This month has been especially volatile, with two major market drops shaking things up.
Market Drops: What Caused Them?
Early August (around August 1): Market volatility was triggered by concerns over renewed U.S. tariffs and rate policy uncertainty. Historically, August is one of the weakest months for equities, with corrective stretches being common during this period.
Mid-August (around August 20): The tech-heavy Nasdaq experienced a sharp 2.2% decline over two days, driven by renewed fears about overexposure to AI. The sell-off was about weak earnings and the skepticism regarding the sustainability of tech megacaps’ valuations.Reuters
My Hedge Activity & Results
On August 20, 2025, in response to a cut-loss contract closure, I initiated additional trades to further reduce downside exposure.
Noticed the realisation of the premium increased fast during the quick drop of the underlying share. I close 3 sell call on the same day.
A quick summary on trades closed till the 3rd week of Aug’25:
19 trades closed till 3rd week of August’25
📝 Observations
Losses were contained – despite 2 forced cut-loss exits, overall win rate stayed strong at 84%.
Volatility management was key – sudden market drops forced earlier exits and additional hedging.
Short-duration spreads (some less than 5 days) worked well for quick profits (e.g., NVDA, PLTR).
I’VE COMPLETED 32 TRADES SO FAR USING A MIX OF BASIC OPTIONS STRATEGIES
Sell Put – to collect premium with the intention to buy at a lower price
Bull Put Spread – a more defined-risk strategy for bullish-to-neutral market
Bear Call Spread – a more defined-risk strategy for bearish-to-neutral market
A quick summary on trades closed from May’25 till now:
Snapshot taken on 25 July 2025Snapshot taken on 1st Aug 2025 after closing 4 more trades during the final week of July25
Slowly scaled up the capital allocation for this strategy.
Over the past few months, I’ve been experimenting with the Bull Put Spread options strategy I learned from a paid course. To manage risk while building confidence, I started by allocating only a small percentage of my portfolio to test the strategy in real market conditions. As I became more familiar with the setup, execution, and outcomes, I gradually increased the capital used—aiming for better returns while still keeping risk in check.
OUTCOME:
So far, I’m maintaining ~90 % win rate on my closed trades so far. My focus remains on discipline, consistency and risk management.
I’m still logging each trade and refining the criteria of selecting options for trading. If the win rate stays consistent, I’ll share the full rules, filters, and exit strategy. For now, I’m still adding criteria to fine-tune the setup.
The next results will be updated in a month later to give myself more time to focus on completing my course while continuing to trade.
I’ve completed 17 trades SO FAR using a mix of basic options strategies
Sell Put – to collect premium with the intention to buy at a lower price
Bull Put Spread – a more defined-risk strategy for bullish-to-neutral market
Bear Call Spread – a more defined-risk strategy for bearish-to-neutral market
A quick summary on trades closed from May’25 till now:
🎯 My goal isn’t to “hold until expiry” — it’s to manage risk and secure consistent profit where possible
Please refer back to my post earlier for the reason why I closed the trades before expiry.
💰 Outcome (Made 1st Loss):
So far, I’m maintaining a 94.12 % win rate on my closed trades so far. My focus remains on discipline, consistency and risk management.
This week, I recorded my first official loss in my options journey — a bear call spread on SOXL. it is the Direxion Daily Semiconductor Bull 3X Shares ETF. It aims to deliver 3 times the daily performance of the Semiconductor Sector Index. I placed this trade expecting SOXL to stay below my short strike, based on what I thought was a clear resistance level and overbought signals. However, I didn’t expect momentum strength in a leveraged ETF like SOXL.
Going forward, I’ll focus on more stable underlyings instead of high-volatility, leveraged ETFs like SOXL — especially those with 3x daily movement that can quickly flip a trade against us.
For now, I’m continuing to log each trade and refine my system quietly behind the scenes. As promised earlier, if this win rate continues to hold over the next few months, I’ll share a detailed breakdown of the exact rules, trade filters, and exit strategies I’m using. For now, I am still adding criteria to refine the filters.
Starting now, the results will be updated monthly to give me more time to focus on completing my course while continuing to trade.
I’ve completed 15 trades SO FAR using a mix of basic options strategies
Sell Put – to collect premium with the intention to buy at a lower price
Bull Put Spread – a more defined-risk strategy for bullish-to-neutral market
Bear Call Spread – a more defined-risk strategy for bearish-to-neutral market
A quick summary for this week as below:
Options Contract Closed / Expired so far till the first week of July’25.
🎯 My goal isn’t to “hold until expiry” — it’s to manage risk and secure consistent profit where possible
Please refer back to my post earlier for the reason why I closed the trades before expiry.
💰 Outcome (Still maintaining 100% Win rate so far):
So far, I’m maintaining a 100% win rate on my closed trades. My focus remains on discipline, consistency and risk management.
