“Do you know where you are?”
When a doctor talks to a new patient, she might ask three or four “orientation” questions: Do you know where you are? What is your name? Do you know what day it is? Why did you come here? and, quite famously, Who is the President?
So let’s do a trading ‘mental status’ exam. Here are some questions designed to help you discover your trading status (and maybe wake up your brain!):
1. Why do you trade options? Well, to make money, of course! But you might want to clarify that answer, as it will change according to your goals.
- Are you hoping to buy stock cheaply?
- Are you looking for dividend income?
- Are you hedging stock positions?
- Do you want to generate monthly cash flow?
Our system of “risk-defined, high probability” trading enables each of these goals, but it is especially good at the last one –- generating monthly cash flow. If you are looking to double your money overnight or trade “long shots,” then it is not for you. We grind out 8+% profit per month, month after month, and that’s all we’re good at. Sorry, we can’t do everything!
2. Do you know what day it is? Seriously? It’s Monday. However, options have their own calendar, and trading intelligence includes knowing where you are in the options time cycle. How close to the monthly expiration are you? Are you in or out of earnings season? Options traders think consciously about time cycles, and choose trades using expiration days as reference points. You know you are becoming a real trader when you mother asks, “What time is it?” and you answer “Ten minutes until market closes!” or “15 days to June expiration!”
3. Are you successful as a trader? There are two ways to know: 1) you rest well at night, having the confidence that you are profitable on most of your trades, and you make way more money than you lose. 2) you have a record to prove it. So don’t kid yourself! If you are not keeping good records and your account is not building month after month, then how do you even know?
Well, how did you do on the test?
Tiger says: “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” Winston Churchill
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Tiger teaches risk-defined, high probability options trading at Honolulu Options Traders.
Join us free for any class at our Waikiki location!
Tiger Trading 
The specific topic of the seven items…..the “how to” items…..1. computer and website online internet data, skills, knowledge….the think or swim platform Or Trade.Monster 2. The overall and general market conditions 3. Options Options Options 4. Indiv. Stocks the personality the farm the basic five 5. Today’s Strategy….methods, techniques, data trade secrets 6. money management – a huge topic and 7 results…accurate data……accurate decisions…..accurate records of one’s own performance and one’s own system of satisfaction or comfort or one’s own grade of success and the life liberty and pursuit of happiness in the stock market.
From these seven…..No. 2 is overall general market ….the market.PLACE…..the market.CONDITIONS………THE OVERALL….3 MAIN INDEXES…..DOW JONES 30 IND S AND P 500 AND NASDAQ COMP…..
AND THE MAIN CBOE INDEX OF VIX PLUS RUSSELL
AND THE XL’S SERIES AS SUB.INDEX OR SECTORS……THESE ARE BEING PUT INTO WEEKLY TRADING….WHICH I AM SENDING THE WRITTEN DRAFT ON THE MEETING ON May 6……
My input…..market.TIME X EXPIRE (one singular topic)
……market.overall and GENERAL CONDITIONS….another topic
These two are part of your # 2 of seven items…..
Your seven are….1. self.directed trader knowledge, computer skills, internet information and use, stock market activity by website in live trading….have a website
2. Overall General Market Conditions
3. Options….Options…..Options…..Basket x Puts……. Basket x Calls…..no putall eggs in one basket…..do not be greedy and kill the Golden Goose
do not have fear of the losses impending…..be like a Tiger….wait + watch + etc.
4. Stocks Personality Priced over 200 Behavior Unique Motion
What are the basic 5 stocks ? What is your farm ?
5. Strategy Techniques Methods
The HOT Tiger.has trade-Secrets. + Formulas
6. Money Management
7. Accurate records, Accurate decisions…….doing the right stuff x self.directed analysis and self.made financial success (or failure) in the stock market X ACCURATE DATA OF ACTUAL PERFORMANCE
Yes, weekly options are something……relatively new and deserves a story in itself.
market.WEEKLY topic of market.TIME FRAME
(time frames……………market.MONTHLY) (market.QUARTERLY)
(market.LEAPS) THE TIME FRAMES…..OF EXPIRE DUE DATE is a huge topic in itself and there are many and various discussion. It is definitely related to the trader’s own style and own like or dislikes or comfort or discomfort.
market.OVERALL AND GENERAL MARKET CONDITONS
The general overall market is a very basic foundation. I would start with the daily newspaper….that page which is a overall reference……it has the three index …. the big three “gauge” …. the 3 groups (Dow Jones Ind.)(S and P)(Nasdaq composite) are “30” and five hundred and two thousand four hundred eighty…..plus add into the market.PLACE discussion…
CBOE VIX and Russell 2000…..and measurements x 100’s OEX NDX DJX …all are general market conditions……and the ” one hundred ” measurements as DIA and QQQ and SPY……all of the above are and is the general overall market.PLACE….which includes the XL’s of the various asS and Pee sectors…….still inot the overall general market.PLACE….which governs the action for all intents and purposes…….the big picture…..to distinct between the big picture and the typical normal small sway balance cycles or commotion……..(whether monthly expire or weekly or quarterly or LEAPS)
To grasp the overall.general.market as the main picture is so very basic,. yet it can take lots of time and effort to “sink in” because of the complex issues involved. Tne main major trend…..the minor “manini” (trival) sway…..both co-exist at the same time….see ???
