Tracked 150 options trades. I only follow my own rules 55% of the time.
u/Acesleychan ·
Reddit — r/options
· April 01, 2026 at 18:21
· ⬆ 17 pts
· 💬 11 comments
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I always thought I was disciplined. Written plan, max risk per trade, criteria for entries, no earnings plays, size based on account percentage not gut.
At least that's what I thought.
Went back through 150 trades and graded each one pass/fail on 5 things: (1) did the setup meet my scan criteria, (2) was position size within 2% of account, (3) did I enter at my planned strike and DTE or did I adjust, (4) did I have an exit plan before entry, (5) did I follow the exit plan.
55%.
Biggest fail category was #3. I'd find a setup that met my criteria but then go one strike closer to the money "for more delta" or shorten my DTE because premium felt expensive. Small adjustments I rationalized as smart but that completely changed the risk profile.
Second biggest fail was #5. Plan to close at 50% profit and then hold for more. Plan to cut at 30% loss and then average down instead.
The compliant trades are profitable. The non-compliant trades are not. Both groups are mixed together in my P&L and I never separated them until now.
Built a tool to do this audit automatically because the spreadsheet was brutal. If any options traders want to try it free and give feedback I'd appreciate it. Need about 10 people who actually trade regularly.