Day Trading Example and Rules Stephen Cox shared an example of a day trade on the US dollar, Japanese yen, illustrating the importance of following rules and adhering to strict entry criteria on a short-term chart, particularly when the daily view shows lower lows and lower highs (00:07:39). They explained that an RSI alert is a "wakeup call," but a trader must first establish the trend is over before pushing the button, alongside checking news flow (00:10:28). Stephen Cox demonstrated setting a tight stop loss below a recent low on the IG trading platform due to concerns about a potentially larger drop (00:09:32).

Trade Execution and Exits Stephen Cox's trade on the US dollar, Japanese yen, which went long, was entered at 154.72 with a 10-point limit at 154.82 (00:10:28). The trade was successfully closed out, making a profit of 186 euro, after hitting the 10-point target, which occurred even before the secondary exit alert—RSI hitting 50—could be triggered (00:17:32) (00:24:11).

Educational Resources Michael Carroll mentioned needing to spend more time with the platform using the issued webinars. Stephen Cox directed them to the members area, specifically the knowledge base under "Spread Betting Courses," where real-life examples, including the day trading rule book and videos, are added as they arise (00:11:31).

Short Put Strategy (S&P 500) Stephen Cox reviewed an S&P 500 short put trade on the IG platform, noting that the probability of success was showing 100% and had yielded a $218 profit, representing a return of just under 2% in two weeks on a 12K account (00:12:30). They emphasized that for Irish and UK traders, this short put strategy should be done in a tax-free environment if the intention is a return-based strategy without taking assignment of shares (00:13:34). Stephen Cox noted that the S&P 500 would need to fall 9% in two weeks to be in trouble on the trade, which statistically is a two-standard deviation move with less than a 5% chance of occurring (00:14:38).

Optimal Options Expiry and Risk Management In response to Michael Carroll's question about weekly versus monthly options on the IG platform, Stephen Cox stated their preference for the "sweet spot" in option pricing, which is generally 30 to 60 days out (around 45 days) (00:17:32). Stephen Cox explained that trading weeklies yields lower premiums and requires the strike price to be closer to the current market price, making it harder for risk management compared to trading 30 to 60 days out (00:18:25). Stephen Cox described a structured approach for the short put strategy to target, for instance, a 2% tax-free return monthly, utilizing the margin available and planning risk management by rolling the position further out in time to reduce the break-even point in case of market volatility (00:19:19).

Index vs. Individual Stocks and Volatility Stephen Cox strongly recommended applying the high-probability short put strategy to indexes like the S&P 500 rather than individual stocks, as anything can happen with single equities overnight, citing Nvidia and Google competition news as examples of potential risks (00:15:36). Stephen Cox advised waiting for an increase in volatility, indicated by the VIX being ideally above 20, before placing new option trades, to maximize the premium received (00:26:55).

Managing Trades and Profit Taking Stephen Cox demonstrated closing out a spread bet position and addressed the question of letting options run to expiry versus taking profits early (00:24:11). They explained that taking profit when 70% to 90% of the maximum profit is achieved is a good discipline, especially in spread betting, as it frees up the capital to potentially sell the exact same contract again if market conditions allow (00:25:10).

Bitcoin and High-Risk Trading Stephen Cox discussed Bitcoin, noting that its downtrend is nearing an end, and highlighting positive signs such as recovery highs and higher lows (00:31:06). Pat O'Brien inquired about the type of trade Stephen Cox would place when comfortable (00:32:11). Stephen Cox suggested starting to build a position in Bitcoin around the 77,000 level in a traditional brokerage account (not spread betting) due to overnight fees. They advised considering Bitcoin as high-risk, allocating no more than 10% to 15% of a total portfolio, and splitting the investment between the current support level and a lower level (around 5,800) in case of a further drop (00:34:31) (00:37:35).

Market Focus and General Advice Stephen Cox recommended sticking to trading gold and currencies for day trading, and focusing on the short put strategy as the basis of the portfolio, utilizing the tax-free environment in the UK and Ireland for this strategy (00:39:19). Other quick mentions included the successful Alaska stock recovery (00:27:44), and that oil trading remains risky compared to currencies and gold (00:28:45). Stephen Cox also outlined the Christmas arrangements, stating that the last webinars would be the Monday of Christmas week (around the 21st), with weekly group calls and webinars resuming around January 5th, although daily market updates would continue when markets are open (00:40:20).