I knew a guy named Craig Cottle who was a money raiser for CTA's back when the Abraham brothers were starting their fund. Back when turtle trading wasn't getting churned into turtle soup. Would not surprise me if there was a connection. I worked for one of the largest option traders that ever lived. He 3 rules one of them was "We don't buy options here we only sell them" he owned a jet so I listened. 20 years latter I owned a jet also, so when people start talking about buying options I think it's criminal.
I found this free Charles Cottle video. I think the baby fly adjustments are made buying and selling credit spreads not necessarily inside the wings of the original fly. Here is the URL. There is also a part 2. https://vimeo.com/ondemand/riskdoctorarchives/179957870?autoplay=1
"so when people start talking about buying options I think it's criminal.' ...and yet, I always traded from the long premium side...
Charles Cottle was an options floor trader/market maker for years and was initially part of the group founding Thinkorswim. He also wrote one of the more definitive books on options from a market maker's perspective. He is not some bullshit option teacher like most of the people who post and boast about planes with nothing to back it up and never traded for real. He is the real deal and the fact he has a lot of information out there easy to access means you get insight beyond value. Some of you won't know value if it took a shit on your face which is why you pine away here begging for help.
I know who he is and it's nothing personal. But with all that amazing knowledge, why isn't he making 15-20% annually with low drawdowns...either as a CTA or trading his own account (if he started a $100K account after floor trading and let it compound...whoa Nellie!). I'm always a bit suspicious of "real deals" who remain forever in the vendor space.
He is not much of a vendor. He wrote a book and he has classes he recorded and sells but he spent many many years on the trading floor. So big deal in his 50s he is taking it a little easier. Anytime I reached out to him he answered or responded personally. he is not running an infomercial vendor empire. he just created some prodcuts based on his years of experience and trading. The funniest thing about many newbies or those with littler experience is that thye neve rrealize that trading day in and day out is not only hard work but it will NOT make you rich over time. Running a business is the surest path to wealth. Steve Cohen is rich from trading or running a trading business? You all think that if you can make 20% a year you should take $500,000 saved up and make a fortune. Well there are losing years in between. Also there is nothing fun spending 10 years trading day in and day out, that is not a life for the long run. Lot of tick phuckers on here piking away looking to make their money when over the long run they make the same amount of money if they just had a regular job. It is not a path to riches except for the rare few. Ask some full time traders, it is a shit gig for the long haul.
So if he can't do much better than an index fund over the long term, why should we be reading his books....which are a lot more complex than owning a Vanguard fund? Despite your ad hominems and false assumptions about people here, you haven't made a cogent argument yet.
Who said he cannot do better than an index fund? You know him better than I thought I guess. I made the argument, he is an expert option trader that was a floor trader and market maker for years. He put his knowledge in a great book and has many videos and tools he offers to people. If you want to turn your back on it then by all means go ahead. Why should you be reading his BOOK? Because....I cannot find any other way to put this...he knows what he is fucking talking about. Period. Why read any book written by an expert?