Don here.
Two hundred and two trades in the Pocket log as of this month.
Some are big. The LULU put spread in July 2025 — 57.33%. COST in April 2025 — 54.50%. GLD in August 2025 — 46.79%.
Some went to full loss. That's in the log too, because every strategy has losing trades and anyone who tells you otherwise isn't showing you the whole picture.
What's consistent across all 202 is the filter that ran before I placed each one. Five checks. Under sixty seconds. Every time.
I put that filter into a free report called The 60-Second Checklist That Stops a Bad Options Trade Before You Ever Click "Buy."
It covers the five-second question most traders never think to ask before entering a position. The stop-loss problem nobody talks about until it's too late. The theta drain that bleeds a trade even when you're right on direction. The sizing calculation that determines whether a bad trade is recoverable. And the first setup most beginners are taught — which happens to be one of the most dangerous ones on the board.
Sixty seconds before you enter. That's the habit.
Don Kaufman
Former Chief Derivatives Instructor, thinkorswim | Director, Trader Group, TD Ameritrade
P.S. Normally $29.97. Free today. If you've been trading options without a pre-trade checklist, start here.