Good morning, traders…

Picture this:

One of my OMEN Scanner trade alerts pops up on your phone. You’re intrigued. You see the ticker symbol and immediately start calculating position sizes.

Many traders will blindly enter the position there. But that’s not always the right move…

Alert-driven trading has become the norm in our industry. Traders wait for notifications, then scramble to react. 

They treat alerts like emergency broadcasts requiring immediate action instead of educational tools showing real-time market development.

This reactive approach creates a fundamental problem: you won’t always enter exactly when I do.

You’ll miss the best entries because you’re reacting to moves that already happened. You’ll chase extended positions because you weren’t prepared for the initial break.

The ancient Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu once said, “If you give a man a fish, you feed him for a day … but if you teach him how to fish, you feed him for a lifetime.”

Think of me as your fishing instructor — not the guy behind the seafood counter.

The difference between positioning beforehand and chasing afterward often determines whether you catch the beginning of a move or the end of it.

Let Me Show You How To Use My Trade Alerts The Right Way…

2 Types of Alerts, 2 Different Approaches

I send out alerts in two distinct formats, each requiring a different preparation strategy.

Pre-Market Watchlist Alerts come out before the opening bell. 

I review what my OMEN Scanner identified overnight, narrow it down to the highest-probability setups, and send them to you so you can prepare.

These alerts give you time to set up your trades properly before the action starts.

Intraday Alerts happen during market hours when Smart Money flow demands immediate attention. Sometimes a setup develops so quickly that waiting until the next morning makes no sense.

These alerts show you real-time institutional positioning as it unfolds.

Both serve the same purpose: education through real examples. 

Neither should be treated as “buy now” signals.

How to Prepare with Pre-Market Alerts

Let me walk you through a real example from my OMEN service…

On Friday, August 4th, my pre-market watchlist included Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) September 12 $215 Calls.

When you see a setup you like on the pre-market watch list, you should have the following four steps done:

• The chart pulled up.
• Key levels marked.
• Limit orders set to trigger at the key price.
• Clear plan for profit-taking and stop-loss levels.

The best opportunities happen when pre-market watchlist names test key technical levels during the trading day…

How to Trade Intraday Alerts

Let me show you how I entered (and managed) the AAPL position.

I entered AAPL around 9:30 AM EST and sent this alert:

The chart had pulled back to the 21-day exponential moving average on the 15-minute chart, providing a great risk/reward entry point.

I shared the setup and my thinking in real-time so students could see exactly how I was managing the position.

Then, I continued to send updates as I scaled out of the trade over multiple days:

• First scale at $3.40 on 8/5 → +21.43%
• Second scale at $4.25 on 8/5 → +51.79%
• Third scale at $5.00 on 8/5 → +78.57%
• Fourth scale at $5.60 on 8/6 → +100.00%
• Fifth scale at $7.00 on 8/6 → +150.00%
• Sixth scale at $10.00 on 8/7 → +257.14%
• Seventh scale at $12.00 on 8/8 → +328.57%
• Final scale at $17.25 on 8/8 → +516.07%

From $2.80 to $17.25 — a 516% gain in five trading days.*

The intraday alerts showed both my entry logic (and my management strategy). 

But you won’t always catch my entry at the ideal moment…

What to Do When You Miss the Entry

Missing an alert entry doesn’t mean missing the entire opportunity.

The worst response? Chasing the move immediately.

The right response? Wait for the next logical entry point.

Using AAPL as an example: if you missed the $182.50 breakout, you could have waited for a pullback to $183.50. 

Sure enough, price came back, held that level, and ran higher again.

Instead of FOMO buying, ask yourself: “Where’s the next best entry point?”

For Pre-Market Alerts:

• Review the levels and setups before the market opens
• Set limit orders at key breakout levels
• Have your profit and stop-loss plan ready
• Don’t wait for real-time confirmation to act

For Intraday Alerts:

• Understand these show institutional activity in real-time
• Look for Smart Money flow confirmation
• Watch for clear support and resistance levels
• Use them to learn pattern recognition

When You Miss Entries:

• Never chase extended moves
• Wait for pullbacks to logical support levels
• Look for retest opportunities at former resistance
• Plan your trades ahead of time to avoid emotional reactions

These alerts serve one primary function: teaching you to recognize the highest-probability setups on your own.

Every alert shows you what to look for in the OMEN scanner, how Smart Money positioning affects price action, and why certain levels matter more than others.

My alerts will teach you how to fish. That way, you’ll be fed for a lifetime.

Happy trading,
Ben Sturgill

P.S. Want to learn how to execute trades like this?*

The best place to start is in our Smart Money Workshops.

You’re one click away from the best setups in the options market. 

Join us TODAY at 9:00 a.m. EST.

*Past performance does not indicate future results