Yes, it's tricky both tactically and mentally to get long in the stock market right now. One look at the broader indexes would give any rookie market technician pause.

That said, there are still pockets of strength that are working and growing...

What Happens on Expiration Day when I'm holding long options?

I’ve gotten some questions recently about what happens to an open options position if we’re still in it when the contracts expire. 

Caveat: I will rarely hold an options...

I promise this isn’t a “Go-Have-a-Baby” post that talks about how the greatest thing a human can do is procreate.

I’ve recently come to somewhat believe that. But I won’t be that guy here.

My friend Michael Nauss (...

For this week's trade, we're selling an $XLI May 97/105 Strangle for approximately $2.85 net credit. This means we're naked short both the 97 puts and the 105 calls.

Get the full details, risk management procedures and targets for this trade...

Volatility is not done with us yet. It ain't going down without a fight! At the time I'm writing this, $VIX is +15% on the day and +31% since Monday's close.

This has me back on the hunt for some premium selling opportunities.

And an...

Where do you find your trading headspace?

How do you get to a place where you can immerse yourself in “the Zone” to think deeply about trades, strategies, strategizing, or new ways to approach risk management?

For me, far and away the...

For this week's trade, we're putting on a $CCJ September 30/40 Bull Call Spread for an approximately $2.20 debit. This means we're long the 30 calls and short an equal amount of 40 calls for a net debit which represents the most we can lose in this...

JC had a great blog post out this week about zooming out. In a nutshell, he was reminding us that zooming out and looking at price action from a wider lens often makes the present murky waters look...

For this week's trade, we're putting on a GrowGeneration $GRWG January 7.5/15 Bullish Risk Reversal for a small net credit.

This means we’ll be selling Jan 7.5-strike puts short and using those proceeds to purchase an equal amount of Jan 15...

We don't go bottom-fishing around here often. Fighting trends is not my idea of a good time.

But every so often we'll come across a beaten-up name that has so decisively destroyed bulls that there is no fight left in them. And when all the hot...

The move in metals, commodities, and materials was pretty rapid during the last couple of months. Given that, it's little surprise we've seen a pullback in a lot of these names over the past week or so.

One name that was recently on our...

You might not know this about me, but I’m a “graduate” of Chicago’s famed Second City Training Center. This is the school where all of Second City’s famous improv comedy graduates got their start before they became regulars on the main stage, and then...

I'm sounding like a broken record about elevated options premiums and my desire to be a net seller of options, and for good reason: $VIX continues to hang tight in the 30's. And when volatility is this high, it tends to favor the premium sellers. Not...