Applying a more complete definition of diversification can help retail option traders diversify their portfolio profitably, beyond equities.A buddy started online options trading from home, in the last 6 months. He was trading a mix of Verticals, Calendars and Iron Condors using highly liquid Indexes but was failing to get consistent profits. Naturally, I asked, [...]
Managing the performance of your trading account must go beyond the discipline of money management. While money management remains critical, it is a subset of the total picture of managing your trading accountâs profit and loss.That total picture is what Kenneth L. Grant aptly paints in his book, Trading Risk. Total performance management of trading [...]
Not all volatilities are constructed equal. It is critical to differentiate between Historical Volatility and Implied Volatility, so retail traders learn how to trade options focused on what is material to theoretically price option spreads forward.Historical Volatility (HV) measures past price movements of the underlying asset recording the asset’s actual or realized volatility. The more [...]
Most trading literature on option strategies tend to lean towards mathematical formulas to define the construction of a spread. Guy Cohen has chosen to use pictorial logic, even with the Greeks unique to a particular strategy, to piece together the legs of a spread with diagrams.Diagrams that connect with each other are a much more [...]
Just as elite athletes go through a specific warm-up routine for their body and their mind before competing at a meet, we too as option traders need to follow a specific routine/process before we enter a trade and compete in the markets.
Here is the step-by-step routine that I follow each market day when looking [...]
Time-based charts (namely Candlesticks, OHLC Bars and Heikin-Ashi) fail to truly depict price. This article will help you realize that time-based pattern recognition is an unreliable method for stock option trading.Some retail training firms like to popularize the myth that, âEveryone looks at these patterns in the chartsâ. They are partly right. Though, their use [...]
For option sellers it is disconcerting to hear people say that selling naked options is extremely risky because it carries the threat of âunlimited losesâ. Nothing is farther from the truth! Itâs a myth! Itâs about time we correct this misconception and put this fear to rest.
While theoretically the selling of naked options carries [...]
It is no secret that 2008 was a terrible year for most stock investors, and most probably things are going to get worst in the future. The US and the World economy are in a recession that will probably last at least for the rest of 2009. The recession translates into less demand for products [...]
I make a living out of trading options…and a pretty good one at that!
For a long time I couldn’t say those words as I struggled just to hold on to my capital, let alone make it grow.
Though there were several reasons why I struggled (including being grossly undercapitalized and at the same [...]
Contrast these 2 days. 29 Sep, 2008: Dow down -7.50%, Nasdaq down -10.06% and S&P 500 down -9.63%. Versus 13 Nov, 2008: Dow up +6.25%, Nasdaq up +6.11% and S&P 500 up +6.47%. Many retail option traders would have rushed to get their spreads filled on such big days, either to get short or long. [...]