Have N.O.T.S. speak in plain speak and there is nothing wrong with that. In fact it is the official language. G.O.T. to ya'
I still think stops are beneficial as a form of mental discipline. It can become very easy with options to delude yourself that the position is going to turn back in your favor. After all, you've got leverage working for you. Right ? It can be rewarding to trade options as long as you keep looking around you. It's like picking up dimes in front of a bulldozer.
It should be noted that almost all of the strategies that have been elluded to thus far have been nickles and dimes strategies. Selling FOTM or buying Deep ITM. We haven't yet seen what kind of trades the advisories are going to throw at him. There are just as many strategies out there based on HIGH leverage/risk/return. That is the interesting thing about options. One can "pick up dimes in front of a bulldozer" if one is so inclined. On the other hand, if aggressive is more your thing, options will accomodate you.
white...if you are doing straight puts or calls I would tend to agree that you may want a stop loss in place since you are trading directionally the underlying equity or index. However vertical spreads, calendar spreads or other types of option "spreads" by definition have already "stops" built into them. If I do a bull call spread for instance I know exactly the max risk/reward I have going in. If you try to put a trailing stop or really any kind of stop loss you can easily get wipsawed out of your position. You are far better off letting the spread do its thing and only close when you have a pre-defined profit or if you feel situation has changed on the underlying and you were wrong to place the spread in the first place. Ppl do have different "rules" they follow...but the main thing is consistency and patience in option spread trading.
OptionSmart is trying to make an entry. As soon as I get filled, I will post the alert after-the-fact. I do not want to violate my terms and conditions of OptionSmart. TOS has received the alert and has collected up all of the subscribers into one order, and we are all waiting to be filled. I understand that TOS fills better than OX...
I better get this posted before any trades go down. Here is Wifeys Account Summary straight from the TOS platform...
You will notice when a spread gets put on...the balance goes up before exiting. You get the premium up front and as the spread decays you give it back maybe... To save commish they usually let one side expire...so there goes the statistics that over 90% of option trades expire worthless or something like that....It does not necessarily mean traders took losses... I notice that there are many analysts here...more so in options than in retail spot forex...I can tell by the downloads.... Don't worry I am being honest as I have nothing to hide Look.... I own a 1990 Plymouth Voyager with simulated wood-grain siding ok? Michael B.
ES thanks for sharing...its very interesting....when OS places a trade to they ever give you (e-mail or whatever) a reason for placing the trade. They obviously expected a much sharper downward move toward Apr exp. Could still get it.
DonnaV, Thanks for reading and understanding what I am trying to accomplish here. I learn by example and I am absolutly not trying to sell anything! I have read your posts and I know you absolutly are right up there with the experienced option traders. Thank you for dumbing it down a little... I know someone will use these posts of mine in a few years to remind me how far I have come...this will be embarrassing Yes OptionSmart sends an Alert, and I have one to post...The alert only states the limit order....but I cannot post it yet as it has not been filled and I do not want to be accused of re-distributing their signals.... I know I write enthusiastically but this is for the sake of the readers, I believe successful people should feel good when they read a post. I try to be upbeat and positive when realistically possible... I would like to thank ET for allowing me to continue. Michael B. 2614 views