The top five: (1) Buying cheap OTM calls because the headline P&L looks attractive — most expire worthless. (2) Ignoring IV rank and selling premium when IV is low or buying when IV is high. (3) Position sizing by gut feel rather than account percentage — one bad trade can wipe out months of progress. (4) No written exit plan, leading to greed-driven holds and panic exits. (5) Trading earnings without understanding IV crush — directional thesis right, P&L still down 50%.
Mistakes six through ten: revenge trading after a loss, holding through expiration on positions you should have closed, ignoring liquidity (wide bid-ask spreads kill the math), trading too many tickers at once (no real edge in any of them), and skipping the trade journal so the same mistakes repeat for years. Each of these has a specific countermeasure in the curriculum — but recognition of the pattern is step one.