• I am trading for the freedom
• I am trading for the “traders” lifestyle
• Increase wealth over time
• Pure Enjoyment
• I love the Challenge I love the fact that Trading Sharpens the mind

I use a Hybrid Income strategy. I prefer to let the Theta do the work in a trade. I am not trying to find the next homerun stock to get rich on. The bulk of my trades are Theta positive or “income” trades with a mix of weeklies to spice things up. As I am a firm believer in “reversion to the mean”, most of my trades focus on non-directional type set ups. These tend to be slow and steady with a focus on consistency with lower risk. I will however add short term opportunistic trades at any time as they arise. I manage by the Greeks and think Greeks are critical to anyone that trades options. In managing by the Greeks, I am able to spot opportunities as well as risks ahead of time.

Monthly: I strive to achieve a 1 – 2% return per month.

Yearly: I strive for a 12 – 24% per year. I realize this is a wide range, but I have been very consistent over the years in the upper end of this range or exceeding it. I strive to take out trading profits from time to time to diversify into Muni bonds, etc.

Long Term: I look to increase my net worth over time, slow and steady.

I trade US Equity markets (large cap, liquid names) with additional emphasis on trading the indexes.

I have a dual pronged approach to trade longer term trade while mixing in weeklies and shorter-term opportunistic trades

• I will employ any of the major options trading strategies and primarily use Butterflies, Calendars, Diagonals, and Iron Condors.
• One of my favorite strategies is the Butterfly strategy which is extremely flexible. I will use this often and can use traditional, Broken Wing, Ratio, etc.

• I evaluate each trade using Days to expiration, expected moves, volatility levels and strikes to determine if the trade makes sense.
• I evaluate each trades risk/ reward and only take trades that I think fit my criteria

• I will use a “time-line” to enter trades based on days to expiration. In this way, I aim to capture Theta over time with less risk.
• In addition, I will often enter trades based on Volatility conditions. This being buying low Volatility or Selling higher Volatility using differing Hybrid Income Strategies.

I use a combination of true P/L stop and Price level stops based on Fibonacci levels, Voodoo Lines, and moving averages.

I will always have an estimate of how long (days) I will need to be in a trade to achieve my profit goal. I will take profits at my target profit % and/or $ goal. I will follow Bruce’s Gift guide meaning that if I get ½ my max profit in ½ the expected time of holding the trade, I will take or consider taking an early and smaller win. This stays in line with my consistency goals vs maximum profit on every trade. I am fully aware that I leave money on the table in most cases.

I manage by the Greeks which gives me a superior edge in trading. I monitor my trades closely and am very proactive in trade management. If / when a trade starts to get into trouble, I will do an extensive risk / reward evaluation which is based on (price, volatility, time left on the trade, amount at risk, etc.). This allows me to determine whether the risk / reward of the trade is better to manage / adjust / tweak the trade, or I simply need to close it.

My pre-market routine is fairly simple. I always watch and monitor the futures at night and pre-market to get a feel of the mood of the market. By doing this, I am able to prep and look for trade ideas and opportunities. I am also to anticipate moves in my current trades to see if I may be able to take profits or if I am going to need to do any defensive moves. I always try to be proactive and by managing by the Greeks, this allows me to plan ahead in my trading so that I have fewer surprises. By doing this simple routine, you enter the trading day with a cool head and a plan so there is no panic or confusion.

My post market routine is to review the days trading, any moves that I have made and to take screenshots for analysis and review.

• Fibonnaci levels, Voodoo Lines, and moving averages.
• Volatility levels, IV and HV.

I am currently Beta testing a clever trade tracking software and hope to be able to share it with everyone as soon as it passes the stress tests and approvals of the Pro traders using it.

I am a firm believer in continuing education and know that when it comes to trading, no one will ever know it all. I personally still take classes, watch videos and read anything challenging pertaining to trading. By being in an active and engaging trading community that we have created at Simpler, we have the ability to share thoughts and ideas that we all learn from.

I firmly believe that you must have discipline to be successful in trading. This means no shoot from the hip trades. This means no unplanned or unnecessary risk taking. This means no “too large for my account” trades. I do not “swing for the fence” as far as entering a very large % of my account type trade, however I will from time to time, use a Lotto ticket trade with very small risk and a very large reward.

• Consistency, consistency, consistency.
• Follow your trade plan.
• Follow your rules.