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In this interview, the Words of Wisdom podcast sits down in Las Vegas with Brando—the elite options trader known for multiple eight-figure years—to unpack the rules behind his results. Brando’s reputation comes from keeping his charts simple (support, resistance, and psychological levels), aligning big levels on leaders like SPX, Tesla, and Nvidia, and a controversial risk approach: no hard stops, size for zero, and accept the outcome like a pro. He’s logged thousands of trades with a high win rate and treats trading like a craft—reviewing data, journaling, and focusing on A+ setups only.
In this piece, you’ll learn exactly how Brando frames breakout trades, why “size for zero” can be a rational options strategy when paired with strict position sizing, and how he times entries during the highest-probability windows. We’ll break down his simple charting approach, the correlation check he runs between index and leader stocks, and the review habits that keep him consistent—so newer traders can skip the noise, focus on what matters, and build a strategy they can actually execute.
Brando Playbook & Strategy: How He Actually Trades
Core Framework: What he looks at and why it works
He keeps the chart clean, so decisions are fast. It’s all about price interacting with obvious levels where many traders are already focused—support, resistance, prior highs/lows, and round numbers. That simplicity creates repeatable rules you can actually execute when the market is moving.
- Draw daily/4H support & resistance before the session; mark premarket high/low and previous day high/low.
- Highlight round “psych” levels (e.g., 500, 520, 1000) and treat them as magnets/air-pockets.
- Trade leaders and liquid index products first (SPX/SPY, TSLA, NVDA) to avoid slippage and news-idiosyncrasies.
- If the index and your leader disagree, stand down or cut size until alignment returns.
- Only take A+ setups: clean level, confluence, liquidity, and a catalyst (time-of-day or news).
The Setups: Breakout, Reclaim, Reversal—defined in plain English
You don’t need ten patterns—just a few you can spot instantly. These revolve around price versus your levels: clean breakouts, failed breaks (reclaims), and sharp reversals at extremes. Clarity at the level matters more than indicator cocktails.
- Breakout: Enter on a strong push through a marked level with velocity and volume; hold as long as price accepts above.
- Reclaim (failed breakdown/breakout): If price breaks a level, then snaps back and holds the other side, enter in the “trap” direction.
- First pullback after breakout: After the level clears, buy the first higher low (or sell the first lower high) against that level.
- Reversal at extremes: Fade only at pre-identified HTF levels with immediate confirmation (engulfing, wick rejection, or fast reclaim).
- No chop trading: If candles are overlapping around your level for >3–5 minutes with no progress, exit or skip.
Risk Method: “Size for Zero” so you can survive volatility
He doesn’t set tight stops that get wicked out; he sizes positions assuming an option could go to zero. That keeps emotions in check and lets winners breathe. Your account survives because you pre-limit the dollars you’re willing to lose per idea.
- Predefine $ risk per idea (e.g., 0.25%–1% of account) and buy option premium equal to that amount—assume full loss is possible.
- If the thesis breaks (level lost/acceptance flips), manual exit—don’t pray for a bounce.
- Avoid averaging down on options; if wrong, flat and wait for the next A+ setup.
- Cap daily loss (e.g., 2–3R or 1–2% of account); hit it → stop trading.
- Green early? Bank a portion and cut size for the rest of the day to protect mental equity.
Timing & Triggers: When he strikes during the session
Not every minute is equal. He focuses on windows with the best range and participation and uses simple, repeatable triggers to get in. That way, he’s not guessing—he’s executing.
- Prime windows: first 30–90 minutes, post-lunch reopens, and right after fresh catalysts.
- Enter on break + hold + continuation (e.g., 1–2 strong candles and a shallow pullback that holds the level).
- Use tape/velocity: expanding range and faster prints confirm urgency; drying up means take profits or step aside.
- If the breakout stalls for 2–3 candles at the level, reduce or exit—momentum died.
- End-of-day: favor continuation only if the trend day is obvious; otherwise, avoid lottery-close trades.
Ticker Selection & Watchlist: Keep it tight
He concentrates on a small basket of highly liquid names, so patterns are familiar and fills are fair. Familiarity compounds edge because you learn each ticker’s personality. Wide watchlists dilute focus and invite FOMO.
- Default basket: SPX/SPY, QQQ, TSLA, NVDA; add/remove one or two seasonal runners when they have fresh catalysts.
- Liquidity rule: options spreads ≤ 5–10 cents and thousands of contracts OI at your chosen strikes.
- Catalyst filter: earnings, product events, macro prints—trade names with a reason to move today.
