Today's trade is in a name that has the potential to really rip. Of course, the nature of this type of trade is that it has a lower probability of success.

But if we get it right, our potential gains will likely be exponentially higher than any heat we're likely to take in this trade if we're early or wrong.

So let's get right to it.

This morning, my Head Technical Analyst Steve Strazza joined me on The Flow Show to put our heads together on a new trade:

Strazza loves the Energy sector here, and of all the charts he likes, I liked this one in Valero Energy $VLO the best:

Best of all, options premiums are near the lowest levels of the year for $VLO:

This isn't entirely surprising. The stock has been consolidating just below all-time highs since early 2022. And the consolidation has been continually tightening.

Sideways markets may not stop you out of your positions, but they are likely to wear you out. And when traders are exiting their positions giving up on the thought of any directional movement, options premiums tend to decline because few participants feel the need to protect their positions or aggressively bet on accelerating...

The speculative fever is returning in a big way.

Today's trade is in one of those names that has already benefited from the recent surge in stocks and crypto prices and is likely to continue thriving if this brewing mania is here to stay for a while longer.

Here's something we don't do very often -- we're going to patiently leg into a position.

Bottoms are a process, and we're taking a position that is betting on a turn on a much-maligned overseas market.

We think the turn can be messy and sloppy sideways for a little longer, which will allow us to get better prices if we go into it with a plan.

Like the Energizer Bunny, the bull market just keeps going...

Who am I to fight the trend?

Today's trade is a stock that has been consistently traveling the path of least resistance higher and we're betting on that trend continuing.

With bullish setups continuing to climb this week, I like the cushion this gives me to continue putting on some bearish bets to help smooth out any possible portfolio volatility that may be on the horizon.

Today's bearish "hedge" is a short bet in a technology name that is most definitely not keeping up with its peers.

<meta name="twitter:image" content="http://allstarcharts.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/options-twitter-image.jpg" />

Today's trade is in a steel sector name that recently poked its head above a resistance level that had been capping the upside for over two years now.

As the stock consolidates its recent breakout, options premiums are quite low, offering us the opportunity to position in some longer-dated calls for a simple bet on higher prices.

<meta name="twitter:image" content="http://allstarcharts.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/options-twitter-image.jpg" />

I believe the options market is underpricing the possibility of a downside surprise following earnings coming up in Hormel Foods $HRL.

So we're going place a long-shot bet that will pay gluttonously if we're right.

Healthcare continues to lead to the upside. While we already have a bullish bet on a sector ETF, it's time for us to drill in a little deeper in search of more beta if this trend is going to continue.

Today's trade is in a name that has been performing great off its December lows and has also been in a longer-term bull market. But only just recently has it begun to outperform against the broader stock market.

Check out this chart of Merck $MRK:

As many of our longs continue to work in this current leg higher in the stock market, I like putting on bearish bets as portfolio hedges to cushion the blow if/when the turn comes.

And the best way I know how to do it is to position bearishly in stocks that are already falling. If they are performing poorly now, I have to believe there is a lot more downside should a downdraft hit the broader market.

My analysts published their latest Short Report, and one of the names caught my attention.

Perhaps the title of this post is a bit dramatic. But it got your attention, yeah?

While the indexes continue to plow higher and higher, proving markets can stay irrational longer than bears can stay solvent, there continues to be signs piling up that a turn may be near at hand.

We're not saying that the long bull market is coming to an inglorious and permanent end. We're more of the belief that a well-deserved pause and/or pullback feels like a perfectly natural thing to happen somewhere around here.

So we're going to add another bearish bet to the board in a stock that is already showing signs of topping in a sector that might be ready to roll over.