single ranking number.
Crossover
When a short-term moving average crosses above (bullish) or below (bearish) a long-term moving average.
Liquidity
How easy it is to buy or sell a card. High liquidity = lots of sales = easy to trade.
Market Price
The TCGplayer market price for Near Mint condition. This is the standard reference price.
Momentum
The direction and strength of a price trend. Positive momentum = prices rising.
NM (Near Mint)
The best condition grade for trading cards. Almost perfect with minimal wear. This is the default condition for all prices on PokeClaw.
ROI (Return on Investment)
Profit divided by cost, shown as a percentage. 50% ROI means you made half your money back in profit.
Sales Ramp
Compares recent sales (last 3 weeks) to the trailing average (weeks 4-10). A ramp of 2.0x means sales have doubled recently.
SMA (Simple Moving Average)
The average price over a set number of weeks. Smooths out weekly noise to show the real trend.
Spike Probability
The estimated chance that a card's price will spike in the near future, based on machine learning models analyzing historical patterns.
Velocity
How many copies of a card sell per week. Higher velocity = more demand and easier to trade.
Volume Spike
When a card's sales volume suddenly jumps well above its average. Often signals rising demand or hype.
Z-Score (σ)
A statistical measure of how far a value is from the average. +1σ = somewhat above normal. +2σ = significantly above normal. Negative = below normal.