- If your top two tickers are choppy, you don’t “go find” action—reduce size or take the day.
Entries, Adds, and Exits: Pre-plan so emotions can’t improvise
The plan is written before the click. You know where you’re wrong, where you take first profits, and when you press. This turns a good read into a consistent process.
- Entry: partial on initial break/hold; add only on the first clean higher low/lower high that respects your level.
- First scale: take 30–50% at 1–2R or when price tags the next obvious level; move risk to breakeven on remaining.
- Runner logic: keep a small piece for extension if trend remains one-sided (higher highs + shallow pullbacks).
- Hard exit: if price accepts back below your breakout level (multiple closes or heavy tape through it), flatten.
- Time stop: if your trade hasn’t moved in your favor within 10–15 minutes, free the capital.
Strike, Expiry, and Greeks: Make options work for the move you want
He chooses strikes/expiries to express the expected range without overpaying for decay. You’re not buying a lottery ticket—you’re buying a vehicle with the right sensitivity to price. Match your contract to the setup’s horizon.
- For day trades, pick near-the-money and same/next expiry with high volume; avoid deep OTM unless momentum is exceptional.
- If expecting a fast move, closer expiry with higher gamma; if expecting a steady grind, choose extra time (T+1–T+5) to soften decay.
- Avoid illiquid weeklies with wide spreads; pay the extra few cents for tight markets.
- Roll, don’t hope: if the move is still valid but decay is crushing, roll out/in strikes rather than bagholding.
- Never let winners turn into full losses—scale, trail, or roll when the tape slows.
Trade Management on Trend Days vs. Chop Days
He plays offense on trend days and extreme defense on chop. Knowing the day type saves you from forcing trades in bad conditions. Define it early and behave accordingly.
- Trend day tells: directional gap that holds, expanding intraday range, higher highs + shallow pullbacks (or the opposite). Press winners and let runners work.
- Chop tells: overlapping candles around key levels, intraday mean-reversion, and failed extensions. Switch to a smaller size and quicker targets.
- If the day type flips (trend → chop), immediately tighten risk and harvest.
- Two failed attempts at the same level = move on; protect mental capital.
Journaling & Review: Turn data into better rules
He treats trading like a craft with feedback loops. The goal is to identify what actually pays you and cut the rest. Small improvements stack quickly when you trade the same few patterns.
- Log every trade with level, setup, time of day, R multiple, and emotion (pre/post).
- Weekly: rank setups by expectancy; hard-ban bottom 20% until data says otherwise.
- Screenshot winners and losers at entry and +15 minutes—build a visual library.
- Track daily drawdown and comeback stats; if comebacks usually fail, ban comeback trading after -2R.
- One written improvement per week, not ten—install it, then move to the next.
Psychology & Routine: Make discipline easier than impulse
Discipline is easier when you remove decisions and reduce noise. The routine creates a default path you just follow. That’s how you show up consistently, even when the market is chaotic.
- Pre-market: 20–30 minutes to mark levels, define A+ scenarios, and set alerts; no social feed until after the first trade is closed.
- Rule of three: maximum three trades in the first hour; if all three fail, you’re out for the morning.
- Micro-breaks: after a win or loss, step away for 60–120 seconds to reset and avoid revenge trades.
- Red to green is optional, not mandatory—if you’re tilted, protect tomorrow.
- End-of-day reset: one sentence journal entry on what you did well and the single fix for tomorrow.
Risk & Account Structure: Keep yourself in the game
He aligns account mechanics with his style so one bad day can’t end the campaign. The account structure enforces survival and lets the edge play out over thousands of trades.
- Daily loss limit auto-enforced via broker OCO or soft lock: stop trading terminal at limit.
- Keep a buffer account (cash reserve) separate from the trading account—no emergency deposits after tilt days.
- Withdraw a fixed % of new equity monthly; reduce account size if emotions creep up with bigger numbers.
- If you miss the A+ entry, don’t chase—either wait for the reclaim/pullback trigger or pass entirely.
- Quarterly stress test: simulate worst 20-trade stretch at current risk; if account survival < 95%, cut unit size.
Size for Zero: Risk Units That Survive Volatile Market Swings
Brando’s core rule is brutally simple: size each trade as if the premium could go to zero. He isn’t saying “hold and hope”—he’s saying budget the entire dollar risk up front so a wicked wick or volatility burst can’t knock you out emotionally. By turning each position into a fixed “risk unit,” he keeps decision-making clean when the tape speeds up. That’s why Brando can sit through noise when the thesis is intact and immediately cut when the level is gone.
