Dear Trader,

A few months ago a couple of our friends invited us to join them for dinner. Now these happen to be some of my favorite people in Austin, so the answer was a quick ‘yes.’

Like all friendships, there are friendship quirks.

This couple happens to love going to the newest and hottest restaurants in Austin. You know, the ones that are being raved about on TikTok or by food critics who love fancy food, high prices, and small portions.

We enjoy the company so much that Lauren and I don’t mind paying a little extra for disappointing food.

This time, we went to a new Italian place in town. It was supposed to be an incredible experience, with great food.

I went to dinner extremely hopeful… but skeptical.

We ordered about everything on the menu. The vibe was cool, they had a great wine and cocktail list, so ahead of ordering, I started to get a little excited.

The food was fine. Not great, but fine.

I had better Italian food at the local Italian place in Berwyn, IL, let alone on local corners in Chicago and New York when I lived in those places.

Then the bill came… and it was exactly what I was expecting. Completely overpriced.

Mediocre food with a huge ticket (still better than going to Olive Garden).

But, I didn’t care. I had a wonderful time with Lauren and our friends.

This story is not really about the restaurant; it's about why I was there.

I was there for the company and they delivered… with a cost.

No friendship is perfectly ideal, they all come with a hassle of some kind. Trading strategies are similar.

Trading and developing new strategies is never perfect. There’s always a cost.

In developing a new strategy, the money you spend live testing will usually cost you while you are developing it. But as you hone the approach, much of the cost will turn into profits.

I run strategies with high success rates and they are constantly evaluated and improved. It doesn’t stop. There is always more learning, even with a strategy years old. It may be a great ‘friend’ but it's always going to have a price, the times it doesn’t work.

But, the right friendship with a trading strategy, one that is consistent, and repeatable will come through for you over weeks, months, and years… like an old reliable friend.

Part of the reason we trade real money here at Option Pit with our own accounts, is that every strategy needs to have skin in the game.

Like close relationships, having skin in the game forces you to continue to cultivate that friendship/strategy.

Having real money forces us to trade only the strategies we would want to consistently trade.

A trade needs to be a close friend, not an acquaintance.

Your only option,

Mark Sebastian