For now, I’m continuing to log each trade and refine my system quietly behind the scenes. As promised earlier, if this win rate continues to hold over the next few months, I’ll share a detailed breakdown of the exact rules, trade filters, and exit strategies I’m using to maintain it. For now, I am still adding criteria to refine the filters.
I’ve completed 14 trades using a mix of basic options strategies
Sell Put – to collect premium with the intention to buy at a lower price
Bull Put Spread – a more defined-risk strategy for bullish-to-neutral market
Bear Call Spread – a more defined-risk strategy for bearish-to-neutral market
This week, I’m shifting the format slightly. Instead of presenting trades by expiry date or premium realized, I’m simply listing the contracts that were closed or expired in May and June’25.
Options Contract Closed / Expired in May’25 and June’25
Some of the trades I entered were initially set to expire in July, but I chose to close them early in June. Here’s why:
📌 Why I Closed Early:
Profit target reached: If a trade hits 60–80% of its max profit early, I prefer to close and lock it in. No point holding and risking reversal.
Market outlook changed: Geopolitical tensions (like the recent Iran-Iraq news) and sudden volatility made some setups less favorable, specifically on MARA (Marathon Digital Holdings). I decided to close the position early as I wasn’t confident in predicting MARA’s short-term direction with all the volatility driven by geopolitical news and Bitcoin price swings, I preferred to cut the trade early rather than risk unnecessary loss. Hence, I closed it immediately when realizing only 3.32% premium.
Capital rotation: Freeing up buying power early allows me to rotate into better opportunities or layer into new setups.
🎯 My goal isn’t to “hold until expiry” — it’s to manage risk and secure consistent profit where possible
💰 Outcome (Still maintaining 100% Win rate so far):
So far, I’m maintaining a 100% win rate on my closed trades. While it’s still early in the journey, this strong start is a result of sticking to well-defined setups, sizing trades conservatively, and taking profits early rather than holding for max gain.That said, I know the market won’t always be this forgiving — so I’m not getting overconfident. My focus remains on discipline, consistency and risk management.
📌 If this win rate continues to hold over the next few months, I’ll share a detailed breakdown of the exact rules, trade filters, and exit strategies I’m using to maintain it.
For now, I’m continuing to log each trade and refine my system quietly behind the scenes. More to come as the data builds.
Closing another 2 Options contracts before expiry:
Trade #10: NVDA– BEAR CALL SPREAD (Closed in one week instead of two after realizing >72% of the expected profit)
Trade Placed: June 12, 2025
Original Expiry: June 27, 2025
Number of Contact: 1
Leg 1 – Buy Call
Strike Price:$157.50
Premium Paid: $0.56 * 100 = $56 per contract
Leg 2 – Sell Call
Strike Price: $152.50
Premium Received: $1.24 * 100 = $124 per contract
Total Commission: $2.81
Net Premium Received: ($124– $56) – $2.81 = $65.19 (on expiry)
I closed it earlier by selling and buying back the BUY PUT and SELL PUT respectively
Closed Early: June 20, 2025
Leg 1 – Buy Call
Sell the call bought at $0.08 option price by receiving $8
Leg 2 – Sell Call
Buy back the sold call at $0.23 option price by paying $23
Total Commission: $2.81
Net Premium Paid: ($8 – $23) – $2.81 = -$17.81
Hence, instead of earning the full $36.16 on expiry, I took a small gain by paying back $22.84 to close the option contract. The net gain is $65.19 – $17.81= $47.38
Trade #11: LYFT– BEAR CALL SPREAD (Closed in one week instead of two after realizing >72% of the expected profit)
Trade Placed: May 29, 2025
Original Expiry: July 28, 2025
Number of Contact: 1
Leg 1 – Buy Call
Strike Price:$17
Premium Paid: $0.84 * 100 = $84 per contract
Leg 2 – Sell Call
Strike Price: $16
Premium Received: $1.28 * 100 = $128 per contract
Total Commission: $2.81
Net Premium Received: ($128– $84) – $2.81 = $41.19 (on expiry)
I closed it earlier by selling and buying back the BUY PUT and SELL PUT respectively
Closed Early: June 20, 2025
Leg 1 – Buy Call
Sell at $0.11 option price by receiving $11
Leg 2 – Sell Call
Buy at $0.26 option price by paying $26
Total Commission: $2.81
Net Premium Paid: ($11 – $26) – $2.81 = -$17.81
Hence, instead of earning the full $36.16 on expiry, I took a small gain by paying back $22.84 to close the option contract. The net gain is $41.19 – $17.81= $23.38
📊 Summary of Closed Trades (So Far – #1 – 11)
So far, I’ve completed 11 trades using a mix of basic options strategies. Here’s a quick summary of what I’ve tested:
✅ Strategies Used:
Sell Put – to collect premium with the intention to buy at a lower price
Bull Put Spread – a more defined-risk strategy for bullish-to-neutral market
Bear Call Spread – a more defined-risk strategy for bearish-to-neutral market
💰 Outcome (100% Win rate so far):
All trades closed with small but positive profits, which is encouraging. While the gains aren’t huge, that’s completely fine.