Practically, he caps risk per idea (for example, 0.25%–1% of the account), buys only that much premium, and forbids averaging down. If the level fails, he exits and moves on; if momentum confirms, he scales out into strength and lets a small runner work. This “size for zero” discipline is how Brando trades aggressively without letting one bad sequence wreck the campaign.
Trade Mechanics Over Predictions: Let Price Action Do the Talking
Brando doesn’t waste energy forecasting where the market “should” go; he watches how it actually behaves at his levels. For him, mechanics mean execution rules: break, hold, and go—or fail and flip. He reads acceptance versus rejection at support/resistance and lets that binary decide, not a storyline about macro or a guru call.
In practice, Brando enters only when price clears a level and holds on a shallow pullback, then scales out into the next obvious level. If a breakout stalls for a couple of candles and volume dries up, he trims or exits—no debate. When price fakes out and reclaims the level, he flips with the trap and keeps risk tight. The narrative can be wrong all day; the tape is never wrong about participation.
Diversify by Underlying, Strategy, and Duration—Not Just Tickers
Brando stresses that “diversified” doesn’t mean holding five tech names that move together. He diversifies by the engine of P&L: different underlyings (index vs. single-name leaders), different strategies (breakout vs. reclaim vs. reversal), and different holding durations (scalp, intraday swing, multi-day). That way, when one lane is cold—say, single-name momentum—his index plays or reclaim setups can still pay. Brando’s point is simple: vary the how and how long, not just the logo on the chart.
In practice, he keeps a tight basket (SPX/QQQ plus TSLA, NVDA) and rotates setups based on day type. If trends are clean, he leans breakout with same-day options; if it’s trap-city, he favors reclaim setups with slightly more time. For catalysts that may play out over sessions, he takes a smaller size with extra days to expiry to reduce decay risk. This mix keeps correlation from nuking the whole book at once and lets Brando compound even when one style is out of favor.
Defined Versus Undefined Risk: When to Pay Debit, When to Collect
Brando is blunt about risk shape: know exactly how your P&L can die before you click. When volatility is fair and direction is clear, he prefers defined-risk debit structures (near-the-money calls/puts, or tight verticals) so a surprise gap can’t torch the account. When ranges are wide, IV is fat, and levels are being respected, he’ll collect—but only with structure: credit spreads or iron condors where max loss is capped. The rule is simple: if your thesis needs time or could be wrong in a gap, buy risk; if the tape is paying for patience and you can cap the blowup, sell it—defined.
In practice, Brando avoids naked short options on single names; he converts them into verticals to tame margin and gap risk. He pays debit into catalysts he expects to resolve fast, and he sells time only when IV is elevated and he has clear invalidation at a level. If price reclaims against his credit spread, he adjusts early (roll up/out or close) rather than “waiting for theta.” And regardless of structure, he sizes as if the max loss is possible on every trade—because someday it will be.
Simple Rules, Strict Process: Daily Routines That Compound Trading Edge
Brando treats routine as the edge you can control every single day. He builds a tiny premarket checklist—mark the levels, pick the A+ scenarios, set alerts—and refuses to add tickers just to feel busy. Once the bell rings, he follows a cap on first-hour trades and a fixed loss limit that shuts him down automatically. The point is to protect decision quality so the best setups get full attention.
During the session, Brando journals quick notes after each trade—setup, level, outcome, and emotion—so he can spot patterns in what actually pays. He scales out mechanically at predefined targets, then walks away for a minute to avoid revenge entries. After the close, he screenshots winners and losers, bans the worst ideas for a week, and writes one improvement for tomorrow. Small, boring habits turn into a compounding edge because the process never takes a day off.
Brando’s playbook boils down to radical simplicity enforced by rules. Size every idea as if the premium can go to zero, then let the tape—not your ego—decide what happens next. He marks a few obvious levels, waits for acceptance or rejection, and executes with prewritten triggers so there’s no improvisation when volatility hits. Because each position is a fixed risk unit, he can cut instantly when the level fails and press confidently when momentum confirms.
He spreads his bets across what actually drives P&L—different underlyings, setups, and time horizons—so one cold lane doesn’t sink the day. When direction is clear and gaps matter, he buys defined risk; when IV is paying and levels hold, he sells premium with capped downside, adjusting early if price reclaims. Around all of it sits a boring, relentless routine: tight watchlist, prime trading windows, first take-profit and runner logic, hard daily loss limits, screenshots, and one written improvement for tomorrow. The lesson from Brando is that edge isn’t a secret indicator—it’s simple mechanics, disciplined risk, and a process that never takes a day off.
