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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.

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.

10 Conservative Options Trading Guidelines to follow for maximum safety.

1. Use only money you can afford to lose

This is the most common advice given in options trading and one which most people choose to ignore to their own detriment. Using only money you can afford to lose means that if you hope to lose no more than $200 in a single trade, then you should use no more than $200 in buying options at any one time. The good thing about options is that the leverage it offers allows you to make a significant profit even with very small capital outlays and even if you get it wrong, all you can lose is $200, nothing more… if you follow the next tip.

2. Use only debit strategies

A lot of options beginners start out options trading using complex credit strategies. There are 2 drawbacks to this approach. Firstly, the complexity of some credit spreads caused beginners who are not used to placing options orders in the first place to enter the wrong orders or leg in the wrong way, resulting in instant losses. Secondly, credit spreads require significant margin which may not allow beginners practicing with a small account to use them in the first place. Using debit strategies allow you to control your losses as well. What you invest is all you can lose, period. You won’t lose more than you expect unlike some unlimited loss credit strategies.

3. Always virtual trade new options strategies

This tip translates to never using real money for options strategies which you have never used before. Always practice new options strategies on the virtual trading platform offered by your broker.

4. Choose the right broker

The right broker should fulfill all of the following criteria;

• discount commission.
• offers free real time quotes.
• offers virtual trading practice platform.
• offer advanced orders such as contingent orders and trailing stop loss.
• offers both stock and options trading.
• no call in brokers. In options trading, you want to be able to execute a trade at the click of a mouse without the frustration and delay of calling a broker who may not even understand what you want executed in the first place.

5. Always buy options or positions with at least 3 months to expiration

Unless you are a sniper sharp stock picker or using credit strategies which you want expire quickly, always buy options or position with at least 3 months to expiration. There is nothing more frustrating to see your positions expire before the stock starts to move.

6. Take advantage of low commissions to close out on expiration day

Most options brokers offer an exceptionally deep discount for closing out options positions on the expiration day of those options. Take advantage of this deep discount to close out positions that are at the money or very near the money instead of risking an accidental automatic exercise.

7. Use advanced orders to enforce your stop loss

Most people give in to their emotions when it’s time to take a loss thinking that the position might come back the next day. We all know what usually happens after that, yes, the position gets held all the way to expiration and then it expires worthless, losing 100% of its value. Yes, nothing is more difficult than trusting your human emotions to enforce stop loss points. That is why you must always make use of advanced orders such as conditional / contingent orders or trailing stop loss to automate your stop loss policy.

8. Trade for profit, not for fun

Most beginners trade options for fun more than profits. Their main aim is merely to use these overly hyped options strategies and see how they work with the aim of making money being secondary. If you don’t think a trade has a high chance of turning out successfully, don’t make it.

9. Use put options to hedge your stock holdings

Perhaps the best use of put options of all time is to buy them as a hedge against your stocks. If you have stocks which you are holding for long term investment purpose, consider buying LEAPS put options expiring six months to a year out as protection against catastrophic drops.

10. Avoid Out Of The Money Options if you intend to trade with all your money

The reasons why most beginners lose all their money in options trading in one go is because they buy out of the money options with all their money. This means that they will lose all their money even if the stock moved in their favor but not enough to bring the options in the money! Now, bearing in mind that you should only be using money you can afford to lose, buying only in the money options with those money give you even higher protection and lesser chance of losing everything.

What Are Stock Options?

Let’s start our beginner’s options trading discussion with the topic of what options aren’t. Stock options are not ownership in anything; unlike stocks, the holder of an option doesn’t possess part ownership in a company; this is simply an agreement between two investors that one party agrees to deliver something to another party within a specific time period and for a specific price. This eliminates the ownership part of the agreement as well as the idea that you must possess a particular stock in order to implement a position. Interested in selling short an option? In the stock market you have to borrow the stock to do it; in options trading beginners only need to understand that there is no ownership and no problem making the transaction.

What Are the Advantages of Stock Options?

o Leverage – Options also have the advantage of leverage; your option is purchased with a multiplier of 100 so your fortunes are affected by 100 shares of stock and not only one.

o Limited Risk – This is not true of all options investing, but overall options trading has limited risk. When buying options, your risk is limited to the price of the premium, or the amount you paid for the option. For example, if you buy straddle (the name for a particular option) and the price of the stock is wrong for your position, you can, in essence, allow the option to expire. This offers a great start in options trading for beginners since they can purchase options without the fear of staggering losses.

o No Risk Paper Trading – Thanks to the power of the Internet, paper trading has become a valuable asset for the options trading beginner. You simply register to use the software and follow the directions of the site. You will be able to implement positions and see the effects of your decisions on your “account”. Lose your money? No problem, it was only virtual money but a real experience beginner’s options trading.

What Do You Need To Do To Get Started?

Getting started is never really difficult. Remember, it is your first day. However, there are several things you need to do as a beginner in options trading:

1. Start Learning – There is no substitute for education. Read books about options trading, talk with others that trade options and search the Internet for information about options trading. Once you start investing your own money, you will be glad to understand options trading.

