Today's trade feels like a rare find: a stock in a clearly defined uptrend, at or near all-time highs, and appearing to want more.

And the underlying company couldn't be further away from the tech sector that still needs time to repair.

Today's setup is in a hotel name that has been getting clobbered as of late and may be on the verge of completing a major topping pattern. 

Unless the broader market sticks a landing soon and rallies hard, lifting all boats with it, I have a hard time believing this stock doesn't have further to fall.

The math here is simple: volatility = trading volume = profits.

Nobody is better positioned to profit like this than the CME Group, owner of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.

So I'm get involved.

There’s no sugar-coating it—recent weeks have been rough in my account.

Call it a pullback, a correction, or a bear market—whatever label you prefer, the selloff in U.S. growth stocks hasn’t spared me. And let’s be honest: Watching account equity shrink isn’t fun. Not even a little.

But one thing that helps me stay grounded through market swings—both up and down—is tracking my Closed Trades Performance. It’s nothing fancy, just a simple spreadsheet with four columns:

• Date Closed

• Ticker

• Net Gain/Loss

• Running Total

That last column, “Running Total,” continuously adds up my net dollar gains and losses as I close trades.

The key benefit? It shifts my focus away from open equity swings in positions I haven’t closed yet. Any old-school futures trend follower will tell you: open profits aren’t yours until you close the trade. I learned this trick from my friend Peter Brandt, and it has been invaluable for my mindset.

Why This Helps My Trading Psychology

By focusing only on closed trades, two...

Today's trade is one of those setups where if the bulls can't stick this landing (making it a good buy), then it's goodbye and good night.

I'm betting on the latter. But being mindful that it could in fact be a good time to buy for those brave enough to step in, I'll be getting short with a defined risk put debit spread.

I don't know about you guys, but it seems like every trader I know now trades options these days. And more and more newbies in the markets are skipping trading stocks altogether and jumping right into the options ring. One look at the continuing explosion of options volumes on the main exchanges backs this up.

It wasn't always this way. 

For much of my early career, options trading was the "complicated" backwater of investing, reserved mostly for investors selling covered calls on their long-term holdings to derive some extra income in their portfolios.

Everyone’s an Options Trader Now—In Markets and in Life

Options trading has exploded in popularity. It seems like everyone, from Wall Street veterans to TikTok influencers, is placing bets on calls and puts. But this obsession with optionality isn’t just happening in the markets—it’s everywhere. Across industries and careers, people are structuring their decisions like options traders, seeking asymmetric rewards, hedging risks, and keeping multiple paths open.

This phenomenon raises an interesting question: Are people trading more options because they think like traders, or are...

Today's trade is in a therapeutics name that continues to press into new highs in spite of all the bearishness that the broader stock indexes are suggesting.

And if you look at the implied volatlity in the options, it seems that traders are skeptical that the trend can continue.

Let's find out.

Geez, a stock falls back to levels not seen since *gasp! * 5 weeks ago and the implied volatility spikes?

Feels like nervous bulls are getting a little overzealous with their put purchases. Let's fade 'em.

Today's trade is a similar bet to yesterday's trade. With $VIX in the 20s and big caps putting in short term bottoms at key pivot points, these are opportunities for opportunistic put spread sellers.

Today's trade is a bet that today's lows are going to stick for a little bit. Time is of the essence, so let's go...

Today's trade is in a stock that recently announced earnings. The reaction was muted, which I think is a good thing. It left the chart sitting right where I'd like it to be, holding the recent lows of a 4-week pullback. 

The beauty is that this gives me a nearby risk management level, so I'll have an opportunity to keep losses to a minimum if the rebound doesn't materialize.

Even though this stock blasted off following earnings last week, it might just be getting started. The second "take" is what I'm here for.

However, with the immediate catalyst in the rear-view mirror, I will proceed going forward under the assumption that there may be some well-deserved consolidation in store while the stock works its way higher over the next 6 months.

So I'm going to attempt to get paid to ride out any potential wait.