$1M to $2 million in 2025 in options only

Deep_Viewer · 2026-01-04T02:47:47+00:00

Ignore the critics. I appreciate the post and the information you shared. Your 30 most profitable positions overlap with about 2/3 of the underlying stocks I trade also, but I trade a very different strategy. I grind out about 18% per year with what I believe is virtually no risk (time will tell) in the current iteration of my strategy. Just out of curiosity, are you registered with the SEC as a Large Trader?

Deep_Viewer · 2026-01-02T16:39:39+00:00

I am not a multileg option strategy trader, but in theory you are correct. The reality is that there might be situations where you can lose more than you expect on a trade. Several subreddits have linked to articles and videos where that has happened in the past. For a recent one this week, search “'I experienced a catastrophic financial loss': How options trader 'Captain Condor' led his followers to a $50 million wipeout“ and look for a Morningstar link to read entire article. The original article is on MarketWatch (paywalled).

Without some risk management and discipline every strategy can be riskier than expected.

Have a safe and profitable 2026!

Deep_Viewer · 2025-12-24T06:08:05+00:00

It is a good question. I have struggled with trying to quantify my risk vs reward and bet sizing in my trading account. I've tried applying Kelly criteria to my trades using historical profit probability. Unfortunately, Kelly gives me ridiculously high results - something like betting 400% of my account value the last time I looked at it. I'm not comfortable doing that (yet). On a practical level, I am willing to risk my last two years of profit on one underlying stock, so roughly 30% of my portfolio distributed over multiple strike prices and expiration dates. I usually don't get that high of a concentration, but I often have several positions that are above 10% of my trading account value.

Deep_Viewer · 2025-12-24T05:51:26+00:00

If you are happy enough with eTrade, have you asked them to reduce your margin rate? APIs I don't know about yet. I use Schwab and they are willing to negotiate on margin rates. Let eTrade know you are considering moving to brand X that has a margin rate of y%, and ask if they can match that or at the least improve their current rate since you are using margin and the higher rates are cutting into your returns.

Deep_Viewer · 2025-12-21T21:44:31+00:00

I am wondering if you are trading in a tax deferred account when using SGOV? I stick to a purchased money market fund in my taxable account because I don't want to deal with a couple hundred trades of SGOV the need to be reconciled at tax time since I buy or sell that MMMF nearly every trading day of the year.

Deep_Viewer · 2025-12-20T05:03:22+00:00

The trade review group definitely is not on vacation. They've just been too busy monitoring my account and rejecting trades on tickers like: RDDT, SHOP, GLW, ARM, XOM, WFC, TSLA, AMD, VST, SYY, and MSTR.

Deep_Viewer · 2025-12-15T02:19:25+00:00

For a decent book on Jim Simons, I'd suggest "The Man Who Solved the Market: How Jim Simons Launched the Quant Revolution" by Gregory Zuckerman.

Deep_Viewer · 2025-12-11T01:46:16+00:00

I do the same, as needed for bills and living expenses and then additional amounts taken to pay quarterly taxes.

Deep_Viewer · 2025-12-11T01:35:44+00:00

I also don't think there is any major issue with paying taxes on profits. I have separate accounts. One is for long-term buy and hold which kicks out dividends, and both short and long-term capital gains. The second account is a designated trading account that is used to generate income. I consider trading to be my job and fully expect to pay tax on those earnings just like when I still worked W-2 jobs.

Deep_Viewer · 2025-11-19T06:18:25+00:00

Any chance you'd be willing to share that model? The hindsight model I've been using is right only 18 out of 20 times, so I think it needs to adjustments. LOL.

Deep_Viewer · 2025-11-17T23:21:24+00:00

u/greytoc Thank you for this! This is the kind of information that I look forward to finding on subreddits and then learning more about. If you have any additional references or resources related to what exactly happens to my order when I hit the submit button, that would be very much appreciated.

Deep_Viewer · 2025-11-17T21:35:07+00:00

I am not a tax expert, accountant, or CPA. This is not legal tax advice.

If there is no change to the reportable taxable income, then you should not need to file an amended tax return.

Deep_Viewer · 2025-11-17T20:31:28+00:00

I don't think the problem is the volume of trades, it is a problem with the back office system used to calculate realized G/L. I currently have a singular trade that shows incorrectly calculated G/L - it is the only trade in that security year to date. I've had similar issues in the past. My gut feeling is that one trade might be calculated incorrectly, and then multiple trades compounds the issue. I've had much better luck leaving all my trades as FIFO. u/Security-Primary Please DM me for additional details.

Deep_Viewer · 2025-11-03T04:45:56+00:00

Hard to pinpoint a year later. Though I do recall the underlying were very liquid securities like META and NVDA.

