- November 30, 2018
- risk
- options trading
WE RECOMMEND THE VIDEO: HOW TO TRADE BINARY OPTIONS / HFX ON THE WEEKEND | EASY Forex Weekend Trading Strategy
In this video I talk about how to trade binary options on the weekend with different hfx/binary options/high frequency forex brokers. Past results do not guarentee ...
Entry and exit timing is crucial to successful options trading, without doubt. However, one form of risk not often acknowledged is the risk of taking too many actions, too soon, and for the wrong reasons.
The "greed and panic" factor is not unique to options trading. Everyone who has bought stock and lost a big segment of capital knows all about it. The price moves rapidly up so you buy more, and then it all evaporates when the price reverses. Or the price moves down and you panic and get out just before prices rebound. It's the old "buy high and sell low" strategy, when we all should be buying low and selling high.
With options, the tendency is the same even while the product is different. Some traders forget that today's price of anything is just the latest in an unending series of price swings. It is not a starting point or the ending point of value, and despite the best intentions, price does not move in the direction we want only because a trade has been opened. Options traders, like everyone else in the market, is vulnerable to wishful thinking. The first step in overcoming this all too human tendency is awareness.
Deciding when to enter should rely on several attributes. These include volatility as well as skillful chart reading and recognition of emerging patterns, notably reversal patterns. It also relies on a study of fundamentals and knowing how those affect the technical side.
Once in a position, decide when to exit. Set goals for yourself so you know when the timing is right to take profits and move to the next trade. Your goal should set a profit target based either on dollar amount or percentage of return; also set a loss bail-out point, where you will get out of a losing trade to minimize net losses. You're better off booking a small loss than a total loss a few weeks later. This is not as easy to follow through, but it's important to increase overall profits. Succeeding with setting goals and following them is tough, but worth the effort.
The key to effective use of options is to use them to manage and hedge risk, not to replace one risk with another one - especially when the new risk is based on greed and panic rather than on trend watching and logical analysis. As the old adage reminds us, bulls and bears can both succeed in the markets, but pigs and chickens get slaughtered. So if you are most interested in low-risk trading, a quick and easy solution is to know your markets.
This ultimately may be the secret to success in options trading. Knowing when to act, either on entry or exit, and also being able to follow through on profit and bail-out points, overcomes the tendency to demand either triple-digit profits or complete losses, and settle for nothing else. The true contrarian succeeds in trading options. This often misunderstood method is not merely doing the opposite of the market crowd; it is an observation of motive. Most traders act and react emotionally. The contrarian uses cold calculation and analysis, resisting the emotional urges of greed and panic. The contrarian must apply strong discipline to go against the majority, remembering one crucial point: The majority is wrong more often than not.
Michael C. Thomsett is a widely published author with over 80 business and investing books, including the best-selling Getting Started in Options , coming out in its 10th edition later this year. He also wrote the recently released The Mathematics of Options . Thomsett is a frequent speaker at trade shows and blogs on his website at Thomsett Guide as well as on Seeking Alpha, LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook.
Edited December 9, 2018 by Kim
What Is SteadyOptions?
Full Trading Plan
Complete Portfolio Approach
Diversified Options Strategies
Exclusive Community Forum
Steady And Consistent Gains
High Quality Education
Risk Management, Portfolio Size
Performance based on real fills
Non-directional Options Strategies
10-15 trade Ideas Per Month
Targets 5-7% Monthly Net Return
Recent Articles
Articles
Pricing Models and Volatility Problems
Most traders are aware of the volatility-related problem with the best-known option pricing model, Black-Scholes. The assumption under this model is that volatility remains constant over the entire remaining life of the option.
By Michael C. Thomsett, August 16
- Added byMichael C. Thomsett
- August 16
Option Arbitrage Risks
Options traders dealing in arbitrage might not appreciate the forms of risk they face. The typical arbitrage position is found in synthetic long or short stock. In these positions, the combined options act exactly like the underlying. This creates the arbitrage.
By Michael C. Thomsett, August 7
- Added byMichael C. Thomsett
- August 7
Why Haven't You Started Investing Yet?
You are probably aware that investment opportunities are great for building wealth. Whether you opt for stocks and shares, precious metals, forex trading, or something else besides, you could afford yourself financial freedom. But if you haven't dipped your toes into the world of investing yet, we have to ask ourselves why.
By Kim, August 7
- Added byKim
- August 7
Historical Drawdowns for Global Equity Portfolios
Globally diversified equity portfolios typically hold thousands of stocks across dozens of countries. This degree of diversification minimizes the risk of a single company, country, or sector. Because of this diversification, investors should be cautious about confusing temporary declines with permanent loss of capital like with single stocks.
By Jesse, August 6
- Added byJesse
- August 6
Types of Volatility
Are most options traders aware of five different types of volatility? Probably not. Most only deal with two types, historical and implied. All five types (historical, implied, future, forecast and seasonal), deserve some explanation and study.
By Michael C. Thomsett, August 1
- Added byMichael C. Thomsett
- August 1
The Performance Gap Between Large Growth and Small Value Stocks
Academic research suggests there are differences in expected returns among stocks over the long-term. Small companies with low fundamental valuations (Small Cap Value) have higher expected returns than big companies with high valuations (Large Cap Growth).
By Jesse, July 21
- Added byJesse
- July 21
How New Traders Can Use Trade Psychology To Succeed
People have been trying to figure out just what makes humans tick for hundreds of years. In some respects, we’ve come a long way, in others, we’ve barely scratched the surface. Like it or not, many industries take advantage of this knowledge to influence our behaviour and buying patterns.
- Added byKim
- July 21
A Reliable Reversal Signal
Options traders struggle constantly with the quest for reliable reversal signals. Finding these lets you time your entry and exit expertly, if you only know how to interpret the signs and pay attention to the trendlines. One such signal is a combination of modified Bollinger Bands and a crossover signal.
By Michael C. Thomsett, July 20
- Added byMichael C. Thomsett
- July 20
Premium at Risk
Should options traders consider “premium at risk” when entering strategies? Most traders focus on calculated maximum profit or loss and breakeven price levels. But inefficiencies in option behavior, especially when close to expiration, make these basic calculations limited in value, and at times misleading.
By Michael C. Thomsett, July 13
- Added byMichael C. Thomsett
- July 13
Diversified Leveraged Anchor Performance
In our continued efforts to improve the Anchor strategy, in April of this year we began tracking a Diversified Leveraged Anchor strategy, under the theory that, over time, a diversified portfolio performs better than an undiversified portfolio in numerous metrics. Not only does overall performance tend to increase, but volatility and drawdowns tend to decrease:
Wednesday 28 February 2018