Hello all!

[akroma]

Hi all,

I just made my account after reading through some of the content on the website. So far I like what I see. I am a fairly independent thinker and don't take anything at face value, so I resonate with a lot that I have read on here so far. I used to be a professional poker player until I decided to switch careers when COVID hit. I had been burnt out on poker for a while and this was the perfect nudge to change directions. What I loved most about playing poker is dealing with probabilities. My favourite book to this day is Fooled by randomness (and the sequels), which I am sure most of you have read. 

I had been investing my poker winnings for the largest part of my career and I plan on maintaining that long term portfolio. As a part of my investing I decided to take a better look at options as I already knew they could improve my results. So I started writing puts on stocks I wanted to own anyways. That got me interested in options even more so I started watching youtube (admittedly, probably not the best source of knowledge) and bought a lot of books I could find on the topic. Some better than others (and some terrible). Here is a list of what I have read so far, maybe you all have some suggestios for further reading for me?

- Options trading for beginners - Rich Bond (Terrible book, waste of money imo) 

- The 3 best option strategies for beginners - Freeman publications (Not as bad as the previous book but not very good either) 

- How to price and trade options - Al Sherbin (Mostly seems like a good book to me, with my very limited knowledge)

- Option volatility and pricing - Sheldon Natenberg (not read yet)

- Options as a strategic investment - Lawrence Mcmillan (not read yet)

I am looking to learn a lot more about options and hopefully either supplement my income, or, in a best case scenario, make it my full time job. I loved the freedom as a poker player and I would love to regain it if possible. 

However, I would want to be sure that I could actually make it as a professional before dropping my job and income. So my first question is, how realistic is it to expect to be a profitable trader, making above market returns, putting in say 10-15 hours a week? 

Another question I had is: I see the steadyoptions course is currently closed for new members, how long is the waiting list and how long do new members usually have to wait before a spot opens for them? Also what limits the number of members?  

Thanks a lot in advance!

Akroma

PS: Feel free to ask me anything you want to know

[Kim]

Hello Akroma,

Regrading books - please take a look: Recommended reading

The list is not updated, but it's a good start.

Before dropping your day job, I would make sure that 1) you are consistently profitable for at least 2-3 years) 2) you are well capitalized.

SteadyOptions periodically closes to new members to make sure we provide the best customer service to the existing members.

[akroma]

Thank you for your reply Kim!

I am definitely not looking to go pro anytime soon. I became a pro poker player only after I was basically already there organically. I also do not expect this to happen overnight. I think poker professionals might be the closest profession to professional traders, so I think I have a decent idea of what it takes, although I am sure I will encounter many differences and surprises. 

I just went over the list and was a bit surprised by the Alexander Elder books. Is technical analysis something that is used much in trading at steadyoptions? 

 

[JohnZink]

Hey there! It's great to see someone else with experience in the world of gambling and probabilities. I used to enjoy playing card games myself and always found the math behind it fascinating. Have you found options to be a useful addition to your investment portfolio?