Best CFD Broker

Click below to view Part 6/12, of a CFD Trading Seminar.

Part 6 covers Always Use a Stop Loss.

Click below to view Part 5/12, of a CFD Trading Seminar.

Part 5 covers Diversification & Risk Management.

Click below to view Part 4/12, of a CFD Trading Seminar.

Part 4 covers Understanding Risk & Exposure.

Success in options trading requires a consistent approach for long-term success. This “consistent approach” to options trading can also be called a “trading system”, or an “options trading system” in this case. A trading system could be something as simple as “buy an option on a stock in an uptrend that breaks the high of the previous bar after at least two days of pull back down movement that make lower lows.” A trading system is simply an organized approach that takes advantage of a repeated pattern or event that brings net profits.

Since an Option is a “Derivative” of the stock you must derive your options trading system from a stock trading system. This means your trading system must be based around actual stock price movement. That said, your trading system doesn’t need to work for all stocks it just has to work for certain types of stocks, certain volatility of stocks and certain price levels of stocks etc… So focus your trading system on certain stocks that have price behavior that is predictable to the net results you wish to abstract from a stock.

You can develop a trading system, a trading approach, and a trading methodology by identifying a price movement pattern (or lack of price movement pattern) or some event that occurs on some sort of regular basis. This means you can trade price behavior patterns on price charts such as: traditional chart patterns, trends, swings, pivot points, boxes etc… or you can trade events that motivate stock price such as earnings runs, post earnings runs, stock splits, seasonal factors etc…. Bottom line to make the maximum profit in options trading you want your stock to move in your favor fast and you want it to move far. Just a relatively small movement in the price of a stock can double your money in options!

There are so many different strategies and combinations that you can trade with options. You can buy calls and puts for directional trades. You can employ call spreads and put spreads to trade directional movements with a buffered risk, and profit. You can sell or purchase spreads to receive the credit of the premium decay by options expiration. You can trade straddles and strangles if you expect a big move but are not sure in which direction. You can also get into ratio back spreads, condors, and butterflies… And if you’re really feeling crazy you can sell ‘naked’ options.

Directional options trading systems are the best. Keep it simple, buy calls for and upside trade or buy puts for a downside trade. But this means you need a directional stock trading system in order to trade directional options.

Here are a couple of different approaches for directional systems:

Develop an options trading systems that trades the swings in stock price movement. There are many good swing trading systems available today. We suggest you obtain one. Bottom line with swing trading is that you want to swing trade with the trend. Options brokers these days have advanced order technology that will allow you to enter swing trades based on the price movement of the stock so you don’t have to watch this stock all day. That huge advancement to swing trading options.

Swing trade the day bars. Most swing trading systems are based on daily bars on the stock price chart.

Swing trade the Intra Day Bars! Their other fantastic systems based on intraday charts that pin point swing trading entries.

Develop an options trading system that trades three to six month trends. This is where the big money is. Trading the large trends is where many are able to place larger sums of money to develop their net worth.

Develop an options trading system that trades pivot points. Pivot point trading is arguably the best way to trade options, because price action usually is explosive, and happens quickly in our direction when a trade works. This is good because you can use shorter-term options and leverage yourself a little better. And it’s also nice you can make great gains in five days to four weeks on average so time decay issues become less of a worry.

There are many different directional trading methods you could use to trade options. You need to pick one, work it, and never use more than 10% options position size per trade on small accounts 1% to 5 % max position size on larger accounts. This methodical way of money management trading options is the fastest way to potentially rapid account growth, helping you avoid needless set backs.

To learn how to trade options, you need to first of all learn what call options and put options are. All optionable stocks come with both call options and put options. Call options allow you to buy a stock at a fixed price no matter what price the stock is and put options allow you to sell a stock at a fixed price no matter what price the stock is. This means that if you buy a call option and the price of the stock goes up, the call option would make a profit because you still have the right to buy at a price lower than the stock price. As such, you would buy call options when you think a stock is going to go up. Conversely, put options allow you to sell a stock at a fixed price. This means that if you buy a put option and the price of the stock goes down, the put option would make a profit because you still have the right to sell at a price higher than the stock price. As such, you would buy put options when you think a stock is going to go down.

This is only a brief outline of what call and put options are, obviously there is much more to it but this is where you start learning about options.

