For March I am doing the following... NO OPTIONS !!! NO DAY TRADES!! my best trades are always just straight stock shares and held for days, even weeks... can anyone else relate??
I have seriously developed a stupid attraction to options... sure I can have a 80% winner, but how many of my options expire worthless. I have read alot about retail traders having no chance to win at options, but that attraction is so high.
Depends upon how you use options. If buying OTM, then you might have plenty that expire worthless. If you buy ITM calls or call spreads, they can be a replacement for buying shares with better risk controls and less capital requirements. Vol trading like most do on ET is a completely different game. Example #1: SLV price 22.48 Buy Mar. 20 Call for 2.52 ($4 premium) Costs just $252 compared to buying 100 shares with a cost of $2,248. Loss limited to $252 but unlimited profit potential, just like the shares. Example #2: SLV price 22.48 Buy Mar 22/23 Call spread for .48 ($0 premium) Risk $48 to make $52 (before commissions) with a close above 23 in less than 3 weeks. This is example is similar to binary options except you won't lose everything with any close above 22. Example #3: SLV price 22.48 Buy Mar 21.50/24 Call spread for $1.04 ($6 premium) Risk $104 to make $146 with a close above 24 in less than 3 weeks. ***These are just stock replacement ideas that will only expire worthless if you get the direction wrong in which case you'd have a loss if you purchased the stock instead. Rolling the options will keep you in the position rather than cap your profits.
Do what works for you. I swing trade and trend follow both stocks and options. Do not day trade. Concentrate on keeping your losses small. Profits will take care of themselves.
I agree completely. Doing a swing trade I want to hold as long as I possibly can without hitting my stop loss