Stock Options Trading For Beginners – Necessary Skills Are Essential For Profitable Trading

October 16, 2010 · Posted in options trading · Comment 

Stock Options Basics is just that, the basics for building a strong foundation in learning the world of Stock Options trading. Stock Options can provide for great profits when you equip yourself properly. Understanding the difference between trading the stock markets verses trading the stock options market requires a different mind set and is some times difficult for beginners.

Many traders have a misconception about the risk associated with options trading, mainly because of the time limit set on each trade. They are often referred to as wasting assets because of the time limit. But, options trading have proven to be profitable for those who have a plan and understand how to effectively use leveraging techniques. They are often chosen because they provide a level of leverage with a limit amount of risk.

Successful business owners will first formulate a business plan and learning to trade stock options should be treated as a trading business by doing first things first. Begin by researching the topic, (Google search), to gain the basic knowledge to build a plan around. There are numerous coaching programs available that will allow you to visit free seminars or as a visitor in their on-line classes. Visit free websites, webinars and forums from different programs to gain basic skills and also to understanding what is being offered in these programs before spending money.

In building a plan it is important to ask yourself some questions to determine what to reasonably expect to achieve in trading options? What is your risk tolerance?, and how much of a portfolio do you plan to begin with? One of the worse things for a beginner is to expect too much too soon. Trading stock options is not a get rich quick tool and should be given the time, skills, persistence and determination for a profitable outcome. Many different options strategies can be used and sometimes losses will occur before finding the best strategy for you, but the key here is having the skills to know how to minimize the losses.

From the experience of someone who began with no knowledge of stock options trading, I have a passion for those who are in that position. When I began to trade stock options, I had a very unrealistic expectation. I had traded the stock market and my main motivation to trade stock options was: 1) Options can be bought or sold at a fraction of the cost of the underlying stock. 2) Options allow you to control the underlying stock without owning it. 3) With options you can profit if the stock moves in any direction. 4) The ability to hedge the trading position to manage risk.

From some pretty bleak experiences, I can give you my opinion as to why many beginners are not profitable options trader and many ultimately fail. One of my biggest mistakes at the very beginning was not doing my home work in choosing a coaching program. In my excitement to quickly learn and become an expert, I signed up with a coaching program that was far beyond my skill level. I had to learn from scratch, what is an option? and that it is derived from the underlying stock, but I had paid big money and joined a program that was teaching far beyond that basic level.

In conclusion, I cannot stress enough the importance of getting a solid foundation at a basic skill level to build on, and you can become a successful, profitable stock options trader. So remember that stock options trading has risk, but so does all investments, and your risks can be limited using the proper skills and techniques.

Author: Irene V. Jones
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Rich Options Trading and Poor Options Trading

October 9, 2010 · Posted in options trading · Comment 

After reading the book “Rich Dad Poor Dad” by Robert Kiyosaki, I came to realize that not only is there a rich and poor path in life but also a rich and poor path in options trading as well. Many options traders experience defeat in their trading career, especially during the first few months, because they are unknowingly walking down the poor path. There are many differences in the approach winners take versus the losers and we shall outline and explore some of these in this article.

Rich Options Trading :

1. Speculative directional trading using direct call or put options buying only with a small percentage of their fund and only on the stocks with the best chances.

2. Extensive use of Option Greeks in order to dynamically hedge a position when conditions change.

3. Always doubt one’s own conclusions and make provisions for losses.

4. Always have a stop loss policy already in place or in mind.

5. Understands the exact trading style that suits them. Emotional options traders should stay out of day trading.

6. Know that there is no one best way to trade every single situation.

7. Do not chase after profitable trades that have been missed earlier on.

8. Satisfied with a steady, consistent gain.

9. Into it for the long run.

10. Think education for a start.

11. “Trades” the market.

12. Keeps a trading log.

13. Learn from mistakes.

14. Understands technical and fundamental analysis.

Poor Options Trading :

1. Speculative directional trading using direct call or put options buying with all their money hoping to hit a “big one” on stock picks taken from the TV or non-professional friends.

