The up scenario
In the up scenario, the maximum gain that can be attained is the stock finishing at $10.00 or higher.
At $10.00, you would profit from the full value of the extrinsic value of the option which is $.50 and you would also have $.50 of capital appreciation from the stock for a total of [...]
Professional traders use the term lean to refer to one’s perception about the directional strength of the stock. When you own a stock and intend to hold it for a period of time, you are aware that you will probably be holding it while it goes up and while it goes down.
This means that at [...]
As with most books on the topic of how to trade options, the amount of material to get through can be daunting. For example, with Sheldon Natenberg’s Option Volatility & Pricing, it is about 418 pages to digest. There are adequate reader reviews on Amazon and Google Book Search, to help you decide if you [...]
Most trading literature on option strategies tend to lean towards mathematical formulas to define the construction of a spread. Guy Cohen has chosen to use pictorial logic, even with the Greeks unique to a particular strategy, to piece together the legs of a spread with diagrams.Diagrams that connect with each other are a much more [...]
I am sure many of you have heard of a sophisticated sounding strategy called the Butterfly. For some reason, it seems to be the darling strategy of many of those ‘teach-you in five hours’ type option companies. They publicize the ‘mystical magical Butterfly’ and the ’sophisticated Condor’ as if they were going to unlock the [...]
Applying a more complete definition of diversification can help retail option traders diversify their portfolio profitably, beyond equities.A buddy started online options trading from home, in the last 6 months. He was trading a mix of Verticals, Calendars and Iron Condors using highly liquid Indexes but was failing to get consistent profits. Naturally, I asked, [...]
The Implied Volatility (IV) of Calls needs separate treatment from the IV of Puts. Also, for specific options trading strategies treat the IV of both Puts and Calls as a combined bundle.Each option at each strike implies its own individual percentage value of the underlying product’s future volatility. This makes it unique from any other [...]
In options trading, there are some basic lessons that are the backbone of many other successful options trading strategies. How to engage in spread trading in options trading to enhance potential gains is one of these lessons.
Spread trading is a foundational tool that you should have in your options trading toolkit. It will [...]