Keith, I took a look at the website and it looks interesting. I have been receiving a lot of advertisements on the educational stand point of trading and I am curious how this company in your opinion what sets this company apart from others besides price. How will the develop the skills I need to become more effective and disciplined. Joe.
Joe, Michael Williams at MC deplores the hyped up promises of profitability by most of the so called "educators" out there. He saw the need to create real world materials that could be used to train market makers for real world situations. He wrote a book that was published by McGraw Hill, and infused his seminars with the techniques of the smartest market maker firms on the PCX Floor such as Headwaters. There is no simple "win formula". There is a lot of time spent understanding the correct analysis of volatility and how to appropriately leg into startegies that fit existing market conditions. Many poor traders try to impose their style on the market. MC goes deep into professional risk management and actively trading around the appropriate position. This is why market makers tenmd to make money and the general public doesn't . The only advantage a floor trader has over a retail trader in 2003 is the leverage abilities of his account. Other than that he is just trades smarter. And my firm, Greentree, now offers experienced traders the same risk based margin that market makers receive. We send our clients through MC's seminars because we know they will end up more profitable traders, and we want traders with longevity.
Keith, I am glad to her that. Based on some of the objectives I have set for myself I realize that I need to shrapen my trading skills. The problem is everyone talks about having the "answer" to trading profitably. I recognize that as marketing. That was the reason for the question. Having experience in trading Options in your opinion should I start with the first course?
How about starting with a few books (i.e. McMillan, Natenberg, Cottles), then some paper trading and then an actual real live trade. It will cost you a heckuva lot less than the hundreds or thousands you'd spend on some course taught very possibly by someone with an ulterior motive, and will allow you to formulate and develop strategies and an approach to options trading with which you are comfortable. Know thyself first, and the rest is a veritable cake walk.
Hello Dollars, I have been trading for awhile now and I am still follow the path you described, but I am looking at this as just another component of the education.
I think both of you have merit in what you say. Hello $ is right in suggesting that you read good books on the subject (and re-read them and re-read them again) and the authors he mentioned are very good (When I first read MacMillan back in 1981 it was the only book on the subject!) But I can also boldly claim that after a 17 year successful career on the PCX option floor I sat through Market Compass' seminars and learned a great deal about more sophisticated legging techniques and volatility trading than I had ever known through my own efforts. It was a real eye opener for me. And I believe a good coaching on the subject is absolutely the fastest and most effective way to approach the subject the right way and avoid bad trading habits. For you HJ, you could start on the second class, but the whole thing is so cheap that what's the point? There are 5 full days worth of material. the first class only takes one day. The more advanced classes are the last four. If you send me your email address I will email you the syllabus. We have the classes in SF or Silicon Valley.
=== [1]Even though i use a much more complex number of moving averages than necessary; lots of people complicate options much more than necessary. [2]Best risk reward ratio in learning comes thru books; however PCX ,which is a member of OIC , 1888options .com ,has given us some great fills & like doing business with them. Thankful i read more than 2 books. [3.3]Speaking of green tree, green patterns; have and still do learn a lot thru '' 1888options .com'' --search quotes,near the money & watch stock options puts & calls move with green up + red down , daily, monthly moves ... ====== Love Learning- Solomon trader king
Not meaning to denegrate the OIC....but I have to say, since Michael Williams and I have taught a number of OIC classes on the West coast (where we had to adhere to their materials) Their approach is cursory at best. The reason people take advantage of their seminars is because they are free. It's an OK starting point. But if you are going to make money in this business, then you have to approach the subject more seriously and in greater depth.
A free and easy intro to options, including software can be found here: http://www.optionstar.com/intro/intro1.html