2. What are Option Greeks??

3. 100% confidence! Full steam ahead!

4. Realize it’s too late only when it’s too late.

5. Follow whatever trading style that is supposed to produce extra-ordinary gains only to completely break the rules and your pocket.

6. Stick to only one way of trading for all market conditions and situations.

7. Missed a trade, watched the price go up and then enters it at that new high price only to see prices tumbling like a rock thereafter.

8. Always looking for ways to make more explosive gains from stock options only to have the dynamite eventually exploding in their face.

9. Start with the purpose of quitting after hitting a big profit.

10. Think money making for a start.

11. “Plays” the market.

12. Forgets the last trade made.

13. Hates mistakes and tries to forget mistakes.

14. Mystifies and follows technical analysis superstitiously.

Well, as you can see from the list of differences above, the difference between rich and poor options trader is not only a matter of technique or method but also a matter of attitude and mental approach. Only when the right mind meets the right technique does rich options trading happen. Are you making any of the mistakes that poor options traders are making? If you are, it is time for you to look at what the other side of the equation says and modify your approach accordingly.

Author: Jason Ng
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Options Trading For Beginners – Making More Of Your Money

October 2, 2010 · Posted in options trading · Comment 

Options trading is an investment vehicle for experienced investors, who track their investments proactively. It is not a suitable vehicle for investors looking to maintain assets without direct management, as it’s very much a timing related purchase and float. Options trading is an excellent technique for using financial leverage to make bigger purchases.

A very simple example of an options trade would be this: If you’re selling a commodity worth $100,000 (say 1,000 shares of a stock worth $100 per share), and a prospective buyer likes the price, they can offer to pay for an option to buy all of those commodities, while spending the time researching other investments. Say, for example, they’re offering you $1,000 to hold that price for them while they gather the rest of the funds, which they say will take three months.

When three months passes, they either pay the remaining $99,000 for the shares of the stock, or forfeit the option. If the stock goes up in price to $110 per share from $100, they can either buy the stock, or sell the option to someone else for the difference between the old price and the new price. Either way, the person holding the option stands to make a tidy profit.

Options trading has its own set of terminology, which we’ll get into a bit later, but the basic premise is this: You buy an option to purchase a stock or commodity at a given price; the option expires after a given time period (American style options trading), or the option must be exercised on a specific date (European style options trading).

There are two principle types of options that are traded. Calls increase in value as the stock price rises, and puts increase in value as the stock price declines. (There’s a lot of fiscal mathematics behind both of these, but the layman’s explanation will suffice.) In most cases, options are sold to other investors just before they expire; most options traders don’t end up holding shares in the stock they have options for; the options are bought, sold, liquidated and transacted before their expiration dates. It is possible to have both call and put options on the same commodity or stock; this is a “straddle” strategy.

Options trading is not a casual investment strategy; it’s a strategy used by people who are investing as their profession, or who intend to manage their own wealth directly. The benefits of options trading is flexibility, coupled with (in the case of put options) a bit of a countercyclical strategy for bear markets.

The key to options trading is market research on specific stocks; an options trader will be researching stocks that are either slated for a price spike (call options) or are likely to undergo a price decline (put options). How quickly these options express themselves is a measure of market volatility, and most options traders will try to take a neutral position – they’ll put in put and call options to cover both directions, and to cover themselves against broad market trends.

Options arbitrage is a lower risk strategy done by floor traders, and can be short term profitable, with good liquidity. The aim is to swap options with other traders before certain factors influence the market, or to get rid of underperforming options while still getting some profit out of them. Options arbitrage is perhaps the best place to start in options trading for a novice.

Author: Craig Thornburrow
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Start Focusing with Online Options Trading

September 25, 2010 · Posted in options trading · Comment 

Changing from face-to-face or telephone contact with your broker can be an fantabulous way to save time – and money! Moving to online options trading not only grants you more flexibility and control, but also a better insight into the market trends. A home established business has many advantages; all you need is an internet connection to get online. Options trading fortunately lends itself very well to working outside of an office-based surrounding. Working from home, however, can have its pitfalls, whether you are trading in options, or other forms of online trading.

