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YTD I'm up more than 300% on my options trading account. Options trading is making bets. The way I make bets is in regards to unusual news events. The events

YTD I'm up more than 300% on my options trading account. Options trading is making bets. The way I make bets is in regards to unusual news events. The events that made me the most money this year were Powell raising interest rates in a relatively unprecedented way, the monkeypox crisis and catching the end of the crisis before the mainstream, and the Nord stream pipeline blowing up. I didn't anticipate these events, I just opened positions quickly after they happened before the rest of the market figured out which direction it was going to send the market. I also closed these positions when I read news that meant the impact of these news events were ending. Most of the time there is no trade to be had. There's nothing special that's going on, so I just sit in cash. Options trading is work. When I have open positions, I have to read a lot of news and get up before the market opens every day and watch things throughout the day with my finger on the sell button. It's not something you can really do while having a normal day job.

cupofpython 4y ago
>and I don't bet the whole portfolio this is the catch. you are perpetually in a mental struggle because all it takes is one big bad bet to undo enough of your work that it wasnt worth it. So the options portfolio that you are up 300% on is probably less than 10% of your entire portfolio. Whether it is or isnt under 10% is not actually important, the point is that the stress involved should begin snowballing past that point not to mention you probably have a decent amount of money liquidated at any given time. for most people it is way for efficient to put the entire portfolio into an index, preferably a tax beneficial account like 401k or roth IRA, and then use all that extra time and energy bettering their workable skillsets so that they can increase their raw income and reduce the odds of unemployment. That said, when i was unemployed for a year - I did a lot of options/crypto trading because i just had so much time on my hands. Since I've been back at a full time job, it's just too draining for not enough benefit. I can work a few hours of OT and guarantee more money that week than trading would get me, and the OT is way less of a struggle
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cupofpython 4y ago

>and I don't bet the whole portfolio this is the catch. you are perpetually in a mental struggle because all it takes is one big bad bet to undo enough of your work that it wasnt worth it. So the options portfolio that you are up 300% on is probably less than 10% of your entire portfolio. Whether it is or isnt under 10% is not actually important, the point is that the stress involved should begin snowballing past that point not to mention you probably have a decent amount of money liquidated at any given time. for most people it is way for efficient to put the entire portfolio into an index, preferably a tax beneficial account like 401k or roth IRA, and then use all that extra time and energy bettering their workable skillsets so that they can increase their raw income and reduce the odds of unemployment. That said, when i was unemployed for a year - I did a lot of options/crypto trading because i just had so much time on my hands. Since I've been back at a full time job, it's just too draining for not enough benefit. I can work a few hours of OT and guarantee more money that week than trading would get me, and the OT is way less of a struggle

deleted 4y ago

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