Let’s be honest: nobody opens their first options trading account dreaming of slow, boring gains. The attraction is speed. Leverage. The idea that this could be the thing that changes your bank account forever.
And if you’re like most beginners, your first few trades probably worked. You sold a put that expired worthless. You bought a call that doubled in a day. Suddenly, you feel like you’ve cracked the code to Wall Street.
That’s not skill. That’s luck—and it’s dangerous as hell.
The Seduction of Early Wins
The market is cruel because it rewards you just enough in the beginning to make you think you’re smarter than you are. Those quick profits don’t teach discipline—they create unrealistic expectations.
-
You start expecting guaranteed profits from every trade.
-
You increase your position size way too fast.
-
You start ignoring risk because “I’ve been right so far.”
This is the setup for disaster. Traders don’t blow up because they never make money. They blow up because they start believing the money will always be there.
The Reality Check: Options Are a Double-Edged Sword
Options can make you rich faster than stocks—but they can also take you out faster. That’s the trade-off.
-
Every call has theta decay quietly eating your premium.
-
Every naked put carries assignment risk.
-
Every spread looks safe until volatility explodes.
The trader who only sees the upside is like someone who only looks at a Ferrari’s speedometer without ever checking the brakes.
What Experts Do Differently
Experts don’t expect quick riches—they expect risk. They know that their job isn’t to win big today, it’s to stay alive tomorrow.
Here’s how they think:
-
Early wins don’t mean you’re a genius. They mean you got lucky. Treat them as borrowed money.
-
Risk management > strategy. You can make the wrong trade with the right risk sizing and still survive.
-
Patience is the real edge. The market punishes greed and rewards endurance.
The Emotional Game Nobody Admits To
The hardest part about becoming an options trading expert isn’t learning Greeks or memorizing strategies—it’s detoxing from your own greed.
You’ve got to unlearn the dopamine rush of “quick profits” and replace it with the boring, steady grind of disciplined execution. That’s not glamorous. It won’t get you clicks on Twitter. But it will keep you in the game long enough to become one of the rare few who actually make money.
Final Thought
The market doesn’t care about your dreams of easy profits. It doesn’t care about your first win streak. It only cares about whether you can survive the long run.
If you expect quick money, the market will humble you. If you respect risk, the market will eventually reward you. That’s the difference between the dreamers who blow up and the experts who build wealth.
So the question isn’t “When will I get rich?” The question is “Am I disciplined enough to stay in the game?”
No comments:
Post a Comment