Hey traders,
This week was a wild one, wasn’t it?
We saw the Fed announce a quarter-point rate cut. Powell hinted at fewer rate cuts next year.
And the markets? They sold off like crazy after that announcement. For most traders, weeks like this are a nightmare.
But for us? It’s a win.
Let me show you how focusing on one strong, trending ticker helped us navigate this rollercoaster week and come out on top.
The Power of Focusing on One Stock
This week, the focus was IONQ. If you’ve been following my One Ticker Challenge, you know the drill: Find one strong, trending stock and trade it smart.
On Tuesday morning, IONQ was trading around $40, and we set up a credit spread:
- Sell the $37 put
- Buy the $36 put
This trade would pay a solid 38.9% return if IONQ stayed above $37 by Friday’s close. Simple, right?
But what makes this strategy so powerful isn’t just the payout. It’s the focus.
By honing in on one stock, you can really understand its trends, movements, and behavior — and stack the odds in your favor.
Stacking the Odds with a Trending Stock
Here’s why I picked IONQ: It’s been on a massive tear lately.
When you trade a strongly trending stock, you’re not just guessing. You’re aligning your trades with the stock’s natural momentum.
And this week proved exactly why that matters.
After the Fed announcement on Wednesday, the market panicked. IONQ dropped from $42.73 to just above $36 in after-hours trading. But here’s the key: That strong trend didn’t vanish overnight.
On Thursday, IONQ opened back above $40, and while it struggled a bit, it didn’t collapse.
By Friday, it was climbing like a rocket, hitting a high of $47.41 and firmly staying above our $37 strike price.
Even with all the bearish forces in play this week, that strong trend held up — and as I write this with about 15 minutes left in the trading day, the trade is going to close out as a strong winner.
Limiting Risk with a 3-Day Trade
Another big advantage of this strategy? Time.
By setting up trades that close in just three days, from Tuesday to Friday, we minimize exposure to the market’s ups and downs.
Think about it: If we’d stayed in this trade for two weeks or longer, we’d be exposing ourselves to a lot more uncertainty.
Instead, we focused on a tight window, letting IONQ’s trend play out while avoiding extended drawdowns.
Turning a Wild Week into a Winning Week
Let’s recap:
- Focusing on one stock: We didn’t chase the noise or get distracted by other tickers. We stuck with IONQ and its strong trend.
- Trading a trending stock: IONQ’s natural momentum gave us the edge, even during a volatile week.
- Reducing market exposure: A three-day trade meant we were in and out before the market’s chaos could do too much damage.
This week was a perfect example of why I built the One Ticker Challenge. It’s about simplifying your trading, cutting out the noise, and stacking the odds in your favor.
All things that massively help improve your trading.
Even in a week when the markets were falling apart, we stayed calm, focused, and disciplined. And we walked away with another win.
The Bottom Line
If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by the markets, let this week be a lesson: You don’t need to trade dozens of stocks to see success.
You just need one good ticker, a strong plan, and the discipline to trade it right.
That’s the power of high-probability trading. And that’s the power of the One Ticker Challenge. I hope you get a chance to check it out.
Trade well,
Jack Carter
