[00:00] If I had to start over in zero DT trading today, here's what I'd do. And more importantly, here's what I wouldn't touch with a 10-ft pole. Because most traders get a lot of things completely backwards. Plus, I'll share with you
[00:13] new here, my name is Mark Anderson, construction worker turn zerodt hedge fund manager. I've sold over $50 million in zerodt premium across over a,000
[00:25] consecutive trading days. Let's break this down step by step. Step one, know if the carrot is worth the chase. Let's start with a reality check no one talks about. Everyone gets excited about trading, especially when options are
[00:39] trading. You'll see screenshots of 100 plus% returns of people using $500 a day on Reddit. But here's the real question I'd ask yourself. Is the reward really worth the effort? Because if you're under capitalized, the math just doesn't
[00:53] work. If you're 24, have no capital, and think you're going to trade your way to wealth with $2,000 and a few YouTube videos and Discord chats, the juice isn't worth the squeeze. That's not a personal judgment. It's just math. If
[01:06] you're making 40% a year on a 5K account, great. But that's two grand in profit. You're not moving the boat. It's just not worth the time, stress, or risk. And if you're the kind of person buying a $2,000 course to trade a $5,000
[01:21] account, you're being sold on a dream. Here's a better question. Are you monetarily useful to society? I know that sounds weird, but hear me out. If you can't consistently save 20% of your income, you're better off investing in
[01:34] yourself. If you're living paycheck to paycheck, then trading isn't your biggest opportunity. Your real leverage is in your career, not the market. I'd a higher income potential, or build a valuable skill set. Then that will
[01:51] trading. Step two, master the fundamentals before touching a trade. Most new traders jump straight into execution. They start back testing
[02:05] without understanding what they're even testing. They watch a few YouTube videos and copy strategies from Discord, but they never actually learn what they're trading. They just play copycat. Before I ever place a trade again, I'd make
[02:18] sure I understood how options are priced. Not just the surface level stuff, but the actual math behind volatility and decay of options. So, let's be clear here. You're not trading patterns. You're not trading candle
[02:31] shapes. You're trading price. You're trading volatility. you're trading time decay or theta decay. If I were starting today, I would stop everything and read the book Options, Volatility, and Pricing by Sheldon Natenberg. Read it
[02:47] three times. I'm not exaggerating. That's your textbooks. Period. This book is the foundation of options. It's the same book that top hedge funds and prop firms give new hires who come in with half million dollar salaries and Ivy
[02:59] League degrees. It's that important. Why? because it teaches you what you're actually trading, which is pricing. Everything else, courses, influencers, flashy charts are noise, if you don't understand that book first. Step three,
[03:15] don't trust the software until you trust yourself. Once I had a solid understanding of how options are priced, then I'd open up to back testing software. And here's where people screw it up. They think that the software is
[03:28] going to save them. They think that just because something's automated, it's accurate. That's not true. Back testing software is like a mirror. It reflects whatever bias you bring into it. You can massage the inputs to get whatever
[03:41] results you want. It can lie to you and it will if you don't know what you're doing. It's like handling someone on an Excel model for leverage buyouts. Just ready to run private equity firm. Same thing here. If you don't know how
[03:57] options work, the software won't fix that. I see it all the time. Someone copies a strategy from a Discord thread, runs it through a back test, sees a 60% win rate, and then throws money at it the next day. Within a few weeks,
[04:10] not working. That's not a system. That's gambling. Don't do that. Step four, forward test slowly and intentionally. If I were starting again, I would start
[04:25] comically small. I'd trade one lots. I'd use real capital, but only what I could absolutely afford to lose. Not just financially, but emotionally. Then I'd commit to forward test for 6 to 12 months. Same strategy, same size, no
[04:40] improvisation, no strategy hopping, and I'd track everything. Even if you're good at back testing, that doesn't mean you're ready to scale. Most people skip the forward testing step completely. They trade too big too soon and they
[04:53] change their strategies too fast and then they blame the system. Most people wrong because the results don't come quickly enough. But here's the truth. Progress in trading looks like nothing until it doesn't. Yes, even if you're
[05:09] It's like an ice cube. The ice cube doesn't melt until 33°. But from 0 to 32° it looks like nothing has happened. Then all of a sudden it changes. That's
[05:23] what skill building looks like. Invisible, boring, and then suddenly obvious. That's what progress in trading feels like. Invisible until it's not. Step five, avoid the noise and be wary of the loudest voices. One of the worst
[05:37] things you can do early is surround yourself with bad information. And unfortunately, YouTube and Discord is full of it. You might be copying a capital or someone who owns five rental properties and is just testing trades on
[05:52] the side. Meanwhile, you're all in with 80% of your net worth in your brokerage account, hoping the strategy works out for you the same it does for them. Same strategy, completely different context. That's why I always say, don't follow
[06:06] people based on screenshots. Follow people who show you their reasoning and their restraint. What would I do if I had to start with less than 100 grand today? Look, I get it. Not everyone starts with six figures. If I had to
[06:19] strategies only. Trade one lots until I've built six to 12 months of conviction with forward tested data. Focus on high efficiency, not high
[06:31] returns. Use lower buying power trades, maybe late day strategies where leverage cheaper to buy five and 10-centent wings. Avoid hedging. Instead, diversify across time and strategy type. The goal is not to win big. The goal is to stay
[06:45] alive and learn what works for you without blowing up. So, what would I do if I were just starting out? I'd make sure trading was actually the best use of my time. I'd read options pricing and volatility three times. I'd use software
[07:00] after I understood the math behind options. And I'd master back testing after I understood what I'm testing. I'd forward test small trades for 6 to 12 months. I'd ignore most people's advice unless I knew their full context of why
[07:14] and how they're trading. I'd be patient and stop trying to skip the work. And I'd do it all with the mindset that real progress takes time, often a lot more avoid some costly mistakes, hit that subscribe button. And if you're serious
[07:31] market shocks in real world conditions and you want a system that makes sense over time in the long haul to create income, check out my other videos on this channel. We go deep. See you guys on the next one.