I like trading options because about every fifth trade I make 200% or better, which means that it almost doesn't matter what the other four trades do...key word, almost: You can't take 100% losses in this business or you go nuts waiting for that next big winner. Keep a hard stop at 50% from entry, than trail it loosely once the trade moves up into positive returns. What does loosely mean? It means so long as I still like the trade for the original reasons I got in, I am reluctant to let an arbitrary stop take me out. Now I have to define reluctant: Never let a 100% winner turn into a loser, so I'm out anywhere from a 50% to 75% decline from "Best Return" levels. It is because of this reluctance that I held on for close to maximum returns on BITO (Bitcoin calls), second place on the Top 15.
Grasp the concepts above and you are ready to trade options. When I post a recommended trade I usually provide alternative strikes in the option table, highlighting the one I'm taking and will be tracking going forward, but including a few others that intrigue me. Intrigue defined: Excellent risk:reward leverage if my pattern recognition analysis is even close to right.
Top 15 out of 36 Total Trades

These are the top 15 trades out of the 36 total trades taken by my Premium and PRO services YTD 2024. Based on my methodology, if close to half my trades are up over 93%, some reaching 700-800% during the course of about 4 months, you have a robust trading system on your hands and enough winning trades, big winning trades, to grow a speculative options account exponentially over the course of a year, or two, or in some individual cases, 14 years since inception.
Key Concept: Cut losses at -50% from entry, then do all you can to stay in the winners because some of those winners are going to be huge. The just average winners, make up for any losers, leaving the big, big winners the real reward for trading options.
Chart of the Week

This was a trade in my PRO Service, sent out the morning of May 9th as SLV broke out of a corrective channel embarking on its journey to $31 and points north. We have since added a Jul call to this long Silver position and depending on what happens next week, may be adding more. This option has already made the Top 15 list:

Trade Management: Since 'Best Return" has reached +187.86%, my loose 50% trailing stop is at about +95%, meaning if these calls, currently trading at 4.00, drop to 2.00 or less, the trade should be mostly exited. What does that mean, "mostly?" It means I always like to hang onto a small to very small position, just in case the decline is a big fake out before the move begins. Sh_t happens. Even if I sell 9 out of 10 calls on that trailing stop if that one left over suddenly reverses and goes up 1,000%, I still feel like a winner. If it expires worthless, I also feel like a winner having the discipline enough to have exited most of the position while it still held some value. Win-Win.
Have a nice day.
End of discussion with self.