If you're that serious about trading options, then here's the best advise anybody can give you: stop trading for yourself, you wont make it on your own ! Join a good firm, like Optiver or a bank with a big option trading floor like Credit Suisse. Of course, you'll need to pass VERY difficult screening tests, but if you're not smart enough to pass them, you wouldn't have made it either on your own. Joining a good firm is the ONLY way to get rich with options, believe me. (Well, you can get rich with luck as well, I know somebody who turned 50k into a million in a few weeks (and then lost all of it again), but chances are not exactly in your favour, lol). The option multimillionair's I know all joined professional firms.
Like said, you can get rich with luck as well. But that most probably wont last, since luck doesnt last forever. But without luck, there's just NO way you can get rich with options on your own, believe me.
Honestly, why would anyone who is successdful spend the time to teach an anonymous stranger on the internet secrets of successful trading? What's in it for them? If they were of charitable nature, they'd be better off making more money and writing checks to their favorite charities - less effort, more bang for the time spent and the buck made. Color me skeptical but I doubt that you're going to find the mentor that you seek, here. AFAIK, to be successful in trading, you have to be one of the very few unique individuals who have natural abilities at trading or more likely, you need to spend a good chunk of time learning the craft... possibly years. And even that's no guarantee of success. For most, the dream of taking a small grubstake and turning it into retirement riches is no more than a fantasy.
And the reason why only pro firms make money: * Unlike you, they have big client orders, they can buy on the bid and sell the ask * If an interesting bid gets placed in the public markets, their automated algo's on their colocated machines have hit it within a few MICRO seconds, even before your broker has transmitted the quote to you. * Their transactional costs are WAY lower than yours, so they'll need less profit than you on the trade to end up net positive. Hence, quotes that are not interesting to you, might be to them.
So what do you think then of those results that people get on collective2 by trading options? http://www.collective2.com/cgi-perl/t200.mpl I wouldn't call it just luck.
Haha. Seriously, you think that IF a system works, then somebody would sell it ? Come on, use common sense. If a system works, they wont have to sell it on the internet.
havent read the whole thread. keep in mind those with these tidbits of advice are speaking from their experience. here's an elitetrader link. notice the similarity of comments presented to the threadstarter when he had a few losses. Suddenly the negativity ends. hardwork, but not difficult to figure out the criteria. http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=141574&perpage=6&pagenumber=1
Hard work ? And then ? You think that there are some 'secret techniques' out there that the pro's dont know ? That if you work hard enough, you'll find out how it works and make the money ? Come on ! Nowadays EVERY single firm knows EVERYTHING about the mathematics of options. If there's money to be made on an option, nobody will sell it to you. And if some idiot does, their colo machines have hit him before your screen even has displayed the quote. Anyway, just felt sorry after reading the OP's story about his parents, wanted to give him the best advice he can get, I'm not going to debate this anymore. Good luck trading.