Hey Traders,
Let me ask you something…
How many times have you made money when you were wrong about a trade?
If you’re like most folks, the answer is probably: never.
And that’s not because you’re bad at trading — it’s because the way most people trade requires them to be exactly right.
It’s not just one thing you’re betting on when you place a directional trade with a call or a put.
When you place that kind of trade, y ou’ve got to be right about:
- the direction the stock is going in…
- how far the stock moves…
- the timing… (probably hardest of all)
That’s a tall order.
If you know about sports betting, that’s a lot like winning a parlay.. where you have to be right about a bunch of things all at once just to get paid.
The reward may be big, but the risk? Huge.
But here’s the good news…
That’s not the only way to trade.
Why I Sell Instead of Buy
I don’t sell options just to be different… or clever… or because I like zigging when everyone else is zagging.
I sell options because it puts the math on my side.
Here’s some quick stats to put things into perspective:
- Option buyers lose 90–95% of the time.
- Options are a zero-sum game — and if most people are losing, I’d rather be on the other side of that.
That’s why I use strategies that pay me up front — and give me multiple ways to walk away with a win.
Credit Spreads: My Favorite Way to Stack the Odds
Take a basic bull put spread, for example.
Let’s say I think a stock is going to go up over the next few days.
For some reason, people think spreads are hard. But they couldn’t be simpler.
I just sell a put below the current price of the stock…
And buy another put below that, which caps my risk.
That’s it.
And just by doing that, here’s what happens:
✅ If the stock goes up → I get paid
✅ If the stock stays flat → I get paid
✅ If the stock drops a little → I still get paid
❌ If the stock crashes → I lose, but my loss is limited
That means that 3 out of 4 scenarios that could possibly happen end with me winning the trade — and only one that ends with me losing.
Right there out of the gate, you can see the odds are already in my favor.
Now tell me: would you rather make money only when you’re exactly right…
…or make money even when you’re a little wrong?
Final Thought
It might sound silly to say “I got paid to be wrong.”
And yeah, it kind of is — because I’m not getting paid because I’m wrong. I’m getting paid despite being wrong.
Because I structured the trade in a way that allowed me to win in 3 out of 4 possible scenarios.
And that’s the way I trade every single week.
Up Next
Later this week, I’ll show you another setup where I get paid just for being willing to buy a stock I already like.
Stay tuned — this is where the freedom in trading really starts to show up.
Trade well,
Jack Carter
P.S. July is historically the hottest month in the stock market. If you’re not trading it, get in the game now.
