I like TastyTrade...I think it's a good place to start. But where they get you is $5 for opening stock trades and stock assignment. Also, their margin rates are way higher than IB's and it doesn't look like they pay interest for cash balances and it appears that they don't have portfolio margin. I have not found another broker with API support as good as IB. If it was not for the stock fees, I'd seriously consider switching. I hope they are successful. We need more competition in the broker space. "...expected move for an underlying before a binary event..." Maybe I'm old-fashioned, but how hard is it to look at the option chain and add 2 numbers together in your head? Expected move not hard to calculate.
I’ve been with tastyworks since last February. I am pleased, though I do like their online platform better than the downloaded version.
here’s the catch you’re paying the $10 ticket commission + reg fees + .15 per contract fees. And the per contract fee is for both opening and closing trades...so you’re not saving much.
where did you see the margin rates are way higher than IB's? calculating expected move, can be calculated by taking 85% of the front month ATM straddle / to take the ATM straddle + 1st OTM strangle then / 2. but why do we have to go through the time consuming calculations esp when you want to make trades quickly. Just like the greeks, why bother having them when you can calculate them? unnecessarily time consuming.
While they also don't pay interest on cash balances, Tradier's REST API looks good. They also have a cobranded $40/month unlimited options trading offering at http://try.tradier.com/steady-o-013/
Margin Rates: https://www.tastyworks.com/commissions-and-fees.html https://www.interactivebrokers.com/en/index.php?f=1595 The expected move is a guess, not a guarantee. Calculating it exactly out to 3 decimal places won't make me a better trader. If it did, then computer science professionals would make the best traders. I pay more attention to price action and chart patterns when placing my trades. The only greek that I watch is delta. However, if you have a system that works for you, stick with it.