After you have a clear idea what call options and put options are, you need to know what strike prices and expiration dates are. A strike price is the price agreed upon in an options contract. A call option with a strike price of $10 allows you to buy a stock at $10 no matter what price the stock is and a put option with a strike price of $10 allows you to sell a stock at $10 no matter what price the stock is. There are strike prices covering a very wide price range both higher and lower than the prevailing stock price. Which brings us to the next important thing to learn about options; Options Moneyness.

Depending on the strike price in relation to the prevailing stock price, an option can be either In The Money, At The Money or Out Of The Money. Options of different moneyness caters to different outlooks. You would buy out of the money options when you think a stock is going to make a big move and you would buy in the money options when you expect only a relatively small move. So, unlike stock trading where you simply buy the stock when you think it will go up, options trading make you think one more step deeper into the possible degree of move in order to maximize profits.

Complete understanding of options moneyness and the implications of options of different moneyness is impossible without an understanding of how options are priced in terms of their intrinsic value and extrinsic value. Only by understanding the difference between intrinsic value and extrinsic value and how to calculate how much of each value is in the price of an option, you cannot intelligently choose the right option for your specific outlook.

Once you have a good understanding of what call and put options are, how they are priced and the implications of different moneyness, it is time you learn how to place options orders through your options broker. Placing options orders is another complex issue as there are 4 main order types for options trading unlike the two simple order type for stock trading. Buy to open allows you to open a new options position by buying it, sell to open allows you to open a new options position by creating a new options contract and selling it, buy to close allows you to buy back and close options you previously created and sold and sell to close allows you to sell options that you previously bought. Knowing exactly what these orders do is extremely important for knowing how to execute extremely complex options strategies.

Yes, Options Strategies allow you to profit from multiple directions and cater to even more specific outlooks and is one of the most unique features of options trading. Putting different options both long and short together produces strategies that go beyond simply profiting when a stock goes up or down. There are literally hundreds, if not thousands, of options strategies and some are so complex that a single position consists of 4 to 8 different trades utilizing a complex combination of the different order types you learnt above. In fact, each option strategy is a study on its own that requires long period of learning and trading to master.

After you have learnt all of the above can you start placing some simple options trades and know exactly what you are doing. See how much learning it takes to place your first options trade? Yes, options trading require investment knowledge that goes beyond merely buying and selling and is as much a science as it is an art. Follow the above steps, do your due diligence and you will be all set for your first options trade.

There are 3 main options trading methodologies; Swing Trading, Position Trading and Day Trading.

Swing trading is a directional options trading methodology that aims to pick stocks that will move quickly and strongly within a short period of time in a predictable direction and then execute bullish or bearish options strategies in order to profit from these moves. Trying to profit from directional swing trading in an extremely volatile market is like swimming against the tide. Not only is directions hard to predict in the first place but the high options premium along with gapping bid ask spread all work against its favor.

Position trading is more complex than Swing Trading as it aims to profit mainly (although there are also position trading strategies that are directional in nature) from volatility or premium decay through putting together several different options and / or stocks in order to produce a hedged, market neutral position. Position trading has produced some pretty profitable results in a market crisis as volatility soars and options premiums are high. This puts the disadvantages of an extremely volatile market condition in the favor of the options trader. Such positions include dynamically hedged delta-neutral as well as delta-gamma-neutral positions. Both of these position trading strategies aim to neutralize market movement such that unexpected swings do not affect the position significantly while the position safely takes the high options premium on the short legs into your pockets.

Day trading is an extremely dynamic options trading method where options are bought and sold very quickly within one day in order to profit from the slightest intraday price swing or change in volatility. This strategy was a pretty hard one to profit from in low volatility market conditions as prices doesn’t change enough within a day to produce significant profits. However, day trading becomes extremely profitable in the hands of seasoned options trading veterans in extremely volatile market conditions such as this market crisis as the Dow itself has produced intraday trading ranges of up to 10%! Yes, this is the kind of trading range and price range that cannot be realised in normal market conditions. Day trading often takes the form of simply buying or shorting call or put options and then quickly covering them when profitable. Day trading also avoids the extreme overnight uncertainties that so often catch swing traders by surprise in this market crisis. Sudden overnight good news can often gap the Dow up by a significant amount and closing it over 10% higher. This can wipe out all your profits if you had been betting in the opposite direction overnight. Day trading, however, is extremely risky for beginners in options trading as the price movement is so fast and dynamic that when things happen, beginners may not know what to do and be able to do it quickly. This is therefore not recommended for beginners.