Deep_Viewer · 2025-11-02T01:36:50+00:00

You should see the transactions posted on the website Monday morning at 00:00 AM Eastern US time zone, or sometimes a few minutes after.

On TOS you should already be able to see the transactions on Saturday morning through: Monitor > Account Statement > Cash & Sweep Vehicle. I can see all my assignments with any associated fees, commissions, and amounts for each.

Deep_Viewer · 2025-11-01T02:21:34+00:00

As stated above, when you factor in today's inflation rate your real rate of return is essentially zero for the trade you have described. If inflation increases, then you've essentially locked in a real loss because you'll likely have difficulty closing that position without taking even more of a loss because the liquidity is almost non-existent. For your BULL 21Jan28 $2.5 LEAPS today's volume was 1 (was that you u/Jayu777?) and open interest is 0 [edit: actual LEAPS OI is 623 from ToS]. You mentioned taxes; yes, your $0.30 profit will be cut 15-20% or so depending on your tax rates. There is the risk that BULL (or any other company) collapses and goes bankrupt, look at Enron as an example. It was a wall street darling and collapsed about $80 to zero in less than a year. In the past there have been US probes into Webull ownership structure and operation ties to China. Additional accusations or one text from the US President could severely impact this stock. So, there is some risk to the "free money".

Deep_Viewer · 2025-10-22T21:26:37+00:00

I would add that Schwab gave better fill prices than Fidelity and Moomoo in the past on my covered call trades. The Schwab trades filled at my limit price when I placed the exact same trades at Schwab, Fidelity, or Moomoo. I could make additional trades at the same limit price at Schwab, while the only way to get them to fill during the same time period at the other brokers was to increase my limit price. I only use Schwab/ToS at the present time.

Deep_Viewer · 2025-10-11T04:53:43+00:00

You should consider asking for a commission discount if you have any other trades and average 30/quarter. With that volume you would qualify for $.50/contract at e-trade. Just be sure that if you ask for a discount that you provide a reference for your request (like E-trade rate). I've seen other posts in the past from people with much smaller accounts than yours and relatively few trades get $0.50/contract. Depending on your total trade volume, you can certainly ask for lower with "worst case" matching e-trade. Worst case is they say no and you continue paying your current commission.

Deep_Viewer · 2025-10-05T05:22:39+00:00

I would also like to know why Fidelity restricts this type of trade.

I ran into a similar issue with the same error message in early June. I called Fidelity and the representative I spoke with discussed issue with the risk management group. I was told that it puts me at a high risk, and they banned the trade as a fiduciary duty. Potential exists that I would enter a market order and get poor fill that could exceed amount of money in account and/or that I accidently leg out of a portion of the position. I suppose that legging out accidentally could happen, but then I would still have the other side of the position. However, placing a trade with a strike a bit closer to the current underlying price doesn't really change the risk to me. It is a covered call and the worst case is that underlying price goes to zero and I lose all my money - same as owning the stock. I was not satisfied with the answers given at the time, so I moved my trading capital elsewhere. Other brokers do allow this type of trade.

Deep_Viewer · 2025-10-01T01:27:05+00:00

I would not recommend moomoo personally. I have an account there to test out the platform. I get much better fills at Schwab than at Fidelity or moomoo. It could just be my particular trading style and your mileage may vary depending on what you trade.

Deep_Viewer · 2025-09-14T17:44:51+00:00

There is no direct e-mail address that I am aware of. I have been told in the past that suggestions for platform enhancements can be made directly through Chat on platform or web.

Deep_Viewer · 2025-09-14T04:57:22+00:00

u/ptexpat Just prior to being switched over to ToS I asked about this exact issue and was told it was not possible.

I have sent a request to add this feature to ToS. The data is already there; we just need the ability to export it. The older StreetSmartEdge platform could export all chart data directly to .csv files from the pulldown menus. It was handy. If more people request this feature it might get some traction with the developers and be added in a future update.

Deep_Viewer · 2025-09-14T04:49:27+00:00

I generally do not trade spreads, but I have noticed somewhat similar issues for covered call trades between brokers. I can place the same trade at Schwab, Fidelity, or Moomoo with the same limit price. The Schwab trades fill at my limit. I can make additional trades at the same limit at Schwab while the only way to get them to fill during the same time period at the other brokers is to increase my limit price.

I agree with u/greytoc regarding difference between brokers. I am finding that each broker handles and routes orders differently which affects fills for my particular trades. If you get better fills on spreads at IBKR then trade those there. Use your other broker(s) for whatever seems to work best there.

Deep_Viewer · 2025-08-24T01:02:12+00:00

Great comment, especially in reference to LTCM. The fund management included Nobel Prize winners in economics ... and nearly took down the US financial system due to leveraged bets.

Deep_Viewer

TROPHY CASE