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.
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.