Good morning, traders…

Ben here. 

Are you tired of leaving money on the table due to the fear of losing? 

As a trader, it’s common to experience the mental trap of being too afraid to pull the trigger or hold your position, even when the setup is screaming “winner!”

I field questions from students all the time about this particular problem. And I get it. We’ve all been there…

You see the pattern forming, but something stops you from finding the conviction to put your money where your mind is…

But you must work your hardest to avoid this. Trading scared is a surefire way to set yourself up for failure.

I won’t sugarcoat it. If you’re scared to enter trades — you’ll never make meaningful profits in the options market. 

The best traders are fearless in the face of a great setup — they trust their gut and stick to their strategy no matter what the market throws at them. 

In the science fiction classic Dune, author Frank Herbert wrote, “Fear is the mind-killer.” 

And the same applies to trading.

With that in mind, let me show you three steps to overcome the fear of losing…

Match Preparation with Opportunity

A lot of trader fear comes down to a lack of preparation…

Traders enter setups without knowing their game plan for every possible scenario, causing them to scramble when the market throws a curve ball at them.

But if you form an airtight plan before entering your trades, you should have nothing to be afraid of. 

Here are some important factors to consider before entering any options trades:

• If you’re thinking about buying puts, consider whether there’s a major support level near the current share price. If there is, you may wanna wait to see the stock lose that level before buying puts. 

• The inverse is true if you’re buying calls. Check to see if there’s a level of strong overhead resistance to worry about and if so, wait for the stock to crack that level before buying the calls.

• Watch the price of contracts throughout the day, noting their high and low points. This will give you an accurate gauge of the range the premiums are trading within. That way, you don’t have to guess what a good fill is … you’ll know you’re buying near the low of the day. 

• Determine your ideal entry and exit points. Use limit orders. Don’t enter (or exit) the trade until you get the fill you want. 

Size Your Positions Carefully

One of the easiest ways to get more comfortable entering plays is to lower the size of your positions.

(Don’t forget about The 3 S’s of Options Trading.)

If you’re fearful of pulling the trigger, you may be risking too much on your trades.

I’ve noticed this in my trading over the years. If I oversize my positions, it’s difficult to hold the trade through choppy market conditions. 

On the other hand, if I size my trades to match my risk tolerance perfectly … I’m never afraid to pull the trigger.

Position size has a massive effect on your trader psychology. If your mindset is struggling, size down.

Don’t go for grand slams or home runs. Hit single after single. Find consistency.

Once you’ve strung dozens of winning trades together, only then should you consider increasing your position sizes.

REMEMBER: It’s always easier to add to a winner than it is to trim a losing position.

Focus on the Process, Not the Outcome

No one wants to lose money, especially traders with small accounts…

That said, if you’re too focused on your PnL, you’ll likely miss important parts of the process.

Even more importantly, worrying too much about your performance is one of the root causes of trader fear.

If you stop worrying so much about growing your brokerage account and start focusing on growing your “knowledge account” — you’ll be a much happier, less fearful trader. 

And by simply gaining all of that knowledge, your performance will likely improve. 

I think back to my days of playing Division I college basketball. If I didn’t practice, I wouldn’t have performed well on the court…

I want you to think of your first few years in the market as practice for the big game — you should be prioritizing your education over your results.

By doing so, you can work toward your long-term trading goals without letting the fear of losing hold your mindset hostage.

Now, before we go, let’s look at:

💰The Biggest Smart-Money Bets of the Day💰

• $4.34 million bullish bet on XLF 01/17/2025 $43 calls @ $2.65 avg. (seen on 7/16)

• $1.57 million bullish bet on PLTR 11/15/2024 $30 calls @ $3.15 avg. (seen on 7/16)

• $1.38 million bullish bet on CPNG 11/15/2024 $25 calls @ $0.92 avg. (seen on 7/16)

Happy trading,

Ben Sturgill

P.S. Take the fear and ‘guessing games’ out of your trading by doing what I do — focus on ‘smart money’ sweeps. 

I’ve achieved an 84% overall win rate* by sticking to trades from my Spyder Scanner. 

TOMORROW, July 18 at 7 p.m. EST — I’m hosting an urgent LIVE WEBINAR where I’ll reveal the most promising ‘smart money’ trades I’m seeing this week.

Stop trading scared — CLICK HERE NOW TO RESERVE YOUR SEAT.

*Past performance does not indicate future results