Preparation for your day:

Decide where you’re going to work within your home. This sounds simple, but do you want to be interrupted when you’re working online, trading in the early wee hours, evenings or whatever time the stock markets open?

Once you’ve selected your spot, keep it as your working zone only. You’ll already know that trading is a serious business; you need to treat online options trading in the same way. Don’t let yourself, or your family, use your space as a dumping ground for household clutter. Keep your files, accounts and notes in folders, or small filing cabinets. Make a point to ensure your workstation is neat and tidy, having only your essential tools close to hand.

Getting organised:

This isn’t only important, it’s crucial when trading online. If you’re an existing trader, you’ll no doubt have a daily trading procedure. Planning your day around online trading may have a different effect on your time management. For example, you might previously have had more meetings to attend, more time spent on the telephone; even traveling time comes into account.

Don’t lull yourself into thinking that all this time saved is endless! Preparing a structured day will save you time – and money – if you do it the right way at the get-go. Some things to consider when planning your day around online options trading include time spent on research, viewing online trading accounts, reading emails, even the occasional teleconference.

Backing up your information:

With any online trading business, whether it be in options, stocks or bonds, backing up your computer files is crucial. There are many free tools on the web to assist you and it doesn’t take a lot of time. It’s easy to forget to do this, but imagine what would happen if your files got lost, or your computer crashed? Do you really want to take the chance of losing trades, crucial options documents or contacts? Getting into the habit of backing everything up will go a long way to avoiding this catastrophe.

Staying focussed:

One major trouble with running your options trading business online is distraction! The internet is a massive source of information and it’s very common to wander off your aim when you’re exploring anything online. Options trading is no different, you are likely to come across millions of references with regards to this topic, some of which will be very valuable, but the majority will only serve as a distraction. Stay concentrated on your task, you can always bookmark other pages and read them later. Otherwise you will find that you’ve wasted an hour or two online, analyzing options or information you should instinctively know you won’t use.

Success or failure in online options trading

Keep in mind that online trading might not be the best answer for you just yet. Don’t be afraid to look for advice, look for good sources of material to help you and you will find that succeeding with online options trading can be achieved.

Author: Brian Lee
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Option Trading – Is it Truly Invincible?

September 18, 2010 · Posted in options trading · Comment 

Option trading is fast becoming one of the hypes of this generation. Option trading has been and still is being taught all over the world as the definitive investment instrument for entry to the fast track. Popular speakers like Robert Kiyosaki and Robert G Allen have fuelled this option trading hype in a very big way. The steadily rising number of option contracts that have been traded over the past years is evidence to the rising popularity of option trading.

While option trading is one of the most versatile investment vehicles that have ever been created, it does have fundamental limitations.

First of all, the number of optionable stocks in the markets is really quite limited. Only 2649 out of 7277 tradable securities in the US markets offer stock options. This represents only 36% of the universe of tradable securities. This percentage is even lesser in other markets in the world. This results in a fairly limited choice for investors to choose from.

Secondly, the liquidity of most stock options up for option trading is also pretty limited. In fact, only a handful of stocks have options with liquidity to handle a respectable fund size. The result of which is that it may be difficult for investors with bigger funds to participate as freely in option trading as they may in trading shares. In this respect, option trading may be more productive as a hedging instrument against a large portfolio of shares.

Thirdly, due to its liquidity and its leverage effects, option trading is fast becoming the favorite of small investors with only a very small fund to trade with. However, many of the complex spread strategies that are being taught by option trading speakers all over the world require an extremely high commission outlay that is much higher than if you trade stocks. These high commissions frequently eliminate any possible profits from these complex spread strategies.

With these in mind, I hope you will be able to make an even more informed decision when applying option trading as part of your overall investment strategy. If who you are learning from is just telling you all the pros and none of the cons, then it is time you change teacher to someone who teaches the truths.