2. Create a Stock Trading Plan – This is just as important as your education. You need to outline your goals and objectives as well as your strategies in an unemotional manner. This way, when emotion tries to creep into your decision making process, you will have already decided your course of action.

3. Select a Broker – This is a personal, but important part of the process. You can implement your own trades but you need someone to actually place the orders. Some full-service brokers offer more services and most Internet brokers offer lower commissions. Even though you’re a beginner in options trading, define what you want from your broker and find someone who meets your needs.

4. Use Japanese Candlesticks – This powerful charting system will help not only the beginner in options trading but is valuable to the “expert” as well. Candlesticks will help you to find the trends in the market that most others miss.

Futures Markets, Options Trading, Foreign Exchange (FX 0r FOREX), Contracts For difference(CFD), Exchange Traded funds (ETF). Name your day trading poison, which financial instrument do you trade, and how do you decide?

Most people come to trading through the recommendation of a friend or colleague or by attending a trading seminar. You will develop a bias depending on your initial exposures and the compelling sales pitch of the presenter.

Firstly there are no right or wrong choices. Even within brokerage houses there is much divided opinion. My brokers, all of which are very experienced differ widely. My broker trades Futures and ETF’s as a surrogate.

His colleagues express differing opinions, one only trades options, another CFD’s and then there is the Forex guy. This is not an accident as the principal has brought together a team of traders with different interests and experience. One thing for sure is they don’t change from one instrument to the other. They have learnt one system and they stick to it.

They all have valid arguments. The futures guy, says why trade a gold mining CFD or stock, just trade the futures contract. The Forex guy says why trade the futures currency contract when you can trade the FX and not pay commission, the futures guy argues back that the spread is too wide on the FX contract.

They are all right. They are each experts in their own field. This is what you need to become, if you are to succeed in day trading.

So back to you.

If you have access, I would strongly recommend that you attend a trading expo, have a look at all the methods, and importantly do not commit to anything at the expo. You need to go home and access the pro’s and con’s of each instrument.

You will also be presented with software, live trading rooms and educational packages and brokers promising you the earth. Take a step back and a few deep breaths, do not allow yourself to be pressured. Remember you have to work with these people for a long time, if you feel uncomfortable with them in a short encounter then move on. Of course you will be offered all kinds of incentives that you can only get at the show.

Don’t fear, you can get that offer anytime. Just call them say you were offered X price at the expo, if they say the offer has expired, tell them that you will only pay the expo price and that you are prepared to do so only for the next 48 hours after witch you will buy another product.

If they won’t budge on price then go elsewhere, they probably weren’t worth working with anyway.

Read trading magazines and if you attend a few seminars find people already using that system and ask their opinion

Leverage

Options are contracts that can be traded just like stocks. The reason you should trade options is because of the powerful leverage they offer. To fully understand the leverage we can look at an imaginary stock called XXX

This stock might be trading at a value of $40.00. To buy 100 of XXX it would cost a total of $4000, plus brokerage costs. If the stocks go up $5.00 then we have a profit of $500. So then we look at what options can do

The call option for XXX for the forward month would cost about $300, plus brokerage. Now, options give you the right to buy the stock, but you have no obligation to buy. So when the stock price goes up so does the option price. The option price will rise in accordance with the stock price. Each option has a variable rate by which it can rise, but “at the money” options will rise at the same rate of the stock. So the same $5.00 price rice is applied to the at the money call option. The Call option is now worth $8.00, and can be sold for $800.

So from the above example we see that the same profit can be realized without outlaying a greater amount of money. For the stock, the outlay was $4000, whereas with the options contract the outlay was $300. And then the profit was the same.

Protection

Options can give you protection for your stock. A put option is a contract that allows you to sell your stock at a pre-determined price, within a given time period. It gives you the right, but does not force you to sell the stock. Put options can be thought of as insurance. Insure your stock in the market. It really is a smart idea. It will cost you but then all insurance costs. It is good to have a piece of mind knowing that you stock cannot go below your options price. If you only have one reason to buy options, this should be it.

Stock Recovery

Options can be used to recover losses in the market. There are lots of strategies you can use with options and this strategy is called the stock recovery option strategy. I won’t cover it here in detail, but I will tell you that by using this combinations of options, you can quickly recover any losses you have had in the price of your stock when the market goes bearish.

Extra Income

There is a strategy to use with options over stocks that will produce you a regular income. The covered call strategy is used to get monthly income from stocks that you already own. Even if you don’t own stocks, you can use this strategy with options to create a regular income. It is used by lots of people to supplement there existing income and can be a true wealth building tool.

Mix and Match

Options, when used in conjunction with CFD’s, stocks, futures, and forex give you a powerful way of creating income and capitol growth. You can mix and match these tools to get the best outcome for your trade. You must however, understand how each of these work to be able to fully utilize them.

Education in all of these areas is necessary before you begin trading. To ignore the rules and trade options or any of these tools will cost you a lot of money and wasted time.