Options can be successfully traded for a living by accepting the probabilities of option trading and understanding the distribution between winning and losing trades. This "understanding" manifest itself in money management. Successful traders profit on 60-70% of trades, but this modest winning percentage coupled with money management makes for excellent profitability. It's funny to hear claims of 100% returns in 2 weeks or no losing trades in 5 years and so on ... Don't believe it. Part of this may be semantics but it is usually stated in a way to mislead us so we'll buy whatever newsletter or software is being hawked at the moment. Let me give you an example of "semantics". You can get a 100% return with any given option in 2 weeks, but how many of the other stock option positions in the portfolio are losing money? If you have 4 out of 5 stock option positions losing money, a single 100% winning stock option trade will likely still make you a loser.
Option trading can be greatly simplified by understanding chart patterns (technical analysis) and being aware of prevailing market conditions. Market conditions should be analyzed using data from United States Government. Avoid opinions and commentary as these inputs will complicate the facts. Trade as a business with confidence. Make money if the market goes up or down. Approach the market with no opinion. Why not learn how to trade like the pro's do in a easy to understand video format. Watch the videos of actual options trades being put on.
Options trading explained with 3 fundamental trading pillars :
Trading Psychology Trading Method Money Management
Trading Options allow the 3 pillars to be applied with the least amount of mental contortions. While Options provide excellent leverage (allot of bang for your buck), it still allows you to place many orders in different underlying with multiple contracts. This allows you to accept trading probabilities in an actionable way. When you buy 3 or 4 options you accept that 1 or maybe 2 of your stock option trades are probabilistically going to fail requiring you to take a small loss. This acceptance is the "trading psychology" required to be consistently profitable to pay your mortgage every month. Multiple contracts allow for scaling out of winning or losing positions allowing good "money management". Losing positions should be scaled out quickly if not supported by price action and volume of the underlying. Should the trade work, you still have exposure to the trade as you only scaled out and didn't exit. The best option trades usually profit soon after the trade is put on.
The best aspect of trading options for a Living is that it can be boring. The worst time to make trading (money) decisions can be when the markets are open. Emotion will affect your ability to make sound money decisions resulting in loss profitability or losses, which is why 90% of traders fail. A successful "trading method" for trading options can be done end of day or before market open. When the financial markets open, it's time to enter positions that were planned while the markets were closed. It's also time to take profits or losses on current positions as an option trade demands. Option traders are somewhat like a farmers. Crops of " options" are planted when conditions are right. Options that aren't growing are weeded out while options that are growing are taken to market and sold at a profit. The objective is not for a single crop to make you rich but a fertile farm that produces fruit consistently.thank you for reading options trading explained.