Posts Tagged ‘Stock Option Trading’

Stock Option Trading – Candlesticks & OHLC Bars Lose their Patterns on a Distribution Curve

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, “Everyone looks at these patterns in the charts”.  They are partly right.  Though, their use [...]

Risk of ‘unlimited Loses’ in Naked Option Selling is a Myth!

For option sellers it is disconcerting to hear people say that selling naked options is extremely risky because it carries the threat of ‘unlimited loses’. Nothing is farther from the truth! It’s a myth! It’s about time we correct this misconception and put this fear to rest.
While theoretically the selling of naked options carries [...]

Option Trading Tip – Are You A Jack Of All Trades & A Master Of None?

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 [...]

How to Trade Options – Diversified Trading Stock Options but Still Suffering Concentration Risk

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, [...]

Options Trading Strategies – Wrong Use of Historical Volatility and Implied Volatility Crossovers

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 [...]

Options Trading Strategies – Treat Implied Volatility of Calls Separate From the IV of Puts

The Implied Volatility (IV) of Calls needs separate treatment from the IV of Puts. Also, for specific options trading strategies treat the IV of both Puts and Calls as a combined bundle.Each option at each strike implies its own individual percentage value of the underlying product’s future volatility. This makes it unique from any other [...]

Options Trading Strategies – Book Review – Guy Cohen, The Bible of Options Strategies

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 [...]