Trading Pro System Intro

A lot of you know that I started my successful option trading career (yes, it’s my main source of income) with Covered Calls. Much of that success is because of John Brasher, his book and his Covered Call service called CallWriter. Knowing that Covered Calls are essentially a bullish strategy, I looked for education on other option income strategies that would be useful under all market conditions.

For over a year I tried out 5 courses and services. My intent here is not to evaluate all of them, just to simply tell you about the one course that I took that gave me the most useful information and techniques with the least amount of investment. It was through this course that I learned about Iron Condors and Double Calendars and how to manage a portfolio and not just individual spreads.

This is a personal endorsement. You, my readers, know that I don’t do this without good reason. So here goes…

The Guru's Favorite

The name of the course is Trading Pro System, but before you click on the link let me tell you a bit more about it from my perspective – why I think it’s worth much more than what they are charging for it. How much? $197? Really? You get the complete course – no up-sell or subscriptions – it’s all ready for instant downloading to your PC to watch at your leisure.

There are about 100 videos so it may take some time, but you can download the first two (start with MOD00) and watch them while you download the rest in the background. By the way, that $1.97 per video!

Trading Pro System (formerly known as Trading as a Business (I like that name better)) has been around for at least two years and maybe more – I signed up to Trading as a Business (again, same course content, just a different name) in October of 2009. These videos not only demonstrate in great detail the art of selecting and managing Calendar Spreads, Credit Spreads, Iron Condors and other option strategies, but also how to monitor, adjust and when to close them. Let me just say a bit more about adjustments: I attribute my recent success based on what this course taught me about adjusting and how, at times, it can be more profitable than the opening trade.

The bonus videos offer even more: The Greeks, using TOS, Gamma Scalping, Theta Scalping, Day Trading, Protective Puts, How to Tell When Money is Moving In/Out of the Market, and 56 videos of daily market assessments and commentary on open trades and portfolio management. Truthfully (and sadly), I have not even watched all of the videos yet!

David Vallieres

The course was developed, authored and presented by David Vallieres. He is not a former insider or market maker, but a retail trader like you and I, so he knows how to talk at our level and knows how difficult it is for retail traders to be successful. He is also an educator, which is why his videos and delivery are so captivating (at least to me) and professional. He has been trading since 1985 and has – like me – given many dollars to the market before he learned how to trade correctly. His primary philosophy is to keep it simple and not get caught up in analysis paralysis.

So, look over the Trading Pro System web page and make your decision. There’s a 60 day money back guarantee so how can you really go wrong?

As David says, “trade with confidence”; and as always, if you have any questions, please feel free to ask.

◄ Jeff ►

  • http://theoptionguru.com/blog Jeff W

    W,

    Start with the MOD’s, with the lowest numbered one. After I viewed mine, I changes the names a bit, but I believe originally there were numbered 000 to 11. Watch 000 to 08, then practice, then watch them again and again before going live.

    Later you can watch the others since they are a bit advanced.

    Don’t worry about the date. In truth, there are only two kinds of option spreads: Verticals and Calendars. All other spreads are simply combinations of those two. Therefor, the strategy still works no matter what the date is.

    Happy Trading
    ◄Jeff►

  • http://theoptionguru.com/blog Jeff W

    Stephen,

    Yes, he is an internet marketer, but as I mentioned in my review, he is a retail trader too. He took the time to be mentored for many years in option trading and as a result created almost 100 videos to share his knowledge with others.

    He’s not a former floor trader, he hasn’t been on CNBC – he’s just like you or I. His videos opened my eyes and helped me to understand spreads, Greeks and portfolio management. That’s why I endorse his course. For the price ($197 – and you can check around) I don’t think you can get a better education. But, that’s my opinion.

    I think there may have been a copyright violation with the original Trading as a Business name, but don’t quote me on that. Also, he took on a partner about the time the name changes, so maybe that has something to do with it.

    Happy Trading
    ◄Jeff►

  • Ejklucy02

    Hey, anyone know what happened to Callwriter.com? The calculator is gone and so is the website. Also, they are not returning calls or emails.

