Tag Archives: option trading

Forex Trading

Butterfly Spread: Monthly Income Bread And Butter

Leave a comment

A great strategy for option traders who believe that the underlying instrument they are working with will be range bound for the next 2 or 3 weeks to a month or so of time is the butterfly spread .

This theta positive option strategy produces profits when the stock or index that is being traded remains within a contained range on the graph or ends up on expiration day at or near the short strikes of the trade.

Here is a trade illustration of this strategy:

Buy 5 contracts of SPY 100 calls. Sell 10 contracts of SPY 105 calls. Purchase 5 contracts of SPY 110 calls.

These trades can generate quick gains for the investor due to the fact that the short strikes of the position (the strikes which are sold) deliver so much premium into the traders account for the reason that they are being sold ‘at the money’ – which are the strikes that have the greatest amount of time premium in them.

Whilst you will find numerous variations of the butterfly strategy, the two most frequent are the regular butterfly spread which is set on for a debit, as well as the iron butterfly, which is placed for a credit. Although these are two different versions of the butterfly spread, when you compare them next to each other on a a risk graph, they look identical. While the trade is in progress, they act identical too. With both versions of this technique, it will be the short strikes, or the strikes that are sold at the money, that provide the trader with profits.

The butterfly option strategy is a ‘delta neutral’ strategy, meaning that investors who use this technique do not have an opinion on market direction or believe that the underlying being traded will remain in its general location on the chart for the duration of the trade.

When traded correctly, the butterfly spread can be an very profitable, low tension, and quite enjoyable trade that like other similar trades, needs very little time and energy having to manage.

To find out more about this strategy, visit this Iron Condor Training Website for tons of free training videos, examples, and reports on how to correctly enter, exit, manage and adjust the Butterfly Spread to generate a consistent monthly income.

Forex Trading

Gamma Scalping: Wild Choppy Market? No Problem!

Leave a comment

Many option income traders think that when markets are volatile they need to stay out of the game. Not so. Enter Gamma Trading. Here is a little known option trading strategy that can provide consistent profits from markets that seem too wild and choppy to use the usual strategies like iron condors, calendars, and credit spreads.

One way to think of gamma scalping is to compare it to day trading – where the trader is looking to capture profits from quick little moves – however the difference here is that due to this strategy set up – most of the risk that is normally associated with day trading has been removed. The set up for this trade can profit regardless of what the stock or index being used winds up doing. If it moves up, a gain is made. If it moves down, a gain is made. And then, when a profit has been realized, the trader can immediately lock in that profit and ‘re-set’ the position so that it will profit again regardless what happens from that point forward.

When gamma scalping – the trader doesn’t care which way the market will be heading. The trade is set up to profit either way. Up or down – its all good. And the bigger the moves, the better.

After a predetermined profit has been realized from a move in either direction, a quick adjustment is made to the trade to lock that profit in forever. And, this same adjustment re sets the position to kick out even more gains no matter what the stock being used ends up doing, even if it just moves right back to the same spot it started from when the trade was first put on. The best part is that this simple technique can be used over and over again on the same trade – constantly chipping out cash from the same position.

If you have ever put on a directional trade, actually started to make a profit, then watch your stock promptly turn around and head right back to where it started from erasing your gains, gamma scalping is a strategy you should look into.

Trading this way takes so much stress out of trading – and actually makes it quite enjoyable. Gamma scalping allows one to not have to be right about direction and still have the ability to be very profitable. Wether the market heads up or falls down – we don’t care. Either way we can make money.

During wild crazy times, especially like the extremely volatile markets we are currently experiencing in the markets, Gamma Trading should be considered a ‘must have’ method for option traders to learn how to use correctly.

And along with being profitable – it’s actually quite an enjoyable way to trade too.

To find out more about gamma scalping , visit Ted Nino’s site on how to correctly trade the iron condor and gamma scalping strategies for consistent income.

Forex Trading

Butterfly Spread – Milking The Butterfly Spread For Consistent Bling

Leave a comment

The butterfly spread trade – with is a trade made up from puts and calls , is a preferred strategy with option income enthusiasts. Not only does this trade give the trader a substantial quantity of premium at the start of the trade which might be parlayed into an important monthly cash flow, it also provides an extremely effective position structure which can put up with and tolerate a variety of trading circumstances, including particularly volatile situations like the ones we are seeing now. In a wild stock market exactly where a lot of other option methods do not have a chance, the butterfly spread may be put on and if appropriately monitored, come out smelling like a rose.

When you look at a risk graph of the buttefly spread, you will see that the butterfly payoff is tremendous – specially when analyzed side to side with other option income methods – for instance the iron condor, the credit spread, the diagonal, double diagonal, the calendar, double calendar, and so on.

Depending on where exactly the wings are set on these trades, or in other words how close or far the long options are acquired in relation to the strikes being sold, it is possible to create a butterfly trade where the possible reward is numerous times greater than the risk of loss is that is being taken on.

Even so, in the situations where the reward in the trade is so many times greater than the maximum possible loss in the trade, it is because the wings which are being bought are very close to the sold short strikes in the trade – creating a quite tall yet highly narrow ‘profit income tent’ – which the underlying needs to stay within throughout the duration of the trade to realize that massive payoff – which the odds will probably be extremely low.