Author: Jason Ng
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Which Market Is Best for Binary Options Trading?

September 11, 2010 · Posted in options trading · Comment 

Previously in the article “Strategies for Binary Options Trading” we discussed the new simplistic strategies used in Binary Options trading. In this article we are going to discuss how you can determine if you should trade in the Forex, Stock, Commodity, or Index markets.

Do Your Due Diligence

Due Diligence is the buzzword for doing your own research. It is important for you to research your target market before starting to trade. In conventional trading you would look at the historical charts, financial reviews, SEC filings, economic indicators, and news reports. In Binary Options trading since the typical trading period is one hour in length, studying the charts, reading the news reports, and watching the effects of economic indicators will be sufficient in most cases. However, many experienced traders can’t help themselves in continuing to do more in-depth research.

Which Market Is Best?

Deciding on which market to trade in is a really tough question. Each market has their pros and cons. Part of your research into which market to trade is understanding the make-up of each market. Remember the Spread strategy that I discussed in “Strategies for Binary Options Trading”? In that example I used two currency Assets as the initial selection to make a CALL trade and an offsetting PUT trade. In reality, you do not have to make the CALL trade and the PUT trade in the same Market. As an example, the CALL trade could be in the currency market and the PUT trade could be in the Stock market.

In order to select which market to trade in let us take a brief look at each of the four markets:

Currency Options Market

The Currency market, also known by the popular name of the Forex market is composed of currency pairs such as the relational value of the EUR (The Euro) vs. the USD (U.S. Dollar). There are many currency pairs available for trading. Each broker has their own list that they make available to the public. One of the advantages of the currency market is that it doesn’t have any baggage that it carries with it in the way of stock certificates nor is it constrained by many SEC regulations requiring report filings. It is strictly a relationship between two defined currencies. The currency markets are heavily influenced by economic indicators and world affairs. Also, the price movements can be extremely erratic and change rapidly. Currency markets are open 6 days a week, 24 hours a day. Currency Binary Options are best traded between major economic news events.

Index Options Market

The Index markets, like the currency markets do not have the burden of certificates and SEC regulations as compared to the Stocks market. However, the Indexes are composed of valuations of many Stocks therefore, a major change in any one stock affects the value of the Index. Indexes tend to have longer trend lines, but can reverse themselves sharply after an economic announcement or world economic event. Examples of well known Indexes include: the Dow Jones, Hang Seng, NASDAQ, S&P 500, Bombay 30, IBEX 35, IPC, and the SSE 180. Index Binary Options are best traded after major company announcements for companies that make up that particular index.

Stock Options Market

The Stock markets are based on stock certificates issued by companies. Well know examples are IBM, GOOGLE, Yahoo, and Microsoft. While they are affected somewhat by economic indicators due to panic selling or buying by investors they are more influenced by a company’s financial and productivity news. Stock Binary Options are best traded immediately after major news and earnings reports involving that particular company.

Commodities Options Markets

Commodities markets are based on commodities which are agricultural or industrial in their raw and unprocessed state such as gold, copper, silver, oil, natural gas, etc. Commodities are typically traded on the future price of the product. Intraday prices of commodities tend to be Moving Sideways in their Trend lines except when there are major news events about the commodity and around inventory, demand, and import report times. Futures Options are based on 3 month contracts thus making the best time to trade Commodities Binary Options at the start and midpoint of the futures contract period. Commodities are very sensitive to economic reports in which they are related. As an example, a hard freeze report in the citrus growing regions before harvest will affect the futures prices of citrus crops.

As you can see, each market has its ideal time to trade Binary Options. By doing your own research into the various markets you’ll find your ideal point in which to trade.

Watch for the next article in the Binary Options Trading series, “The Importance of Economic Indicators in Binary Options Trading.” We will discuss the effects economic indicators have on the trading markets.

