Daily Options Plays — Top 2 Picks

Build a simple stock-options watchlist and paper-trade plan after the first 15 minutes of the market session. Use when the user wants a 9:45 AM ET scan, only...

Security Scan

The skill is an instruction-only watchlist generator for options paper-trading that asks for no installs, credentials, or external config and its requirements line up with its stated purpose.

Purpose & Capability

Name, description, and included reference files all describe a narrow 9:45 AM ET options watchlist and paper-trade plan; the skill does not request unrelated binaries, credentials, or config paths.

Instruction Scope

SKILL.md stays on-topic (scan after 9:45, ranking rules, two plays, contract guidance, hourly checks). It implicitly requires market and news data (index trends, VIX, option chains/unusual activity) but does not provide data sources or instruct access to unrelated system files or secrets. The only potential gap: the instructions are open-ended about where to obtain market data, so the agent will need access to data/APIs or user-supplied context to produce live picks.

Install Mechanism

Instruction-only skill with no install spec and no code files — nothing is written to disk or downloaded during install.

Credentials

No environment variables, credentials, or config paths are requested. The level of access requested is minimal and appropriate for an advisory, read-only watchlist generator.

Persistence & Privilege

always is false and model invocation is allowed (platform default). The skill does not request persistent system privileges or modify other skills/configs.

Assessment

This skill is instruction-only and appears internally consistent: it produces 9:45 AM ET watchlists and paper-trade guidance and does not request credentials or install code. Before using it for live decision-making, confirm where the agent will obtain market data (price quotes, VIX, option chains, news) — the SKILL.md expects that data but doesn't supply sources or API keys. Never provide brokerage or account credentials to this skill; treat its output as educational planning and paper-trade first. If you want real-time picks, ensure your agent has an appropriate, trustworthy market-data integration and understand any permissions that integration requires.

Overview

Create a simple, disciplined options watchlist for beginners. Keep the output narrow: scan after 9:45 AM ET, rank setups, give only the best 2 plays, and translate each idea into a paper-trade plan with entry, stop, target, contract guidance, and a short plain-English thesis.

Workflow

1. Run only on U.S. stock market trading days. Skip weekends and market holidays when the market is closed.
2. Wait until at least 9:45 AM ET for same-day trade ideas. Do not issue opening-drive signals in the first 15 minutes.
3. Review the user’s stock universe or use a small liquid default list if none is provided.
4. Score setups using price action, volume, trend, support/resistance, catalyst context, and market tone.
5. Return only the top 2 plays. Fewer is better if conviction is weak.
6. For each play, provide:
   • ticker and direction
   • entry
   • stop / invalidation
   • first target and stretch target when useful
   • confidence from 1-10
   • short rationale with key risk
   • 1-2 week near-the-money options guidance
7. Default to paper-trade-first language unless the user explicitly asks for live execution framing.
8. Re-check the watchlist roughly once per hour, not every few minutes, unless the user requests a live drill-down.

Output Rules

• Keep the writeup concise and easy to scan.
• Prefer liquid large-cap names and obvious levels over exotic setups.
• Avoid more than 2 trade ideas in the final answer.
• If the market is messy, say no clean setup instead of forcing picks.
• Never promise outcomes. Use probability language.
• Explicitly mention that this is educational planning, not guaranteed financial advice.

Contract Guidance

Translate the stock setup into beginner-friendly options guidance:

• Prefer calls for bullish ideas and puts for bearish ideas.
• Prefer near-the-money strikes.
• Prefer expirations about 1-2 weeks out.
• Avoid very short-dated contracts unless the user knowingly wants faster decay and higher risk.
• If implied volatility or liquidity looks problematic, say so and reduce confidence.

Monitoring Philosophy

Use an hourly monitoring mindset by default:

• Check whether price is holding above/below the planned entry zone.
• Check whether stop or invalidation is close.
• Check whether the thesis still matches market tone and news.
• If price hits target 1, discuss partial-profit logic or stop tightening.
• If the thesis breaks, say exit or stand aside. Do not rationalize a bad setup.

Recommended Response Shape

Use this structure when generating the watchlist:

• Market tone: 1-3 bullets
• Macro / News Context: explicitly say if it is an FOMC day, CPI day, earnings-heavy day, major geopolitical/world-event day, or if there is no major market-moving news
• Play 1
• Play 2
• No-trade note or risk note
• Paper-trade reminder

References

Read references/watchlist-framework.md when you need the exact scan checklist, ranking criteria, or an example output format.