Even so, if the underlying remains inside of the overall location of this tall, narrow income tent – and the trader does not decide to try and remain with the trade all the way until expiration – an excellent profit can still be extracted from these lower probability straddles trade, as the 0 day earnings line rises up quite rapidly and a good quality return can be snapped up in a short period of time.

Ted Nino is an option selling evangelist – particularly fanatical about trading straddles , the Double Calendar, the Credit Spread, and the Butterfly Spread. Visit his puts and calls Blog to learn more about these option strategies.

Stock Trading

Quick Investment Strategies For Beginners

Leave a comment

In today’s economy, many people are searching for methods in which to invest their money and have it working for them, instead of them working for money. Home based business and corporate downsizing seem to be the norm, and many people are starting to realize that government and company pensions might not be there in the future. Fortunately, there are a few other methods to ensure that you retire in comfort. Investing for beginners doesn’t have to be complicated.

One investing option is real estate; however, it is expensive to get started and will require a big down payment of 10% or more of the purchase price. If you decide to fix it up and sell it, or ‘flip’ it, you could quickly go over budget and not receive the return you wanted. If you deal with tenants, it can be difficult if they keep calling you to fix various things like the furnace, plumbing, etc. It is also very difficult to evict them.

Stocks offer a much more viable investment, as it doesn’t require a lot of capital, and if you choose wisely, can offer you a stable and predictable income. You can choose to hire a stockbroker to make informed choices for you, or you can choose to make your own stock choices. If you hire someone, be aware that they will take a fee out of your profits.

You will save money if you invest in stocks that you choose yourself. If it seems a little intimidating, don’t worry. With some knowledge and education, it doesn’t have to be. Anyone can learn to invest in stocks and become successful at it.

A good first step is to buy some books on the subject, written by accomplished investors. Warren Buffet is a leader in the investment world and he has written many how-to books including tips and strategies on how to make stock investing a lucrative venture. Peter Lynch, Derek Foster and David Chilton have also written books on the subject that are easy to read and understand.

Do some online research on your own to check out some companies you may be interested in. Learn all you can about what they do, their earnings, their customers, etc. If you can’t find the information on their website, contact them and ask them directly.

Once you have decided on a few companies to invest in, the next step is to put some ‘fake’ money into it. This means either trade on paper for a month or so to see how it does, or you can open a trial account online. This way, there is no risk with your own capital and you will get a feel for how the stock market really works. Trial accounts online will also give you tips and strategies and education on how best to choose and trade your stocks.

Now that you have a good idea of how to trade, what companies to look for and how you make money, you are ready to invest with your own funds. If you are still a bit nervous, start with a small amount until you become more comfortable with the process. Soon you will have a diverse portfolio and you will be at ease knowing your retirement fund is growing. Investment for beginners is not that difficult at all.

For those people out there that wonder about free virtual stock trading, we have some good information for you. We would like to tell you more on investing for beginners and help you.. This article, Quick Investment Strategies For Beginners has free reprint rights.

categories: free virtual stock trading,free virtual option trading,online investing for beginners,online investment for beginners,investing for beginners,virtual stock trading,virtual option trading,investment for beginners,stock trading,option trading,stocks

Forex Trading

Calendar Spread: Whatever Goes Down Must Go Up

Leave a comment

Even though the Calendar Spread can be utilized in various stock market circumstances, they function finest in low volatility situations. Increasing volatility levels help these trades, while sinking volatility winds up hurting them.

Because calendar spreads generate profits the fastest at neutral to rising volatility levels, many calendar spread traders will wait until an underlyings volatility levels are either at the lowest level of their average range or at least until they are in the lower end of their average volatility levels before placing a trade.

By waiting for these lower ranges, the calendar spread trader is increasing his or her odds that the volatility levels will either remain wherever they’re and not go much lower which could wind up hurting the trade, or will start to rise back up which could put their calendar trade into significant earnings pretty swiftly.

Normally volatility levels sink as the market moves upward and rise as the market moves down. This is why many option traders will place calendar spreads when they have a bearish view on the market.

A favorite method for option income investors who have a bearish outlook is to put on a calendar spread just below where the market or stock is trading at. If the market or stock they are trading does move down as they believe it will, it will likely move with into the center profit zone of the calendar spread – while at the same time benefiting from the rising volatility that inevitably occurs when there is a bearish move. In such a scenario, a very good profit can be realized in an extremely short period of time.

This method can also be used with double calendars, and in fact many option traders would argue that it would be preferred. Using a calendar spread could increase the probability of taking profit from the trade as it could be placed with a skew that would not only create a wider sweet spot inside the profit tent for the underlying to get caught in, it could also supply an extended profit tent coverage over the area where the underlying is trading at when the trade is first initiated, providing a safety net if it turns out that the traders speculation on direction turns out to be incorrect.

See more about Calendar Spread . go over to Ten Nino’s website where you can find out all about how to trade Calendar Spread method for consistent monthly cashflow.