Are Options as Risky as They Say? Let’s Find Out...

[Image] Happy Thursday! Here’s what’s going on in the world of smart money today! In today’s Dark Money Trades rundown: - 😱 2 common reasons people FEAR options trading (and why you shouldn’t listen to them) - 💰 2 interesting smart money bets from this morning - 🔫 Ben’s Bullets – 3 big ideas for the market this week 🚀 Dark Money Lesson: Why You Shouldn’t Be Afraid of Options Trading🎾 If there’s one thing I’ve learned throughout my career it’s that people with the right education — who take action and remain disciplined — can flourish into consistently winning options traders. But when I started trading options, I noticed there was some negative stigma around it. People would tell me that options trading was a recipe for disaster and that I should stick to buying boring index funds. However, after learning the game myself, I realized that these options-trading skeptics were dead wrong. It wasn’t that options trading was impossible, it was simply about getting the foundation required to succeed. So, if you’ve always wondered about trading options — but been discouraged by some of these naysayers — it’s time to pay attention. Let’s disprove some of the common reasons people avoid trading options… “Options Contracts are Depreciating Assets” The first point I usually hear from skeptics is that options contracts are depreciating assets that often expire worthless, whereas shares are good forever. While true, this is no reason to avoid trading options altogether. Consider this… Most traders fail. Most companies fail. Most athletes fail. I experienced the same sort of doubts during my basketball career… Very few people believed that I would make it as a professional athlete until I practiced my butt off to prove them wrong. Here’s the thing … with the high risk that comes with buying options, the possibility of HUGE REWARDS comes with it. In my opinion, this is a pretty even trade-off. Sure, my contracts can theoretically go to zero. But only if I mismanage the trade. “You Can Lose Money Faster with Options” I’ll often hear people say they won’t trade options because they’re afraid of losing money quickly. Yes, if you’re reckless and undisciplined, you can lose money a lot faster on short-dated options contracts than you can by trading common shares. This is because the potential single-day % moves are much greater for weekly options than any stocks in the market. But there’s a flip side to this coin… Because each options contract represents 100 shares of the underlying stock, the leverage on any upside is massive. This means you can potentially make 500%-1000% gains on weekly contracts. Again, it’s a trade-off… What stocks go 5x or 10x in a week? Only equally risky penny stocks. It all evens out in the end. The bottom line is this… If you want to open your trading up to these kinds of UNBELIEVABLE gains, you also have to expose yourself to an elevated level of risk. But, as I mentioned earlier, if you get the right education and stay disciplined, you can potentially rise above the 90% of traders who FAIL. Now, let’s move on to some of the juiciest smart-money bets I’m seeing today… 💰The Biggest Smart-Money Bets of the Week💰 🔴 $1.24 million bearish bet on SHOP NOV 3rd $45 puts @ $1.07 (seen on 11/1) Yesterday, my scanner caught an ENORMOUS $1.24 million bearish bet on Shopify Inc. (NYSE: SHOP). This is clearly an earnings play as the company reports tomorrow, November 2nd, one day before these contracts expire. At the time of writing, SHOP is trading for $47.66… This means that this trader is expecting the shares to drop more than 5.5% in the next two trading days. This is an ambitious bet, which is why it got my attention. Watch SHOP earnings closely tomorrow, particularly on the downside. 🔴 $4.5 million bearish bet on TTD NOV 17th $65 puts @ $2.88 (seen on 11/1) Now we’re gonna move along to one of the biggest smart-money bets I’ve seen in weeks… Someone put $4.5 million on the table, betting that Trade Desk Inc. (NASDAQ: TTD) is about to face some serious selling pressure. The company reports earnings next Thursday, November 9, and this trader thinks that TTD will drop more than 6% by the following Friday, November 17. There’s a little more time on this contract than most of the bets I highlight (two weeks), but the sheer size of the sweep is impossible for me to ignore. 🔫 Ben’s Bullets for the Week 3 interesting ideas I’m keeping an eye on in the market this week: - ABNB NOV 3rd $125 calls - AFRM NOV 3rd $17.50 puts - QCOM NOV 3rd $103 puts Earnings season is in full swing, traders! I know this can be a confusing time for options trading… But if you follow the smart money and stay disciplined, the sky’s the limit! Have a great week, and I’ll catch you tomorrow! 📈 - Ben Sturgill P.S. Missed the live FOMC event yesterday? You’re in luck… [CLICK HERE NOW]( to see how hedge fund legend Jeff Zananiri and pro trader Rob Booker are using precision timing to take advantage of this unusual market volatility!   66 West Flagler Street STE 900 Miami, Florida 33130 United States [Click Here to Unsubscribe]( **Our gurus teach skills others have used to make money. Any results displayed are extraordinary and are not typical and will vary from person to person. For more info read our [Earning Claims Disclosure]( About: Making money trading stocks takes time, dedication, and hard work. My goal is to teach you how I have succeeded in the market, but you may not achieve my results. Remember, there are risks involved with investing, including the potential loss of money. 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