    • http://theoptionguru.com/blog Jeff W

      You and several other readers are experiencing the same thing. John is a friend of mine and I am unable to contact him as well. I hope all is well, but we must assume CallWriter no longer exists.

      ◄Jeff►

  • Mikecj62

    Hi Jeff, Thank you for the great amount of information you have here! I truly appreciate that!

    As far as Trading Pro, I purchased it and tried it. It really has lot of nice information and you can start thinking about different strategies. As far as the strategies itself, they do work in theory ( i was able to make money in paper trading). However, when you add transaction cost to the list, the profits just disappear.
    I will not discuss the strategy since its a paid course, but i will give you the numbers. I created a portfolio with 2 instruments, each with 2 legs in them. It was total of 40 contacts in each instrument  for total of 80 Contracts. In the middle of trade I did adjustment once, so removed 10 contacts and added 10 different one. My profit was around 500 within 4 weeks which is really good considering my margin was only 2000. However, when i add the transaction cost for the trade in TOS it was ~ 320. So my actual profit was 180. If you end up making more adjustments – i guess you will need at least 2 or 3, the profit will be even less or noe. I think it all comes to having a broker with low commission. I have tradestation which charges 1.00 per contract, however I get charged for modifying orders. Please let me know if you know of any broker which has a low commission for Options. TOS no longer has 1.5 / contract (which is not cheap either). They now charge 9.95 + .75/contract.

    David is a nice guy and you can hear that he is a REAL trader. But I guess he is really busy and dont expect to get any awnsers for your questions unless you are a paid member of daily reviews. I like vendors with money back guarantee and honour it. So David gets full marks there! As I said before, you can start thinking about different strategies and i will explore more.

    • http://theoptionguru.com/blog Jeff W

      Mike,

      First, let me address your commission cost. For your example, you opened with 80 contracts. Under the new TOS/TDAmeritrade price structure, the commission would have been $69.99, which is cheaper than the $1.25/contract that I pay. Your two 10 contract adjustments would have been $17.49 each. Assuming you closed early with a total of 80 contracts, you would have been charged another $69.99. The total is $174.96.

      The new pricing structure in TOS/TDA is beneficial to those that trade more than 20 contracts in a single transaction. For me, that doesn’t work out right now, since I rarely trade more than 10 in a single spread. That’s why I like to use higher priced underlyings – usually $80 or more. There may be a day when I graduate to a higher number of contracts and at that point I will convert to the new pricing structure.

      There are other, cheaper brokers out there and I have considered researching on TOS and trading somewhere else, but it would be too much of a headache – I’m willing to live with the costs for all the features. Also consider: 1) No change or cancel order costs and 2) you can close short options that are worth less than a nickle for free.

      David is a bit of a recluse, isn’t he? I have attempted to contact him several times and never had any success. That’s alright, though – his course is worth a pot of gold.

      Looks like you are doing quite well so far. I hope it works out for you. Stick to the rules – that’s my biggest downfall.

      ◄Jeff►

      • Mikecj62

        Hi Mike, Thanks for the reply! The numbers are little different. When I sell a Iron Condor  lets say for SPY in TOS with total of 40 contracts, it splits 2 legs separately in commission . So total commission one way  for each legs is (9.95+.75*20). So total for 2 legs is = (9.95+.75*20)*2 =  69.95. So with 2 instruments in portfolio it will be 69.95*2 one way. For both ways it will be 69.95*4 =~ 280. For Adjustment it will be ~ 36. Thats why the total commission is ~ 320.  
        Yes, Davis is reclusive. I cant blame him, he might be busy trading . Let me ask you one thing and appreciate your suggestion. Whats your thought on building a portfolio with opposite correlated instruments ? For example, I tried building a portfolio with TLT & SPY with the idea that they move opposite (in general, not a rule). My theory was that the opposite moves will offset each other and tent will remain in the middle. Thats how i was able to pull 500. But I am not sure if its a sound theory as might be exposing myself in both directions. Appreciate your response! 