Summary of the 9 contract closed so far (in USD): The second last column indicates the percentage of my expected target.
The table above shows the expected premium received (blue bar) on Staggered Expiry Dates vs the actual premium received (green bar). If the green bar shows lower return than the blue bar, it means one or more contracts for that expected expiry date had been closed earlier. If the contract is expired with profits, both the bars will show same profit return.
Note: Future expiry date shown in the chart means the contract has been closed as of now before its expiry.
Visualizing the Call Option with a Simple Profit/Loss Chart
To make things clearer, let’s look at a simple profit-loss chart for both the buyer and seller of a call option. This helps show how each position behaves as the stock price changes. I have taken some screenshots from the trading app today. Let me also touch a bit on how to choose buy or sell put option from the Moomoo app.
First, search for the stock. I use MARA as an example here.
Click on Option button at the bottom of the page. Click in call to focus only on the chain data for call option. [Screenshot 1]
Select the expiry date, I choose 44 days for this example.[Screenshot 2] Note: for buyer, always choose expiry more than 30 days because the option price will usually drop fast when the contract has less than 30 days close to expiry
Buying a call option means you are bullish about the stock. Place the strike price near the current price ($177.23). I choose $170.00 as the strike price in this example. Note:
The buyer hopes the price will go up by expiry and he may exercise the option by buying 100 shares at the strike price, the profit can be unlimited depending on how high the share price can go.
In case the price goes lower than the strike price, you will not want to buy the shares and you will loss the total premium you paid.
Since you are the buyer, look for the ask price (the price seller is willing to offer to sell). [Screenshot 3]
Ask Price (or the mid price) shares $4.975 x 100 = $497.50 is the total premium you need to pay. This is the maximum loss for the buyer.
Screenshot 1
Screenshot 2
Screenshot 3
The seller at the same time is bullish about the stock, he receives premium from the buyer ($4.975 x 100 = $497.50 premium)
If the share price goes above the strike price, the buyer will not exercise his rights to sell shares. In this case, the premium will be the maximum profit made by the seller.
However, if the share price goes down and buyer wants to exercise his rights to sell share at the strike price, the seller needs to buy 100 shares at $170 per share to the buyer. The seller will have unlimited loss depending on how low the share price can go.
Below is the profit / loss chart for both the buyer and seller. They are exact opposites of each other. Take awhile to look at the max profit and max loss.
Buy Call
Sell Call
The breakeven:
The buyer don’t start making profit immediately when the share price goes a little below the strike price. Don’t forget about the premium paid ($4.975), this needs to be included in the profit/loss calculation. So, the buyer will only earn when the price goes lower than $170.00 (strike price) – $4.975 (premium) = $165.025. This is the breakeven.
The same breakeven is applicable to the seller in the opposite way because seller receives premium from the buyer. The seller will start losing when the share price goes below $165.025 (not when it goes lower than the strike price which us $170 in this case)
“Image generated using Freepik AI tools and used in accordance with Freepik’s free license terms.”
📈 What Is a Put Option?
From the buyer point of view:
A Put Option gives you the right to sell 100 shares of a stock at a specific price (the strike price) before the expiration date.
You pay a premium upfront for this right.
❌ If the stock price stays above the strike price, you just let the option expire. Your maximum loss is the premium you paid.
✅ If the stock price goes below the strike price, you can exercise the option — and sell your shares at the higher strike price, making a profit.
A Put Option Seller (also called a put writer) agrees to buy the stock at the strike price if the buyer chooses to exercise the option.
In exchange, the seller receives the premium — this is their maximum profit.
❗ If the stock price crashes, the seller might be forced to buy shares at a much higher strike price, even though the market price is much lower. In short, the seller earns limited reward (premium) but takes on higher risk if the trade moves against them.
RISK!!!
Selling naked put options is risky if you’re not ready to buy the stock.
DON’T EVER SELL NAKED PUT OPTIONS!!! “Naked” means you’re selling the option without holding the shares or cash to cover it.
📦 One Option = 100 Shares
Remember!!! When you enter 1 Option contract, it represents 100 shares of a stock. So if the premium is $2, it means you pay or receive $2 × 100 = $200 premium as the buyer or seller respectively.
