GA trader wrote: "Get the ff books from these authors to get a good basic to intermediate background in options, open an account and trade 1q lots, record your trades, the date, IV stock levels and learn from them. Starting from basic to advanced. 1. Mcmillan, Larry 2. Natenburg, Sheldon 3. Cottle, Charles Good advice. However, some people do learn better/faster in a seminar situation (in addition to reading books and visiting discussion boards). I am surprised to find posters on this board so critical of a seminar that most of them have never attended, and then decide to shit on it. I think the optionetics intermediate seminar (which I have attended) for around $3000, with an unlimited number of reattendances, is good value for money, especially for those just getting started in options. Btw, I've attended a number of different options seminars and the optionetics one was by far the best (I don't have any vested interest in plugging their stuff but would like to provide some balance to this unbalanced discussion). I would also love to hear from a successful options trader who learned all his stuff from books, had no mentor, had no seminars, didn't work for a trading firm or on the floor - pretty unlikely. Iow most successful traders paid a lot more than $3000 for their education. daddy's boy
Thanks for your input DB, if no one else appreciates it, I certainly do. The thing is, we've had A LOT of scam artists (who cloak themselves in respectability) make their way through ET, so there is an (understandable) suspicion/distrust/disbelief in ANYONE or ANY ORGANIZATION selling a trading education/advice for money. The thinking is, hey if you were so profitable, why not just give the information away??, and because of the randomness of price action and the markets, even a scam artist can APPEAR to be a good teacher. But hey, I agree with you, for some things, it's worthwhile to pay the money upfront, at least then you will have a base program/methodology to work with (whether you choose to keep it or not). But at least you will have something to work from. Having said all the above, there are some folks who are very gifted at this game, have the luck/worked hard to get into a good position where they can learn from someone who is very experienced and looking out for them, stay away from non-trending choppy markets (or know how to trade'em), and do very well for themselves without taking any courses. Best, Jimmy
would you BELIEVE anyone that said they are successful at trading options (enough to live on "covering the nut..so to speak) and didn't work for a trading firm/on the floor/no mentor/ spent less than $500 on books and seminars)?
JimmyJam and aardvark, you're right. I thus, hopefully, put this post to rest and get back to trading, lol. daddy's boy
Whoa, wait a minute now! Rick James was a very gifted musician who broght the funk in the 70's and 80's, let's not go off on a tangent. But seriously Trish, hope you're picking up something from all this options talk, I've spent the last six months mining this site, and there's a lot of gold in them there hills! Best, Jimmy
Sat in on a 2hr sales pitch - I was interested based on the guarantees they offered, but decided not to move forward - they were just a little too slick for me. Also, having some options experience, I was concerned about a class level since they were targeting (very happy to see) inexperienced options traders. And, to be candid, allowing kids aged 10-18 in for free was not a positive- who wants to spend $3.5K on a class where kids will no doubt be fidgiting - options ain't video games, get real (though attractive for single parents) Also, in the guys close he showed a photo of his disabled nephew and how trading options helps him pay for medical expenses - that was just too over the top for me. One last thing - in his close he described the class as $3K before mentioning any discounts - I discretely stuck up 4 fingers meant as an assit that the price he mentioned was $4K - not to be a pain - and he made a derisive comment as being a "stickler" --- not sure I want to learn options from a guy who considers a 25% error as 'stickling" - Bottom line - I don't know if I made a mistake by not checking out their literature on the risk-free basis, but I just felt them too slick and was concerned there might be a gotch-ya somewhere - buyer beware - I'm sure they have good info to impart, but not near convinced it is a vlaue - GLTA
UPDATE..........optionetics busy once again ripping people off with the latest hot market.........FOREX............FXTE SEMINARS