Hey Traders,
So markets are kind of frozen, huh?
Look at the chart this week — SPY has been bumping its head on a ceiling… Real short candles. No conviction. Just sideways chop.
Between tariffs getting paused, restarted, and paused again…
And whispers of a war with Iran… traders are jittery.
And when traders get jittery, markets stall.
This week? They barely moved at all.
And when that happens, I hear the same thing over and over again:
“It’s hard to make money in this kind of market.”
“Nothing’s happening.”
“I can’t find a setup worth trading.”
But you know what I’m doing?
Collecting income. Hand over fist.
Why Most Traders Struggle in Sideways Markets
Most traders — maybe even you — are still trading in a way that needs the market to move. They need a breakout, a breakdown, a catalyst, a headline, a surprise. Something.
If the market doesn’t move, they don’t make anything.
Worse — they lose money on time decay, slippage, or false breakouts.
Around Here, We Do It Differently
Here’s what I teach:
- Find the broad market direction.
- Find a stock trending in the same direction.
- Sell options instead of buying them.
That third piece is the game changer.
When we sell options, we collect cash up front — as soon as we place the trade.
That means if the market just stalls out like it has this week?
I’ve already been paid.
If the market drifts higher? I already got paid.
If it drops a little? As long as it doesn’t blow through my strike price, I still win.
This Is Why I Sell
I’m not sitting around hoping the market bails me out.
I structure trades with high probability and defined risk, and I let time and volatility do the heavy lifting.
So when someone tells me they’re struggling because the market didn’t move?
I know exactly what the problem is:
They’re trading the hard way — and over the long run, that can wreck a portfolio.
Me? I’ll take the cash up front — frozen market or not.
Trade well,
Jack Carter
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