Author: Gregg Sterner
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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101 Option Trading Secrets

September 5, 2010 · Posted in options trading · Comment 

Product Description
Introducing Ken Trester’s book-101 Option Trading Secrets Author of the best-selling Complete Option Player, now in its 4th edition, Ken Trester is acclaimed for rendering complex subjects into easy-to-understand concepts and ideas. Through his books, seminars, and as a college professor, Ken Trester has educated tens of thousands of investors about the power and benefits of options. His award-winning programs give ordinary investors an edge in the professional aren… More >>

101 Option Trading Secrets

Advanced Options Trading: The Analysis and Evaluation of Trading Strategies Hedging Tactics and Pricing Models

September 5, 2010 · Posted in options trading · Comment 

Product Description
This book thoroughly explains the options markets. Moreover, the work contains several unique features, including computer codes to calculate changes in options properties and a historic evaluation of options strategies and pricing theories. As a result, traders learn what works and what doesn’t work. Specific features include: Exotic options; The factors influencing option pricing; Advanced trading strategies such as spreads and straddles; The importance of delta, … More >>

Advanced Options Trading: The Analysis and Evaluation of Trading Strategies Hedging Tactics and Pricing Models

The Ten Most Powerful Option Trading Secrets with Bernie Schaeffer

September 5, 2010 · Posted in options trading · Comment 

Product Description
Learn from the father of options himself as he teaches you the ten most powerful option trading secrets. Starting off with the most common pitfalls of trading, he then provides you with his personal top ten trading tips such as trading only in the direction of the trend or buying put options in addition to call options. By gaining insight into the master’s personal trading tactics, you will soon be able to take control of your profit potential more effectively. Find… More >>

The Ten Most Powerful Option Trading Secrets with Bernie Schaeffer

Understanding the Stock Option Trading System

September 4, 2010 · Posted in options trading · Comment 

Stock trading can be a very lucrative career. However there is also risk involved – whilst one minute your profile can be gold, the next it can turn into stone. Anyone investing in the stock option trading system knows how risky it is, risk is a permanent feature of trading and entering the market means acknowledging and accepting all the risks involved.

Technology has advanced so much today that it has given traders all over the globe with the latest tools that allow them to make more informed decisions. One such tool is the stock option software. Stock option trading programs are made up of revolutionary software that raises the art of trading to a totally new level.

This specific software permits individuals involved in the stock market to make essential decisions in real – time. Certain individuals debate whether personal experience and intuition are really necessary in the difficult world of stock trading, but it is also a requirement of traders to combine in their teams the latest technology that can put them a step in front of their competitors. It takes some time before a trader can be confident in doing business according to his computations.

Stock option programming has the ability of making a lot of calculations in only a minute. In a trade that takes real time development, software like options applications is certainly valuable. It is also essential to search for the best option trading software to perform the job.

There are many types of software and some are even free. There are lots of option trading software products available to traders. These software products work in different ways and provide various benefits to traders. This article will discuss several software packages that are involved in options trading.

Stock trading has branched out into different revenues. One of these revenues is the stock options trading. A stock option is the benefit of buying and selling stocks at a set price for a certain amount of time. The primary type of option is the call option. Your privilege will end at a certain time, but it permits you to have the option of purchasing the stock at $40 per each share even if the price is raised within the time limit of your ‘right’s’ allowance. This right is known as the call option.

A different kind of option is known as the put option. A put option permits that you sell the stock for a set price over a specific amount of time. Stock options are commonly provided by businesses to their employees as a kind of compensation. Employees are permitted the right to buy stocks at a later time at a certain price per share. In summary, workers are provided with call options.

Stock Option trading is much more complicated than trading stocks directly. Once we trade an option then it’s necessary to offer a strike price, a month of expiry, the kind of option trading needed (CALL or PUT) and the side your first position will be. Stock options can be extremely risky for traders.

Options are worked out in two ways: It can make you money or it can lose you money. A call option is worth nothing if the stock price decreases, but it can be worth a lot if the prices start to rise. A put option will not be worth anything if the share price rises and it will be worth something if the price decreases. With these options, it is essential to balance the odds when buying stock options.

Author: Larry Dalton O Richardson
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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