Dr. Jim shares a strategic framework to evaluate trading progress as 2026 approaches. The self-evaluation centers on three key factors: experience level, account size, and strategy selection.

For experience level, beginners should focus on gaining knowledge rather than prioritizing P&L, intermediates should pursue strategic mastery, while advanced traders can concentrate on maximizing risk-return ratios.

Account size significantly impacts trading approach. Small accounts ($25K or less) should focus on defined risk strategies with limited flexibility. Medium accounts ($25K-$100K) can mix defined and undefined risk, while large accounts ($100K+) can lead with undefined risk strategies and enjoy greater flexibility.

Dr. Jim advocates mastering 3-4 strategies rather than spreading focus too thin, suggesting defined risk options (verticals, diagonals, butterflies) and undefined risk strategies (short puts, strangles, ratio spreads) as core competencies.

Dr. Jim shares a strategic framework to evaluate trading progress as 2026 approaches. The self-evaluation centers on three key factors: experience level, account size, and strategy selection.

For experience level, beginners should focus on gaining knowledge rather than prioritizing P&L, intermediates should pursue strategic mastery, while advanced traders can concentrate on maximizing risk-return ratios.

Account size significantly impacts trading approach. Small accounts ($25K or less) should focus on defined risk strategies with limited flexibility. Medium accounts ($25K-$100K) can mix defined and undefined risk, while large accounts ($100K+) can lead with undefined risk strategies and enjoy greater flexibility.

Dr. Jim advocates mastering 3-4 strategies rather than spreading focus too thin, suggesting defined risk options (verticals, diagonals, butterflies) and undefined risk strategies (short puts, strangles, ratio spreads) as core competencies.

Hosts Nick and Tony welcomed researcher Kai to discuss an exceptionally quiet week where markets barely moved and finding "something exciting was actually pretty hard." The S&P's 0.3% gain masked interesting rotation with Russell finally breaking to new highs after underperforming all year, benefiting from small-cap rate cut expectations. Treasury yields rose counter-intuitively ahead of the Fed meeting, with both hosts expressing long bond positions and hoping the "velocity of move is to the upside" despite being wrong recently. The Fed Watch tool showed dramatic volatility, whipsawing from 96% rate cut odds down to 56% before rebounding to current 89% - an unusually rapid reversal Kai couldn't recall seeing before. Quarter 3 earnings wrapped with final statistics maintaining 50-50 winner-loser split and near-zero returns across the full dataset, reinforcing that individual trades don't reflect overall basket performance. Upcoming week features key earnings including Broadcom (market leader all year), Costco, Lululemon, Oracle, and Adobe, with AutoZone deemed untradeable due to $1,200-wide stock bid-ask spread on only 62 shares traded pre-market.

Hosts Nick and Tony welcomed researcher Kai to discuss an exceptionally quiet week where markets barely moved and finding "something exciting was actually pretty hard." The S&P's 0.3% gain masked interesting rotation with Russell finally breaking to new highs after underperforming all year, benefiting from small-cap rate cut expectations. Treasury yields rose counter-intuitively ahead of the Fed meeting, with both hosts expressing long bond positions and hoping the "velocity of move is to the upside" despite being wrong recently. The Fed Watch tool showed dramatic volatility, whipsawing from 96% rate cut odds down to 56% before rebounding to current 89% - an unusually rapid reversal Kai couldn't recall seeing before. Quarter 3 earnings wrapped with final statistics maintaining 50-50 winner-loser split and near-zero returns across the full dataset, reinforcing that individual trades don't reflect overall basket performance. Upcoming week features key earnings including Broadcom (market leader all year), Costco, Lululemon, Oracle, and Adobe, with AutoZone deemed untradeable due to $1,200-wide stock bid-ask spread on only 62 shares traded pre-market.

Gold prices fell $12 while silver dropped 38 cents, creating trading opportunities in the metals pair. Nick and Tony executed a profitable gold-silver ratio trade, taking $500 profit before re-entering a similar position at favorable levels.

Equities showed modest gains with the Russell 2000 leading (+0.5%), while the S&P 500 and NASDAQ rose about 0.25%. The Dow lagged, barely positive. Volatility remained unchanged at historically low levels, complicating premium-selling strategies.

Bitcoin rebounded to just over $92,000 after dipping below $90,000 over the weekend, with Ethereum (+4%) outperforming Bitcoin (+2.5%). Natural gas fell significantly (-5%).

The segment addressed questions about beta-weighted deltas (providing portfolio context against market benchmarks), VVIX (the "fear of fear" index currently showing complacency), and leveraged product drag (costs associated with futures rolling in leveraged ETFs).

Gold prices fell $12 while silver dropped 38 cents, creating trading opportunities in the metals pair. Nick and Tony executed a profitable gold-silver ratio trade, taking $500 profit before re-entering a similar position at favorable levels.

Equities showed modest gains with the Russell 2000 leading (+0.5%), while the S&P 500 and NASDAQ rose about 0.25%. The Dow lagged, barely positive. Volatility remained unchanged at historically low levels, complicating premium-selling strategies.

Bitcoin rebounded to just over $92,000 after dipping below $90,000 over the weekend, with Ethereum (+4%) outperforming Bitcoin (+2.5%). Natural gas fell significantly (-5%).

The segment addressed questions about beta-weighted deltas (providing portfolio context against market benchmarks), VVIX (the "fear of fear" index currently showing complacency), and leveraged product drag (costs associated with futures rolling in leveraged ETFs).