I don't really need one now. I just started putting ads on my website this month, and even though the website is not anywhere near where I want it to be, I'm getting up to an average of $10 a day - for talking about stock trading and offering tips. It's just that I won't see any money until late January - I might start when I get that extra chunk of money.
Wait, what???? How is micro FX more levered than equity options? And what underlying has deep ITM options trading that you can buy for $500?
I never said deep ITM. Even if I wanted to use deep ITM options I can buy any option that automatically makes me about $500 (intrinsic value is $500-ish). This is like asking "how can you buy a $10 shirt with $10?" It's all relative to the price I pay, haha
You can get micro lot forex accounts to get (my memory is fuzzy) 10,50,100, and 200 X leverage without a margin requirement. It's pretty stupid, actually.
What's your objective, are you learning to trade? intraday, swing? Or are you just trying to hit homeruns with $500? Earnings bets?
Forex has been regulated down to 50:1 leverage I believe. Oanda will let you learn what you are doing for a $1. If you are purely directional trading using options for leverage, which is what it seems like, it will be no easier than trading forex. Forecasting direction is the same skill in almost all markets. Save the $500 bucks and just sim trade or penny trade FX. You're going to get burned doing what you're doing.
That same $45, about 11% of your current $400 stake, could buy you a damned good snow shovel. Buy one and make some risk & tax free money this winter. If you're as fit as my 17 year old son you can pull in $300+ in one day. When Spring arrives buy a lawn mower, rake, shovel and a pitchfork. You can make some damned good money doing lawns. Again, risk and tax free. When you're not doing yard work study some charts and backtest your ass off until you've got an edge. Between that and saving most of what you earned, by this time next year you just might have a snowball's chance at success.
As Tushar Chande wrote, if not the gods, put the odds on your side. The odds are stacked long and tall against a trader. If you really want to put the odds on your side, it isn't in trading, it's in selling tools to traders and taking commissions so that you win no matter what the market does. Do more of what works and less of what doesn't. If your website is averaging $10 a day and that's your thing, work on it until it's bringing in $20. There's a very old accounting principle dating from biblical times that you should take to heart: what does it profit one to gain the whole world and yet lose one's soul? Work like you don't need the money. You don't want to windup a broke, old, loser, shilling crappy trading tools and advice because you need the money. Finally, make sure you phuck a lot. The sex is much better when you're younger. That's straight from Warren Buffett.
Forget it. Work your way up until you saved at least $25.000. Paper trade for the next 3 years while doing this. Of course, this will not happen and you will not do it the right way, because we're all tempted in the 'it's possible' ... 'what if it's working' .. 'I can do it, I'm smart' ... game.
I know how to trade. Trading right after earnings and huge announcements is definitely a strategy I'm going to try (i.e. FDA approval for biotech stocks) I'm not planning on intraday trade. Swing trading.