🎟 Simple Example
Let’s say:
A stock is trading at $50
You buy a Put Option with a $50 strike price
You pay a $3 premium → total cost: $3 × 100 = $300
Now two things can happen, the stock price can go up or down:
📈 Stock Stays Above $50
Buyer won’t execute the option
Buyer Loss = $300 premium paid
Seller Profit = $300 premium collected — no shares bought
Seller Loss = Must buy stock at $50 while market price is $40 → ($10 loss − $3 premium received) × 100 = −$700 (If the seller intends to buy share at this low target price, he / she will not mind buying the share at the low price, just need to ensure that you are selling put options for fundamentally good company)
💡 Why Use Put Options?
Protects your stock from falling prices (like insurance)
Lets you short a stock (profit from drops) with limited risk
Sellers can earn income while waiting to buy stocks they like-> ✅✅✅✅✅I personally sell put option for this purpose.
Buyers can secure a selling price even if the market crashes
Before diving into the full summary, let’s have the quick update on Trade #8 & #9.
Trade #8: MARA– BULL PUT SPREAD (Expired with some loss of profit due to a mistake made)
Strategy: Bull Put Spread
Trade Placed: May 15, 2025
Original Expiry: June 13, 2025
Number of Contact: 1
Leg 1 – Buy Put
Strike Price:$0.12
Premium Paid: $11 per contract
Leg 2 – Sell Put
Strike Price: $0.35
Premium Received: $13 per contract
Total Commission: $2.84
Net Premium Received: ($35 – $12) – $2.84 = $20.16 (on expiry)
I accidentally closed one the buy leg by buying back, I then resold one leg to re-establish back the bull-put spread strategy and waited till expiry. The original expected premium has been reduced to $14.74 instead of the original $20.16
Trade #9: LYFT– BEAR CALL SPREAD (Expired with full profit)
Strategy: Bear Put Spread
Trade Placed: May 29, 2025
Original Expiry: June 13, 2025
Number of Contact: 1
Leg 1 – Buy Call
Strike Price:$16.50
Premium Paid: $11 per contract
Leg 2 – Sell Call
Strike Price: $17.50
Premium Received: $27 per contract
Total Commission: $2.84
Net Premium Received: ($27– $11) – $2.84 = $13.19 (on expiry)
📊 Summary of Closed Trades (So Far – #1 – 9)
So far, I’ve completed 9 trades using a mix of basic options strategies. Here’s a quick summary of what I’ve tested:
✅ Strategies Used:
Sell Put – to collect premium with the intention to buy at a lower price
Bull Put Spread – a more defined-risk strategy for bullish-to-neutral market
Bear Call Spread – a more defined-risk strategy for bearish-to-neutral market
💰 Outcome (100% Win rate so far):
All trades closed with small but positive profits, which is encouraging. While the gains aren’t huge, that’s completely fine.
Summary of the 9 contract closed so far (in USD): The second last column indicates the percentage of my expected target.
The table above shows the expected premium received (blue bar) on Staggered Expiry Dates vs the actual premium received (green bar). If the green bar shows lower return than the blue bar, it means one or more contracts for that expected expiry date had been closed earlier. If the contract is expired with profits, both the bars will show same profit return.
Note: one expiry date can have more than one contract.
After some time exploring the world of options trading, I’ve decided to implement a structured routine that helps me trade consistently and improve gradually — without overtrading or getting emotional. My current goal is simple:
🎯 Close $100 in profit per week by buying options with staggered expiry dates — ensuring at least one contract expires each week.
I’ll be updating this blog every weekend with my trade summary and reflections — wins, losses, and lessons included.
Rules and Commitments for myself:
Staggered Expiry Dates Ensures I am not overexposed to one expiration week. It spreads out risk and keeps a consistent flow of activity.
Weekly Closing Goal Targeting $100 per week is realistic for small accounts (e.g., $2k–$5k capital). It forces discipline and avoid overtrading.
Routine Structure Having specific days for screening, buying, monitoring, and reviewing reduces emotional decision-making.
Built-in Reflection & Adjustment Weekly blogging/logging for self-review, for improving.
🛠 Tools I’m Using
Type
Tool Name
Usage Description
Charting & Analysis
ChartNexus
For technical analysis, drawing setups
Broker Platform
Moomoo App *Tiger Trade (for bot trading only)
For placing trades, reviewing option chains, and managing open positions
Trade Logging
Google Sheets
To log each trade’s entry/exit, profit/loss, notes, and track weekly performance (on Options only)
Reflection & Sharing
This Blog (running on WordPress)
To document weekly results, track progress, reflect strategy used
This routine is my attempt to turn trading into a weekly ‘business‘, not a random gamble. It’s a mix of structure, learning, and personal growth — and I’ll share everything I learn, whether it’s a win or a tough loss.
If you’re building a routine of your own, feel free to follow along or share your approach. Let’s grow together.
Until next weekend — Stay consistent. Stay curious. Trade small.
Summarize It My Way 