Advice for Options Traders

By Mindy Barnes

I've been investing for a long time, and more recently I've had some great success in the world of stock options. While they're risky, they can also be an extremely rewarding means of making money if they're handled right.

If you're new to the trading world, or even experienced but find yourself struggling, I'd like to give you a few pieces of advice that I think will help you out in your quest to become a great trader. Follow these tips and you'll be in better shape when it comes to trading options.

First of all, realize the concept of time decay in options. This basically means that the further out you buy a contract for, the more of a premium it's going to sell at today since it has more time to fluctuate in terms of price.

As you get closer to expiration, that time premium gradually shrinks over the weeks and month. Therefore, buying and holding is never really a wise options strategy. You should generally look to make some short term trades whenever you're buying and selling options.

You'll also want to hedge your bets whenever trading options. Try buying some puts to the extreme if you've bought calls, and vice versa if you've bought puts. This requires discipline, but it's standard practice amongst the most experienced and successful traders.

A patient and wise investor will generally do this for the protection and the piece of mind.

Had they hedged by giving up just a few dollars, they would have kept 90% of what they lost.

The last thing you want to do is lose your entire investment with options. Sometimes, unfortunately, this happens if your option never surpasses the strike price. - 23218

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