How Mark Escaped the 9-5

Mark Croock has always been interested in finance and the stock market. Before his trading career, he worked as a public accountant — unhappily.

Then, one fateful day, Mark discovered one of my videos online. He had no idea that his entire life was about to change.

Mark was immediately hooked on my approach to trading. He…

• Became a devoted student, watching every single video of mine — THREE times!

• Transcribed every webinar I posted, analyzing them over and over (even weeks after they’d been posted)…

• Immersed himself in studying to master market dynamics so he could start to “get it”…

• Began trading full-time around 2010 with a starting account of $50K…

• Found his niche following a slow and steady trading mindset — no gunslinging!

• Focused on his best opportunities in a very consistent, conservative way…

Fun Fact: Just like me, Mark initially started trading with his bar mitzvah money. (Sometimes it’s good to be a Jew…)

Source: 2026 Millionaire Media, LLC

Aha! Discovering Options Trading

Mark had a serious “aha” moment when he discovered options trading…

As he got more comfortable with weekly options, Mark started implementing his momentum trading strategy based on breakouts in overextended stocks.

Let’s break down why Mark loves trading options.

• Defined risk. Mark has a negative bias but doesn’t like the risk associated with shorting common shares. Put options allow him to bet against stocks without risking more than he’s willing to lose.

• Massive upside. The percent moves in momentum stocks can be parabolic, which makes the gains on Mark’s options trades even juicier.

• Trade variety. If you trade stocks, you have two choices: long or short. But with options, the trade possibilities are endless. Mark can design any kind of bet he wants based on the specific options contracts he includes in a position.

Once Mark discovered the options market, there was no stopping him. He didn’t know it at the time, but his pivot led to a major career breakthrough…

Editor’s Note: Mark found that options gave him more flexibility, defined risk and the opportunity for outsized percentage gains when the setup was right. They’re not for everyone, and you need to understand how they work before diving in. To see if they are right for you and to find out more about our options trading strategy, click here for the details.

Mark Hits the Million-Dollar Milestone!

In 2018, Mark finally hit the million-dollar milestone. After so much hard work and patience, it was satisfying for him…

Here are four major lessons he learned along his path:

1. Timing’s everything. Being early (or late) on a trade is the same as being wrong.

2. Focus on the big picture. Don’t let intraday price action pull you out of a five-star setup.

3. Stick to your strategy. NEVER let FOMO tempt you into trading a subpar setup.

4. Don’t be a hero. Sometimes the setup looks great, but the trade just doesn’t pan out. Cut your losses quickly and move on to another play. (Sometimes no trade = best trade!)

That said, making a million dollars isn’t easy!

Now, I’d like to add a few points to Mark’s:

• His journey to becoming a millionaire trader was long and challenging. I think it’s a lesson in the importance of sticking to your strategy…

• Had he become impatient and too aggressive in the wrong market, he might’ve blown up his entire account.

• Mark’s a good example of “slow and steady wins the race.”

• He’s stubborn (in a good way). He’s never satisfied and he’s always looking to improve — even when he’s winning!

• Mark knows what works for him. He’s taken certain chart patterns I’ve taught him and successfully traded them again and again.

• He stalks stocks to get to know them like the back of his hand. He has an almost psychic connection to their charts (kinda freaky sometimes).

• Mark’s happy to sit on the sidelines if those patterns don’t play out.

Mark found his trading edge by betting against overextended momentum stocks. And he’s sticking to the strategy that works for him.

The 3 Keys to Mark’s Strategy

Mark’s strategy is specific. He’s only looking to trade a particular setup based on expert technical analysis.

Here are three technical indicators Mark looks for in every single trade:

1. Volume. He tries to only trade stocks when they’re experiencing periods of elevated volume on a daily or weekly basis.

2. Volatility. He wants to see wild swings in price action, which tend to lead to the first red day and first green day setups he loves to trade.

3. Catalysts. Technical indicators are important, but he also looks for major news catalysts that could send a stock into further volatility.

A technical strategy is only as good as the results that follow. And for Mark, the proof is in the trading…

Mark’s Biggest All-Time Trade

Another huge milestone for Mark happened this year when he bagged his single biggest trade of all time by trading put contracts on Riot Blockchain Inc. (RIOT).

Here’s the 411:

• In February 2021, the market was shifting and Mark lost money on several trades by exiting his setups too early…

• He was frustrated and knew he needed to adjust his strategy — which meant breaking some of my rules…

• He decided to stick with trades that I’d normally tell him to exit if he had a strong conviction that the setup would work…

• Mark had a STRONG conviction that the cryptocurrency market was overextended.

• He thought that crypto stocks like RIOT would suffer greatly if bitcoin (BTC) tanked.

I won’t get into the whole trade here. But let’s go over a few highlights:

• At one point in the trade, Mark was down about $40,000…

• Instead of cutting losses, he decided to stick to his convictions and let the setup play out…

• BTC plummeted the following day, and RIOT crashed from about $56 down to $46 … in the first 20 minutes of trading.

• Mark sold his put contracts near the bottom tick, profiting just under $128,000 — the biggest gain on a single trade in his entire career!

That’s INCREDIBLE and not at all how I would trade. But more importantly, this trade shows Mark’s ability to adapt to a shifting market.