Ahhhh…..no can see ??? (“manini” is a Hawaiian name for a certain fish which is considered small stuff or not important….when we were kids fishing on the side of the pier…..the “manini” were plentiful and they always took the bait but we were not happy catching that fish….we wanted the bigger and better fish.
This idea has eluded me, off and on for many many years. This idea being empty or missing, off and on, has cost me lots of money over the past nine years of doing options. The commitment or the definite engagement is soooooooo important….as you had just make the point of the status test. I must focus and concentrate to define the major main motion
( the big picture trend ) verses the constant small slippery sway.
OVERALL general CONDITIONS OF MOVEMENT, MOTION, COMMOTION, EMOTION AND LOCO-MOTION……WHAT CAUSES THE MAKET TO MOVE AND WHY AND HOW ????????? OVERALL and GENERAL
Dow Jones “30” (1.)
S and P 500 (2.)
Nasdaq Composite (3.)
Russell 2000 (4.)
VIX (the important gauge of something) (5.)
the 100’s = OEX DJX NDX (first one hundred) (6.)
the 100’s = (divide) DIA QQQ DJX (7.)
the XL’s series…….per S & P sectprs (8.)
the various ETF’s…….some “fund” of a group of that……(9.)
and how all things mix together…….(10.)
A beginner has to have knowledge of all of these.
Price movement, support and resistance, momentum and exhaustion….so very basic.
Commotion……all the time.
eMotion…….that ain’t electronic motion…it is the (market makers) (people who move the market) those people’s emotion that can drive and change the direction of the market, drastically.
and….the emotion of the trader in reaction to things…..your emotion.
Loco motion is ‘self explanatory”…..crazy or else, the driving force like the train’s engine………the choo choo train has the driven force of the engine and is on the prescribed tracks (also known as the channel) (all the 20 cars behind the engine are ‘following” it….well, almost.) It is being in “their” minds….the driver of the engine…know what they are thinking and doing…..
See 10 overall and general market.CONDITONS
I really like your analogy of the manini, or we say in other countries, the “small fry”. Scalpers and two-tick traders are like this, but there are ways to trade that are way less time consuming or stressful.
With volatility low as it is now, we still don’t go for low percentage trades. Keep the risk low, collect as much money as possible, and add Time to increase your premiums. We are still getting 8-10% per month returns.
No. 1 I trade options for the income – generation of weekly or monthly cash flow.
No. 2 takes more time to determine as to earning season, expire due dates, time frames from enter and exit….etc. This is a major item to encounter successfully. I want to have a weekly cycle and to create an expertise on weekly trading time frames.
No 3. Am I successful….? I am not.
Hi Wendell. I think we should add a seminar or something on weeklies, ETFs and indexes. A lot of people are interested and the groundwork has been laid.
WDYT?
What is the cause of your unsuccess? We are learning “risk-defined” “high probability” “income producing” strategies…. and make 8+% per month. How can I better help you?
You have helped my a lot, already.
Next is my practice over and over to do the Tiger Trading rather than my old style
. I have had the idea of selling close to the strike and selling in the same expire week or one week out. Both were high risk.
Your classes are the source of my new trading, and you have done an excellent job for me. Your efforts are getting better all the time for me as I am always improving on my path to increased success.
My present holdings are pending new sales and it would take another somewhere of 4 to 8 weeks to make my new ( methods) changes of greater efficiency. I am in a transformation period. I joined on February 19th…..and I am greatly changing my tactics.
There are many examples….I used to trade only SPY, but now I trade SPY and many others…..GOOGL + REGN + Visa Card + CF + WYNN….etc. . etc.
Another example….I make fewer trades per week….I used to over-trade and I used to be “trigger.happy”…….I used to be too addicted of the “internet” action and kept selling too many positions….and getting stuck too many times.
Another example……my count carefully since November 2013…..each week…..my record is 22 weeks of count……17 winners and 5 lost weeks. It is 77% which is 17 divided by 22. Today is the end of week 22. The loosing week is where the market motion gobble up my holding positions. I can easily review my poor performance of the lost weeks and avoid them. Making new changes are something for me to do, as a “self.directed” trader on the internet.
There are more examples. However, this message is enough for today.
Summary….you can better help me by the continued efforts you are doing for the group meeting. I have no particular request. I have no specific request.
I simply attend your meetings and I keep changing my methods with constant improvements……over x over…..week x week.
I look forward to a week of “making money” or a week of “breaking even”…..and no losses……whatsoever……that is the Tiger style of fighting……ahhhh…..fighting the poor habits…….Tiger trading is a direct commitment to trading options of one’s own portfolio.
The HOT meetings are available (for me) to hear and see how the Tiger does his action, successfully at 8 % per month. These meetings are essential energy for my successful trading and the energy makes the vision and feeling of success:
THINGS GET BETTER FOR ME BY ATTENDING MEETINGS…….
.I ATTEND MEETINGS AND IN-BETWEEN —–
IMPLEMENT THE TIGER STYLE OF OPTIONS.
Conclusion
The month of March would have my very last loosing week. After that, every month, with every week shall be “hot”…..