        • http://theoptionguru.com/blog Jeff W

          Mike,

          Funny you should mention TLT – usually on my initial entry list along with SPY or IWM. For FEB I entered with IWM.

          Generally, I agree with your logic. However, a lot depends on the magnitude of the move towards the walls of the tent. If that’s not equal between the two, then the logic falls apart.

          Another way you can save some commissions is to move your short/long strikes further apart. This will increase you return but it also increases your risk. I wrote a blog post about this and I came to the conclusion that for the index ETF’s, 2 strikes is the most advantageous.

          Adjustments are expensive, so try to avoid them at all costs. Set a minimum profit goal and if you have hit it and you think you need to adjust, just get out – don’t leave money on the table.

          You were right about the number of contracts – I tried to hurry with my response and miscounted. Another senior moment, which seem to be coming more frequently, I think. Huh?

          One last thing – when Dave recorded his videos, it was the beginning of the financial crisis. Volatility was high (ergo high returns) and he was biasing his trades with a perceived trend. That can significantly increase your return as well – if you are right!

          ◄Jeff►

  • mahesh

    IS IT AVAILABLE IN ACTUAL “CD” OR “DVD” FORMAT ?

    • http://theoptionguru.com/blog Jeff W

      Mahesh,

      Unfortunately, no, it’s not available in disk format. Best way to do it that I have found is to get an 8 gig memory stick and put them all there. That makes it portable and viewable on many of the newer TV’s.

      ◄Jeff►

  • Frank A

    Greetings Jeff,

    Well, based on your “high marks” for the Trading Pro system I popped for the $197 and took the plunge.  Sure hope it isn’t another dead end rabbit trail like many many others I have traveled.

    I was quite leery because the two gentlemen shown as the producers of the system are basically internet marketing types out to sell things on the net.  You comments indicate the David V is/was “actually” a trader.  He probably now makes more from selling Trading Pro than he does trading.

    I like all the information on your blog.  Just so much to get one’s head around :)

    You come off as one who is sincere in what you present and are really trying to be a help to floundering newbies in the trading world.

    Blessings to you and Mrs…

    Frank A

    • http://theoptionguru.com/blog Jeff W

      Frank,

      I know about David’s history of internet marketing. I also have often wondered about people that sell/promote systems to make money. What is the motive? I can tell you that David still issues a daily update, so he continues to keep up with the system and the market. My guess is that he likes the concept of multiple streams of income – nothing wrong with that.

      Myself; I have many times been tempted to offer a system or pick service, but I just don’t want to be committed to starting a new business at this point in my life.

      So I just plug along, posting thoughts when they come to me and when I am motivated and cherishing dedicated readers like you. I get a lot of traffic to my blog and that is enough to satisfy my small ego. I just love to teach, that’s all.

      I have found that you need to practice, practice, practice – over and over. Don’t expect instant results. Watch the videos, try the strategies for 3-6 months while repeating the videos. It’s the only way. I have had mentors that have taken as much as a decade to figure it out. When they do, they realize it’s a matter of discipline and record keeping. Setting rules and following them to the letter. That’s the way it’s done.

      Good luck to you, Frank, and let me know if you have any questions or more comments.

      Jeff

  • Kevin

    Hi Jeff,
    I went thru the site. The site claims five explosive strategies will make thousands of dollars per month. I wonder if it is true. Your trading account does not make that much every month. Any reason why you do not use thsoe strategies?
    Thanks

    • http://theoptionguru.com/blog Jeff W

      Kevin,

      There are many factors involved. First, your return depends on how much capital and the amount you want to risk. My goal was about $1,000/month and I didn’t always make it – that would be true with any strategy. If anyone tells you any different they are lying.

      Second, David V. uses higher delta short strikes than I am comfortable with. This allows for a higher profit but also higher risk requiring more adjustments.

      Ultimately, though, I was most impressed with the knowledge I gained on options and strategies. For the price you can’t beat that.

      ◄Jeff►