I've read a number of beginner options books but found most of them to be pretty dry. Just started watching a few of the videos from a company called Tradingology and they're pretty interesting, definitely helped the learning curve. Does anyone have any good recommendations for learning how to trade options (especially DVD's)?
The one and the only place you need to go to learn options is thinkorswim; go the old chat archives and start from the old ones. The first couple of years are good. Then there is nothing new.. you get it; or you dont https://www.thinkorswim.com/tos/displayPage.tos?webpage=onlineSeminar&displayFormat=hide If you want more; try the cboe site; they have some good content also; but take with a pinch of salt.. PS: And forget about any dvd or 3 day crash course about options; there is nothing any one of them can add to what you will know once you understand the basics and play with structuring legs yourself. -gariki
One of the strategies I learned about was trading non-directionally. Basically sell iron condors and calendar spreads and adjust accordingly. The author/creator made it seem so simple to make a 30-60% annual return. I know this is a stupid question but if its so simple then why isn't everyone doing it?
The exchanges have nice educational areas on their websites. http://www.cmegroup.com/education/index.html Good place to start. Front splash page - 25 options strategies on futures.
do NOT under any circumstances pay for trading education directly (as opposed to losing money trading). the info you need is out there for free. see other posters for what resources are a good place to start.
Trust me, it's not as simple as some people may suggest. There is no free lunch. You can find several discussions on this topic here in the options forum. Besides, if the author really was capable of making 30-60% return then he/she wouldn't be selling the method, but would be a billionaire managing a hedge fund.
how did you guys get started trading options? do you trade options full-time for a living? how long does it take for one to learn to trade options for a living? i heard 2-3 years. also i've heard its harder to learn options than futures/stock trading but its easier to profit from it since its more calculated. thanks for helping out a noob
I got started by losing 1/2 of my net worth in options strategies. For all the time it would take you to even begin to master how to make money consistently with options, you would be MUCH better off developing strategies for the underlying. Trading options is not at all unlike walking into a casino where the house odds are all strongly against you, and at every table you'll be betting against grizzled veterans and pedophiles who are backed by huge dollars and unlimited resources. And you just got out of third grade and are standing there in your pajamas with your fly open. Got the picture?