Here's something I've watched happen more times than I can count.
A trader picks a stock. Makes the call. Clicks buy. Then sits back waiting to be right.
No checklist. No structure. No filter on the front end. Just instinct and hope.
That's how accounts blow up — not from some catastrophic market event, but from skipping a handful of checks that take under a minute to run before you ever place the trade.
I put those five checks into a short report: The 60-Second Checklist That Stops a Bad Options Trade Before You Ever Click "Buy."
I spent years as Chief Derivatives Instructor at thinkorswim and Director of the Trader Group at TD Ameritrade. These five questions aren't theory. They're what separates traders who are still in the game two years from now from the ones who had one bad month and never came back.
One of the five covers something nobody warns beginners about — the silent cost that drains a trade every single day, even when you're completely right about the stock. You can nail the direction and still watch your position bleed out. Ten seconds to check it before you enter. Most people skip it entirely.
The report is normally $29.97. Today it's free.
— Don Kaufman
P.S. There's a section on stop-loss orders — specifically why they can fail you on the exact day you need them most. If you've ever set one and felt covered, read that part first.