Too Many Options for (Options) Confused! - Need Direction

I have been reading, reading, watching videos, reading posts and reading more! Now I am thoroughly confused with the more complicated options. I started out trading calls and puts and did pretty well until I let my emotions get in the way and lost a lot of money (nearly 65% of my portfolio). So I’ve been reading post and hearing people say that calls and puts are too risky and that I need to learn more about spreads, calendars , double diagonals , butterfly spreads and Condors, these are a better way to manage risk. I understand that it depends upon each investor of which strategy to use and which one manages risk to their taste.

I have around $6,000 left to invest. I don’t want to make large risky investments and I am looking to make small profits until I can get back up again. Can someone recommend what type of option strategy would make the best sense for me in my situation? I don’t want to write and sell any contracts, I just want to buy and then close out of the position. The other conclusion that I came to was one strategy doesn’t work for every kind of market, it might work well today but doesn’t later due to market conditions.

Given current market conditions what strategies would work best for my situation? I don't mind taking smaller risks

1. Should I consider buying a straddles in this market today?

2. And what type of options should I be looking to trade on? Underlying securities, ETF, or Indexes? I was just trading underlying securities before. I would buy calls and puts on different securities.

3. Should I consider auto trading and use a newsletter service – if so what which one would you recommend – and what to look out for? I’ve been looking at REDoptions.com and pro-trading-profits.com ( this site seems to track the history of other company’s record – found it very interesting)

And just a week ago I switched my online brokerage account to ThinkorSwim – very nice product compared to TD ameriatrade.

Thanks in advance for any help that will point me in the right direction.

 

You've answered your own question:

1) I understand that it depends upon each investor of which strategy to use and which one manages risk to their taste.

2) The other conclusion that I came to was one strategy doesn’t work for every kind of market, it might work well today but doesn’t later due to market conditions


Take a few bucks and buy some good option/investing books. Take your time. Learn about the various strategies, adjustments, money management, and even about the discipline of trading. Even if someone here gave you a winning strategy, there's no guarantee that you could make it work. Find out what works for you.

IMHO, avoid following newsletters, tout sites and auto trading. They make their money regarless of how you perform. That's why they offer that service.