Happy Friday, traders…

Ben here.

Every morning, I get up at 5 a.m. and exercise with a few of my neighbors. 

Like team trading, these guys help motivate me to get up at the crack of dawn and train. 

One morning this week, they suggested running ten miles in honor of Global Running Day.

I reluctantly agreed. I love to swim and bike, and running isn’t my favorite, but I still got out on the track. 

However, by the time I reached mile seven, I was exhausted…

At 6’8” and 235 pounds, with aging hips and joints from playing college and Division I basketball, the struggle was real. 

There’s always a moment in a long run — like my mile 7 this morning — where you think, “This sucks, I want to stop.”

We’ve all felt this way in trades. The trade might not be doing anything wrong, but holding onto it feels frustrating and painful.

But this is exactly why I see running as training for trading…

Running reminds me that if a trade hasn’t fundamentally changed, you have to push through, even if it’s uncomfortable. 

This is different from feeling injured. A bit of soreness is not the same as sharp, searing pain. 

Similarly, a frustrating trade that requires some patience shouldn’t be treated the same as one that’s completely broken down and lost all key levels. 

We are all psychosomatic beings — our head, heart, and hands work together. 

Your brain might tell you to keep running while your body begs you to stop.

This is when you need to remember that who you are in the world is who you are in the markets. 

Need to be more patient in your trades? Practice patience in your life. Put yourself in situations that train your brain to trade better. 

Need more perseverance? Go for a ten-mile run. Trust me, it’ll whip you into shape and give you a different perspective on the market.

If your trade hasn’t “done anything wrong,” you shouldn’t panic just because it’s not surging within minutes of pressing the buy button. 

With that in mind, let me show you how “minding the gap” gave me the confidence to nail two double-digit winners this week…

The Power of Morning Gaps

Before getting to the charts, let’s define the pattern I took advantage of — the morning gap. 

A morning gap occurs when a chart opens much higher (or lower) than it did the previous day. 

On the upside, it doesn’t break the premarket high, and on the downside, it doesn’t break the premarket low. 

If you see a gap, you can use it to your advantage.

You see, there’s a high probability that profit-taking will push the price back to fill the gap (the closing price of the previous day) or back to a key support level.

If you don’t see the price break and hold premarket levels, wait for it to return to these previous levels. 

This is natural, human action. When traders have unrealized profits, they often take the money and run.

If you don’t take profits immediately on the gap, you need to know your risk level and when to add to your position. 

If the price holds support at the bottom of the gap (or at previous support and resistance levels), don’t panic. 

The chart hasn’t “done anything wrong” so you shouldn’t be scared out of your position. 

Now, let me show you how the morning gap pattern informed my trades this week…

+63% on NCLH

By Wednesday morning’s gap, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. (NYSE: NCLH) had already been running for two days.

But the chart was strong and I wanted to ride the momentum.

That morning, I alerted NCLH 6/7/2024 $18 calls at $0.30 (First target at $0.39, stops at $0.24).

Minding the gap, I was watching $17.75 as my risk level. Looking at the chart, it was an obvious level of clear technical support, because that’s where the chart had gapped from:

My position didn’t immediately blast off. I had to be patient…

But as long as the chart held that level, it wasn’t “doing anything wrong”, and I had no reason to get scared out of my position. 

Sure enough, the $17.75 level held, so I did the same with my calls. 

I eventually scaled out at $0.39, $0.45, and $0.58 for a maximum gain of 63% in less than 24 hours.*

But that wasn’t even my best trade of the week…

+70% on RBLX

In a very similar setup to NCLH, I traded Roblox Corp. (NYSE: RBLX) calls.

The chart looks pretty darn close to NCLH, right? Same setup, different chart. 

When RBLX gapped up on Tuesday, and held the risk level at $33.89, I saw the confirmation I needed and decided to pull the trigger.

I alerted the RBLX 6/7/2024 $34 calls at $0.69 (First target at $0.83, stops at $0.56)…

Again, the chart didn’t do anything wrong, so I held the position.

I eventually scaled out at $0.83, $1.00, and $1.73 for a maximum gain of 70% in just two days.*

The lesson here is simple…

Options trading requires patience and perseverance. 

If you let every small move in the opposite direction of your contracts — or periods of sideways price action — scare you out of holding a promising trade, you’ll never make meaningful progress in the options market. 

My advice? Go for a ten-mile run…

Although your body might beg you to sit on the couch after a few miles, your brain knows it’s the right decision to keep jogging.

Then, next time you’re in a trade that’s testing your resolve, locate that internal strength that pushed you through those last few miles and harness it in the options market.

Now, before we go, let’s look at:

💰The Biggest Smart-Money Bets of the Day💰

• $18.17 million bullish bet on BAC 06/21/2024 $37 calls @ $2.66 avg. (seen on 6/6)

• $7.16 million bearish bet on DLO 08/16/2024 $13 puts @ $4.80 avg. (seen on 6/6)

• $2.7 million bullish bet on WMB 06/21/2024 $37 calls @ $4.50 avg. (seen on 6/6)

*Past performance does not indicate future results