Succeeding with options is not always the easiest thing to achieve. There are many factors that go into the process of developing a trading strategy than just the execution of the trades. Personal factors will go into the development of a methodology. In some instances, there will be psychological factors that will be developed into the trading plans. Understanding such components is vital to exploring a trading method to make sure it is valuable to your goals.

Actually, it would not hurt to explore your own psychological factors and facets prior to looking seriously at trading. Now, some may assume such assessments are little more than ‘psycho-babble’ that seek to examine options trading from an over-analytical perspective. This may be the case in some instances but as a general explanation of what motivates people towards options trading, it is definitely not something you want to overlook. By having a clear understanding of your own psychological makeup, you can develop the proper insight into how to be effective in the art of trading.

Simply put, some people are more cut out for options trading than others. Those that are conservative in their investment strategies might wish to limit options trading to a smaller part of their overall portfolio. Those that can be considered quite aggressive in their approach may look towards possibly using options as a hedge to their portfolio. Again, your own personal psychological makeup regarding comfort levels of trading in essential in options. This will certainly help promote your ability to discover the proper answer to whether or not you are cut out for options trading.

How can you discover whether or not you have the mindset of an options trader? The first step involves honestly answering whether or not you are someone that possesses the discipline to be an options trader. Some may believe they have the discipline to succeed. However, believing you possess certain attributes to a specific degree and actually possessing those attributes to the proper degree are two completely different things. Knowing exactly where you stand in terms of your mindset and your levels of discipline will aid in boosting your chances of success. For example, someone who needs to keep fiddling with their account by buying and selling every few days isn’t someone who should be investing in options! The commissions alone will eat you up. Similarly someone who like a lot of excitement in their trading should probably stay away from options.

Having a quality options trading strategy is helpful. Putting the options trading strategy through to fruition is even more helpful. But, once again, there is a big difference in having the desire to follow such a process and actually following through with it. Those that are able to follow through with such steps may be limited in number. No, that is not said as a means of undermining anyone’s motivation, morale, or desire. Rather, it is meant as a way of properly forecasting the management of your venture and assessing the risk of getting involved with options trading. You also need a plan for when the market goes against your strategy, so that you don’t make decisions because you’re panicking.

Yes, trading in options needs to be looked from the perspective of managing a small business. When operating a small business, you need to assess the risk associated with a venture. You also need to assess the risks and potentials associated with the success or failure of the business. This same ideology needs to be put towards options trading. If you can honestly assess yourself as someone with the self discipline to follow through with a reliable options trading strategy, then you may very well be extremely successful with options trading.

Also, how well can you handle losing trades? Are you able to handle losses and pick things up and start the process over again? If you are then you may very well embody the proper psychological makeup for succeeding with options trading. Those that cannot handle the pressure of the occasional loss would be better served looking towards another investing strategy.

It has been said success starts with the right mental makeup. If you can adapt your mindset to your psychological approach to trading, you may find success is not as elusive as you think.

Click below to view Part 3/12, of a CFD Trading Seminar.

Part 3 covers Winning and Losing Investors.

Mistake 1: Choosing the wrong (usually out of the money) options

Many options trading beginners prefer to buy “cheap” out of the money options the reason being why buy expensive when cheaper options would also profit if the stock moved up (for call options). Well, that one decision alone has resulted in much of the initial losses when a stock moved up insignificantly and the position remains in a loss. Out of the money options are only good if you expect the stock to move strongly in that direction. If you expect to profit from relatively small movements, at the money or in the money options should be what you should buy. Buying out of the money options is also the reason why many options trading beginners lose all their money in one go. This happens when the options they bought never got in the money all the way up to expiration.

Mistake 2: Making complex positions as your first few tries at options trading

Many options trading beginners start out making complex positioning strategies such as iron condor spread or butterfly spreads as their first few options trades and then totally screw up as they did not know how to maintain the position and some don’t even know how to set up the positions properly. If you are new to options trading, stick to making a few simple call or put options trades using a small amount of money (or money you can afford to lose) in order to have a feel of how it works first before moving on to more complex strategies. Complex strategies are only good when your trading experience is as comprehensive as they are.

