These Seven Interviews with (10x Return!) Option Traders May Change Your (Financial) Life

tastylive's Rising Stars series interviews retail traders who have achieved outsized returns

• tastylive's Rising Stars series features retail traders who have netted outsized returns.
• Options traders' strategies for success focus on selling options, adhering to a disciplined set of mechanics and constantly learning.
• Consistency, diversification, discipline, adaptability and risk management are keys to trading success.

Below are highlights from tastylive's Rising Stars series, which features interviews with retail traders who have used a variety of trading strategies to net outsized returns.

Secrets behind $1 million-plus retail traders

After nearly a decade of featuring traders who have produced outsized returns using tastylive options mechanics, it’s time to break down the biggest insights from Rising Stars. This week, Errol Coleman and Jim Schultz, Ph.D., sat down to understand the biggest highs and lows from over a decade of Rising Stars.

A 41% return on $2 million

Ash shares a dynamic trading journey, starting with real estate and transitioning to options trading in 2020. After achieving outsized returns with zero days to expiration, or 0DTE, options, Ash lost $1 million in one day in 2021. Three email exchanges with tastytrade co-founder Tom Sosnoff helped Ash break even in 2022 and continue to see gains through 2023. 

After that experience, Ash now prioritizes consistency and diversified approaches, underlying discipline, adaptability and risk management in trading success. Watch our full video for insightful lessons and strategies.

Options strategies turn $2,500 into $200,000

Nishat’s journey from software engineer to trader was fueled by a passion for finance instilled by his father. Through years of practice, he gradually transitioned into trading, focusing on options and mean reversion strategies.

Watch our full video to gain insights on risk management, adaptability and the role of continuous learning in achieving consistent success.

A former engineer/lawyer becomes a full-time trader

Sosnoff interviews a successful trader named Tony, who left a career in engineering and patent law to become a full-time trader.

Tony focuses on options trading, with a strong emphasis on earnings trades. He trades on various phenomena, including implied volatility, or IV, crush around earnings, theta decay, and mean reversion on overbought or oversold underlying securities. Tony keeps around 20% of his account in cash and uses about 80% for trading, adjusting the allocation based on the risk associated with the strategies.

To see if Sosnoff approves of Tony's three simple criteria for successful options trading, watch our full video above. 

An electrical engineer shares his strategy for beating stock traders

David is an electric engineer focused on short puts and a strategic approach to risk management. David's trading approach involves scalability and repeatability, concentrating on a few bread-and-butter strategies. His story and strategies are perfect for long-only stock traders who are considering delving into the world of options trading. 

"Go naked": A finance professor uses options to net 208% returns

Bobby Gaines, a rising star from Alabama and a longtime tastylive superfan, discusses trading experiences, risks, education and strategies with Sosnoff.

Gaines shares how discovering tastylive changed his life, emphasizing the importance of risk-taking and fast decision-making. He outlines his trading strategy, focusing on deltas, theta and buying power as a percentage of net liquidity. Gaines reveals a strategy of selling puts and using put debit spreads for risk management, aiming for a 98% win rate. Despite challenges in 2020, he managed to grow his portfolio by 208%. 

A 30-year-old trader sticks to one strategy

In this video, rising star trader Lewis shares his journey and strategies. He started trading full-time a couple of years ago, using his savings and retirement funds. His trading approach is product-indifferent, focusing on liquid and volatile options. On the surface, it may Lewis may seem like a typical rising star, but he trades full-time and still predominantly uses only trading one strategy. To understand how he’s developed the discipline to use this strategy, watch Lewis’ full interview. 

Eric Villa is a YouTube specialist at tastylive.

For live daily programming, market news and commentary, visit tastylive or the YouTube channels tastylive (for options traders), and tastyliveTrending for stocks, futures, forex & macro.

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