Option trading.?

Question

Hello guys.. do u guys know the best place or websites to trade options? and can u guys recommened any books or articles on option trading. im 22 and im thinking of venturing into options.

Answer 1

Not a good move, Harry. Spend your time and efforts learning how to trade. Master that first, then you can trade anything.

Options are for institutions and corporations with deep pockets and teams of people and huge resources all using very advanced techniques the novice can't even dream of. And without an option evaluation program, you're cooked from the start.

It takes a huge investment of time, effort, resources, and money to do it right. Like most novices, you're probably looking at the leverage, and seemingly little risk. Trade stock futures if you want leverage, or Forex.

Most people don't know that options are designed for hedging, not speculation. Most people don't know that they are designed to expire worthless, and more than half of them do. Most people never figure out the method or madness behind the wild premium fluctuation. Most people read about gamma and delta and the other arcane designations, but never apply them.

You're way over your head here and wasting your time. Don't make me tell you "I told you so."

But if you must, study from the guru, Lawrence McMillan.
1st book - Profit With Options
2nd book - McMillan on Options

The 2nd book is the one McMillan prefers and uses himself, but more advanced. You should see where he's coming from with his first book.

There are plenty of beginner's definitions online at Investopedia.com and you can trade options free on their simulator. Set up your own game. I'm not encouraging you, but it will probably be fun wasting your time.

Answer 2

Congratulations on getting started. There's a lot to do if you're going to do it right, so don't be overwhelmed with my answer, ok?

How to invest depends on what you already know. We'll assume that you're beginning. So before you get into options, it's probably a good idea to first learn about stocks.

A good primer is How to Make Money in Stocks by William O'Neil. You can get it cheap just about anywhere. It’s widely available new or used.

Another good one is one of Jim Cramer's books.

But books will only get you so far. At some point, you'll also want to get at least a little training. There are some great education companies if you want to make the investment. Investools.com or optionetics.com are both very good companies.

For free, you can start by visiting thestreet.com. That'll get you a pretty good primer so at least you'll understand what the markets are and what a stock is, etc. If you get a chance, watch Mad Money on CNBC. Don't trade any of his picks. Just use the show to get you to understand some basics and get a feel for the market itself.

Next, subscribe to something like investorsbusiness daily or something like that that can help you identify good stocks.

Do a quick search (at the top of the page) on ROTH IRAs. You’ll want to put some money in there.

Once you understand stocks, go to 888options.com. It's a website that'll help you understand options (what they do, how they work, etc). You don't need to trade them, but the more you know, the more you'll see how options can really be the safest way to invest (once you're educated).

Options Made Easy by Guy Cohen is good too.

As you get more advanced, you might want a technical analysis book like Murphy's Visual Investor or A Technical Analysis Course by Meyer.

If it's discipline (which is crucial to successful trading), probably Trading in the Zone by Mark Douglas or Mastering the Trade by John Carter

I know that’s a LOT to absorb. Just take it one step at a time for now. Start slow, then as you figure things out, move on to the next step.

Congrats again on getting started. If you have any questions, please let me know.

Hope this helps!

Answer 3

I recommend optionsxpress.com as their user interface is intuitive and responsive. This is important when trading options as many of the better strategies involve trading multiple options simultaneously.

To learn more about options trading, you can visit http://www.theoptionsguide.com. It is an online guide detailing many trading strategies and comes with detailed explanations and examples of how each strategy works out.

Answer 4

Here are two sites with some option strategies you can study:
http://www.888options.com/strategy/default.jsp
http://www.poweropt.com/strategymenu.asp

But my advice would be: start with stocks. If you are still alive after a year, then start thinking about option trading.

Answer 5

Hi, i know what your question is.

i suggest a great site with plenty of Issues related to your Investing and everything around it. it also provide clear and accurate answer to many common questions.

I am sure that your Investing will benefit greatly from this website.

http://investing.sitesled.com/

Good Luck and Best Wishes!

Answer 6

Here are some resources for you that I have used - the first 2 are brokerage accounts and the 2nd 2 are education resources:

http://www.interactivebrokers.com/en/main.php
http://www.optionsxpress.com/
http://www.thetradersresource.com/options-trading.html
http://www.thetradersresource.com/investorflixpreview.html