Mistake 3: Buying options that do not conform to your expected trading horizon

Most options trading beginners have no idea what an expected trading horizon is in the first place and commonly find the options they buy expiring before the underlying stock made the move they expected it to. If you expect a stock to be a mid to long term performer, make sure you buy options that are half a year to a year out. If you don’t know how a stock is going to behave, make sure you give yourself plenty of time by buying options with no lesser than 3 months to expiration.

Mistake 4: Placing the wrong orders

Yes, when under pressure, especially when real money is involved, beginners tend to make silly human errors such as clicking a wrong button, buying a wrong option, buying a wrong expiration month or placing a wrong stop loss order that got the position sold off immediately. Such beginner human errors can only be reduced through an extended period of virtual trading practice on your chosen options platform and then progressively practice using only very little money in order to get used to the feeling of trading real money. Always give yourself a few months of virtual trading practice on your chosen platform before going on real money.

Mistake 5: Trading with borrowed money (or money you cannot afford to lose)

There is a saying “you can’t afford to win if you can’t afford to lose”. This is exceptionally true in trading, not only options trading, but any kind of trading. If you trade using money that you cannot afford to lose, the mental pressure will reduce your odds of winning when your odds of winning are already very low as a beginner. This is why we always advise people to trade only with money they can afford to lose.

Mistake 6: Trading without guidance

Would you learn to drive a car without anyone guiding you? Why then would you learn to trade without anyone guiding you? Yes, a mentor or a teacher is extremely important to beginners in options trading not because they can give you “tips” but because they can shed light on your situation and reveal weaknesses that you may not have noticed. Beginners trading without guidance typically repeat mistakes over and over again, which can wipe your account out.

There are five essential tips that any option trader must understand when developing a winning stock option system.

First, you must understand the degree which time affects the premium of the option you are considering trading. There are two parts you must consider when factoring time into the stock option trading decisions. The first thing that you must take into account is the intrinsic time left on an option. Since options have a limited time period of anywhere from 30 days to several year depending on the particular option that you bought you must be sure that you purchase the correct option containing enough time on it to insure that time decay doesn’t erode your investment away before your position has enough time to be profitable.

The second skill of trading options profitably is factoring time into your trading system in relation to trading a particular stock option and knowing the statistics of your option trading methodology or option trading setup by knowing the average holding period of a trade signal. If your average holding time for an option trade is seven days then you don’t want to buy an option with three months of time premium left on it because you would be paying more for the extra time with the option’s purchase price. Nor would you buy an option with less that 30 days till expiration as time decay would erode the value of option so quickly that even if the option’s underlying stock movement moved favorably to you the time decay would prevent you from realizing a gain in the option itself.

The third thing to profitable option trading is understanding the relation of volatility between the market, the underlying stock that underlies the stock option, and the effect is has on the value of the option itself. When the general stock market as an index goes thru periods of volatility or low trading ranges the stocks that make up the market tend to follow overall trend and also begin to experience periods of low overall volatility which in turn can cause derivative like stock options to become cheap or low premiums. But if the market’s volatility rises it is likely that individual stocks will follow the trend causing stock option premiums to increase in value given that the market moves in the trader’s favor. The next key in how to trade stock options successfully is having a stock option trading method that takes these key factors into consideration while giving clear entry signals, clear exit signals, a defined system of trade management, and a profit factor greater than your average loss over a series of trades. Knowing the ins and outs of various trade setups is useless if you don’t have a trading methodology that guides you in every step of the trade process. A solid trading method holds you by the hand and defines each step while leading you to being a consistent winner in the markets and a profitable trader when all is said and done.

Finally, the fifth and final key to successfully trading stock options is yourself, particularly your trading psychology. Human beings and there mental makeup are extremely complex so it is extremely important that stock option traders not only have a sound stock option trading methodology but the discipline to follow their trading methods. You can give two people the same exact winning trading system but it is very common for them to have different results. Invariably, the one that has the ability to remain as detached from his losing trades as well as his winning trades while maintaining the discipline to follow the system’s rules no matter the trading result will emerge the greatest winner in the end.

Using these five keys as a basis to develop your stock option trading methodology can help you avoid the mistakes and pitfalls of many beginning option traders. By understanding time decay, factoring an option’s time into your trading method, how volatility impacts a stock option’s value, what defines a reliable stock option trading methodology, and your own trading psychology you now have a foundation to develop into a winning stock option trader.