Good morning, traders.
I’ll admit something that might surprise you …
I’m jealous of every new trader getting started right now.
Not because you’ve figured it all out. Not because you’re already making bank.
But because you’re stepping into this game at the absolute best time in history to learn options trading.
Back when I started in ’98, if you wanted to be a trader, you had to move to Chicago or New York and squeeze your way onto a trading floor.
You weren’t just competing with the market — you were competing with everyone in the pit.
Grown men barking orders, elbowing for space, living and dying by every tick.
Today?
You could be sitting on your couch in gym shorts, sipping coffee, pulling in trades from your laptop.
No screaming. No pit. No barrier to entry.
And if you’re serious about learning to trade options, that shift gives you a massive advantage.
Here’s why.
The Trading Floor Is in Your Pocket
Let me break it down …
Back in the day, if you wanted to trade, you had two choices:
- Work for a big firm
- Hand your money to a broker and hope they didn’t screw it up
There was no “click-to-buy” on your phone. No commission-free apps. No screeners. And definitely no YouTube tutorials.
If you were like me — young, broke, and obsessed with figuring out how the markets worked — you had to find a way in the hard way.
I landed at a European fund and clawed my way up.
But now?
Anyone with a smartphone and a bit of hunger can get started.
You’ve got brokerages with more firepower than we had at major firms 20 years ago.
Platforms like StocksToTrade (my go-to, by the way) give you pro-level charts, scans, and data feeds with just a few clicks.
And that’s not even the craziest part.
An Age of Unlimited Information
This is where it really gets wild.
If I wanted company data back in ’98, I had to dig through newspaper microfilm or pray someone at the fund would let me peek at a Bloomberg terminal. (That thing cost more than my car.)
Now?
You’ve got every earnings report, every SEC filing, every press release — right at your fingertips.
You’re not waiting around for analysts to interpret things for you.
You can pull your own data, run your own scans, and make your own decisions.
And if you’re not using that edge?
You’re just leaving opportunity on the table.
Take the 2021 GameStop madness.
That whole move got sparked by regular people sharing info on Reddit.
A community called WallStreetBets — a bunch of so-called amateurs — started a conversation that led to one of the biggest short squeezes Wall Street’s ever seen.
Could something like that have happened in 2001?
Not a chance.
But now?
The playing field’s a whole lot more level than Wall Street would like to admit.
You’ve Got the Tools. Use Them.
This isn’t nostalgia.
It’s perspective.
I’ve traded through dot-com bubbles, financial crises, bull markets, bear markets, and everything in between.
And I can say with confidence …
You’ve got more access, better tools, and greater opportunity than any trader who came before you.
Don’t waste it.
Don’t treat this like a hobby. Don’t treat it like a game.
If you learn to use the tools available to you, you can change your financial life — just like I did.
This market rewards preparation, discipline, and execution.
So get in there. Study the charts. Watch the patterns. Put in the reps.
And remember: Every trade you place now is faster, easier, and cheaper than what it cost guys like me just to enter the game 20 years ago.
That’s why I’m jealous.
Make it count.
Stay Street Smart,
Jeff Zananiri
Want to trade the way I do?
Then it’s time to stop guessing and start taking control — especially when the market looks like a madhouse.
Register now to hear from Aaron Hunziker tonight at 7 p.m. ET about how to lock in overnight gains like 80% on INTC, 98% on FSLR and even 107% on SPCE.*
*Past performance does not indicate future results.
