Good morning, traders…

I’m sure you’ve heard that “90% of traders lose money.”

This might strike fear into the hearts of many aspiring traders.

I get it. I wouldn’t take an individual trade with a 10% chance of success.

But that’s not what this is.

This stat doesn’t mean trading is an unwinnable lottery. It means most people approach trading the wrong way.

I’ve been trading options for 22 years now. I’ve taught hundreds of traders. I’ve watched people succeed (and I’ve watched people blow up accounts). 

And after two decades of observing this pattern, I can tell you exactly why that 90% fail.

It comes down to four specific reasons. 

Four concrete, fixable mistakes that separate the 10% who make consistent profits from the 90% who don’t.

If you’re reading this and you’ve struggled with consistency, then it’s time to pay attention. 

These four reasons explain why your last few trades didn’t work, why you keep giving back gains, and why that setup that looked perfect on Friday fell apart by Tuesday.

Fix these mistakes, and you’ll improve your odds of success … immediately.

These are the 4 main reasons traders lose money…

Reason #1: They Don’t Have a Plan

Out of everyone who trades on planet Earth, how many write down a game plan before entering a position?

I’d guess about 10%. It’s not a coincidence that the same % of traders make money consistently.

SPOILER ALERT: They’re the same traders. 

Most “traders” (I hesitate to even call them that) don’t have a plan. That’s why they lose. 

When I was playing professional basketball, we ran scrimmages as a team to memorize our plays. 

We did it every day, over and over again, until the entire playbook was ingrained in every one of our brains.

Your trading plan is your playbook. Having one is the difference between being a bad pick-up basketball player and being Michael Jordan. 

Every trade plan should include:

• Ticker
• Entry time and exit time
• Entry share price and exit share price
• % Gained/Lost
• Volume
• Market cap
• Charts
• Catalyst
• General Notes

Add a separate section for options columns:

• Expiration date
• Contract price
• Call or Put
• Option Volume
• Open Interest
• ‘The Greeks’ – delta, gamma, theta, and vega

Without a plan, you’re improvising. 

Remember you’re a trader, not Miles Davis. 

Reason #2: They Don’t Set Stop Losses

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen traders on social media posting a trade down 99%. Or worse, an entire account destroyed.

Why? Because most “traders” don’t even set stop losses.

They watch their positions bleed all the way to zero as if they’re powerless to do anything about it.

Don’t be like these people. 

You need to automatically close losing trades at a certain price so the position doesn’t wreck your whole account.

If you don’t manage risk, one bad day can take you out of the game…

But if you set stop losses on every trade, you’ll never take an account-ruining loss.

Reason #3: They Don’t Study Outside of Trading

Markets coalesce news, finance, human psychology, global affairs, geopolitics, and much more to form the big picture. 

The best traders in the world are genuinely interested (and incredibly well-researched) in all of the topics I just listed. 

You can’t take shortcuts. To win in trading, you need to:

• Understand how markets work: this part’s obvious.
  
• Read the news daily: if you don’t know what’s happening in the world, current events will catch you off-guard (and potentially ruin your trades).
  
• Stay curious: looking for that elusive piece of the narrative (or that developing setup) that the rest of the market is sleeping on. 

Reason #4: They Overtrade (and Revenge Trade)

Most people just trade way too much. 

When they’re winning, they feel invincible. They think it’s time to “press their edge.” 

That’s textbook overtrading. 

When they’re losing, they think they need to claw it back, to “trade their way out” of the hole. 

That’s textbook revenge trading. 

Both practices almost always end in disaster.

How much trading is too much? 

You’re not overtrading if:

• You wait for setups that check all your boxes.
  
• You follow your rules (even when it’s hard).
  
• You don’t change your plan or get emotional during big wins and losses.

I’ve taught thousands of people about the stock market. 

These are the four problems I see time and time again, student after student. 

If any of these issues sound familiar, stop what you’re doing and take a step back.

Only work on fixing that one aspect of your trading until you’re no longer making the mistake.

Do that, and you won’t be a part of the 90% who lose…

You’ll be part of the 10% who win.

Happy trading,

Ben Sturgill

*Past performance does not indicate future results