Good morning, tradersâŠ
I recently talked about the importance of specificity in trading.
But there are so many tickers, strikes, and expirations out there that it can feel daunting to choose.
Thatâs why I trade the way I do.
I donât guess.
That means tracking the moves of big institutional players and selecting my trades based on what theyâre doing.
Not because theyâre always right, but because they usually know something I donât.
Institutional traders have resources that retail traders donât. Theyâve got analysts, algorithms, private research, inside access to earnings calls, and teams of people pouring over data all day long.
They move millions with a level of confidence that comes from knowing something most of us canât see. And whether we like it or not, they also trade on non-public information.
But I donât need access to that same information. I donât need to break any laws. I just need to see where their money is going.
I want that edge. I want their unfair advantage. And thatâs where my OMEN Scanner comes in.
The scanner is specifically designed to pick up on trades that are big, bold, and unusual â exactly the kind that smart money tends to make.
When those show up, I stop what Iâm doing and pay attention.
But on any given day, my scanner will have hundreds of trades on it. How do you choose which ones are worth trading?
Stop guessing. Hereâs the exact criteria I look for in every Smart Money setupâŠ
Unusual Tickers, Strikes, or Expirations
First and foremost, Iâm looking for âout of the ordinaryâ bets.
If you see a name on the scanner that youâve never seen before, thatâs worth noting. It usually signals brand-new, unusual bets coming into a stock.
On the flip side, Apple and Nvidia contracts are so common, itâs hard to put too much confidence behind a single Smart Money bet in those names.
But if the bet is on a very far-out-of-the-money strike price, or a very near-dated expiration, that sweep is worth more attention (because it implies the urgency of the bet).
Huge Size, Short Timeframes
Next, size and timing.
A six-figure sweep expiring in a day means the trader believes that move is going to happen quickly.
The urgency tells me the Smart Money is serious about the bet. I pay more attention to that than a similar trade that doesnât expire for months.
Start looking for the relationship between the expiration date, size, and current date. You might find some very intriguing breadcrumbs left by huge Wall Street tradersâŠ
Temporary Information Advantage
By definition, the market is âinefficient.â There are brief windows where one group knows something before the rest catch up.
If I see a large, aggressive order flowing into something like a .40 delta call, thereâs usually a reason for it.
The Smart Money knows somethingâŠ
I donât need to know the reason, I just need to recognize that Iâve got a small window to act while others are still in the dark.
Thatâs why I follow the Smart Money. Not because I want to copy them trade for trade, but because I want to think like them, act when they act, and stay focused on setups with real edge.
Follow the money. Track the data.
Let the pros do the hard work, and use it to your advantage.
Happy trading,
Ben Sturgill
P.S. You donât need a fancy setup.
You donât need a bunch of âalgosâ and âindicators.â
You donât need to spend all day watching charts.
And you donât need a lot of money.
All you need is a working phone, internet connection, and a trading accountâŠ
And you could begin targeting gains up to 20%… 39%… 100%… 148%… 200%… and even 300%…*
*Past performance does not indicate future results
