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[fenders53]

I can't say that I am a great trader, but I do enjoy it. I have become more risk averse through the years. I really try to never trade a stock I'm not very OK with just owning long-term if things go wrong, because someday it will. My trading would be more accurately described as attempts to add on significant dips and trim if he runs a little too fast, around a core position normally. Not forcing trades is easier said than done, but it keeps me out of serious trouble. Impulsiveness got me in trouble long ago. If I break my rules, the bet is usually small because I know the day will come when I miscalculate the general direction of the market and it may well last a long time. What I do with option sales is really no different. I just lose some control over my core long position sizes for a time.

[cemanuel]

(12-19-2021, 07:58 AM)fenders53 Wrote: I can't say that I am a great trader, but I do enjoy it.  I have become more risk averse through the years.  I really try to never trade a stock I'm not very OK with just owning long-term if things go wrong, because someday it will.  My trading would be more accurately described as attempts to add on significant dips and trim if he runs a little too fast, around a core position normally.  Not forcing trades is easier said than done, but it keeps me out of serious trouble.  Impulsiveness got me in trouble long ago.  If I break my rules, the bet is usually small because I know the day will come when I miscalculate the general direction of the market and it may well last a long time.  What I do with option sales is really no different.  I just lose some control over my core long position sizes for a time.

Same here - trading around a long position is my main move. I don't call it "going wrong" though. I call it finding a pattern for a specific stock and know that at some point the pattern will change. My current trade I know I'd do if I had the IRA would be to go back to WSM doing the 170/190 channel. At some point it will go above 190 and stay there. Then I either have to wait for another channel to set up or just stop. And if it stays under $190 so what? I like it, happy to own the shares, just using the volatility to get a little extra. I used to trade MU mercilessly based on RSI. And now it even pays a dividend. I'd likely at least take a peek at every company I own to see if there's something worth exploiting. One key for me - if you're going to trade shares, trade them. If tomorrow's ex-div and it goes above the sell price, I sell. Those shares are first for trading. Dividends are a nice bonus but not the main purpose for those specific shares.

Takes some work but I don't find it complicated - all it uses is the principle of, "The best indicator of future behavior is past behavior." And know that at some point, unlike with people, the behavior will change.

[fenders53]

It will be interesting to follow along. Generally speaking, I am not looking for a quick exit necessarily.
You'll get a feel for what I am doing soon enough. Here is an example of a typical trade .

Started off with 100 shares of RTX pre-merger near the low. Should have bought more but hindsight is 20/20. I was willing to own 300-400 shares so I've sold puts for over a year. Always one or two open. They expired worthless at least 15 times and I collect more premium again next month. Incoe FAR exceeds the dividend but I collect some dividends as well. Ended up with 200 shares and when they ran sold some cover calls always out of the money. They expired too and more income. The shares have fallen back to six months ago prices, but I am up considerably. If the stock absolutely launches higher I'll miss out on some gains, but still own some shares. The risk reward is pretty good. I do this with 15 or so stocks most all of the time and the income piles up. If the market gets truly slammed I'll own a bunch of shares suddenly. It would be no worse than if I just bought them now at higher prices. Nothing with a good return potential is risk free.