Options Boot Camp

Options Drills: How to play earnings through options plays. There are two basic approaches to earnings trading: long premium and short premium. Long Premium - PROS: Advantageous because you essentially receive free or dramatically reduced gamma with little decay in the weeks leading up to earnings. CONS: All of that decay comes out, and more, after the announcement. Also, much of the movement in the underlying occurs after-hours and is unavailable to options traders. Short Premium - PROS: Higher probability of success, need a substantial move post-earnings to lose money. CONS: Doesn't collect decay until earnings event, potentially losses can be catastrophic can make it hard to sleep at night. How to analyze Greeks during earnings week. Different strategies to employ during earnings: Calendars, Straddles, Strangles & Butterflies Mail Call: Our drill Sergeants show their softer side. Question from Stock Doctor: Why can't I trade options after hours? I'm missing most of the stock movement if I wait until

Basic Training: Exercise, Assignment, and Settlement. There are two styles of options you will encounter -- American and European style. What's the process when your exercises and assignments are determined? When do those contracts settle? How do I determine if my options are going to be exercised or assigned against me? What is pin risk? What is a dividend trade? Mail Bag: Even options recruits get mail privileges. Send those letters in. Email question from Alan P - Michigan: You guys have talked about the difficulties of executing multi-leg spreads in the past. What should I, as a retail options trader, be aware of when executing my spreads to guarantee better execution? Tweet from Riley: Are there any plans to speed up exercise and settlement in the options market? Facebook question from Dan Thomas: Isn't it a good thing for my call that aren't in the money to be exercised against me? Doesn't that mean that I'm locking in a profit by buying or selling stock at a more favorable price then where it's curren

Basic Training: Spreads with wings. What is a butterfly? Iron butterfly? What is a condor? Iron condor? Mail Call: Even bootcampers get mail privileges Email from Alan Rick: What makes a spread "iron?" What is the difference between an iron butterfly and a regular butterfly, iron condor, etc. Thanks and please keep up the show; I'm learning a ton! Email from Alan Charter: If I think a stock's volatility is elevated going into earnings, should I write an iron condor or an iron butterfly? Which is the better trade? Tweet from Mr. Dockerson: AAPL! AAPL! AAPL! What are your favorite Apple spreads right now?

Basic Training: A quick review of spreads. What are spreads? Why should we use spreads? How do the Greeks work with spreads? How do you calculate, performance, etc? Why do I want to net reduce my delta and exposure in these elements? What are some of the downsides to spreads? Options Drills: Vertical Spreads Verticals - What are they? Long verticals vs. Short verticals. Credit spreads vs. debit spreads. You'll experience the maximum profit when the underlying moves to or sits at the short strike of that spread. What are collared spreads? Mail Call: It's your turn to pick on the drill instructors. TWEET FROM PHIL S: What's the deal with options spreads? Why can't my orders get filled? How do we fix this problem? JOHN'S CUSTOMER QUESTION: How do I know if a spread is worth doing or has some "trade" value?

Options Bootcamp 12: Weekly Options Basic Training: What are weekly options? How do the Greeks differ in the weeklies? How are the weeklies traded? Option Drills: Selling strategies for weekly options. Diagonal and vertical spreads, straddles, ratios, etc. What are some strategies for selling weeklies around earnings? Mail Call: Taking on your questions. Tweet from @JJacks: Does Sogo trade offer weekly options? What approval level do I need to trade them? Email from Theodore in Houston, TX: How long does it really take to learn options and become a good options trader? Email from Alex S. in Tusla, OK: My financial advisor doesn't know anything about options and doesn't seem inclined to learn. Should I fire him? If so, where do I find an advisor who uses options?

Basic Training: Busting Options Myths: 1) Market makers know where the stops are, therefore market makers who take the other side of trades are taking advantage of retail customers. 2) The only way to trade profitably is to be a dark side short premium seller. Plus, credit spreads are better than debit spreads. 3) I only need to be good at one trading strategy. 4) Option trades and spreads in particular are difficult to execute and should only be handled by professionals with years of experience. 5) Options are too risky for the retail customers. Mail Call: Our drill instructors answer your questions. Email From Alan Donson: Your format is excellent. Please add more pure options trade/content and feature John Critchley. Your intense focus on real options information with a view to options profits, not tedious theory is highly appreciated. TWEET FROM @ReallyG: You suggested put buy as an ASET to limit buy order? Certainly not in the gap below strike scenario your guests were discussing.

Options Bootcamp 10: Common Trading MistakesBasic Training: Your COs cover the most common options trading mistakes: Writing long-term options for income. Using market orders in illiquid options. Not closing options offered at a nickel. Buying worthless OTM "lottery ticket" options. Selling when implied volatility is high buying when it's low. Over-adjusting income trades. Believing that sell stops are better than wasting premium on buying downside puts for protection. Mail Call: Answering your options questions Via email from John S. - Which is the better method of portfolio protection, a put option or a stop order?Via email from Phil K. - I’m very interested in weekly options. They appear to be a very popular product right now. Can you do a show about weekly options for those of us who are thinking about diving into these products? Perhaps common mistakes, misconceptions, myths, errors, etc. Thanks a million. I just discovered the show and I've already learned a ton. Tell John I'm on the SogoTrade site ri

Basic Training: We're going to bust many of the myth and misconceptions the permeate through the options market, particularly to those new to retail options. Somewhere between 75-80% (or even more) of options expire worthless every month, therefore you should be an options buyer. Selling options is a risk-less, or near risk-less, endeavor. All out of the money options have higher volatility than at the money or in the money options. Calls go lower, stock goes higher - How could this possible be? Mail Call: Listener questions and comments Tweet from @UncleJessie - I love Bootcamp, it's transformed me into an options trader. I'm also new to Sogo trade, can John explain why his platform is the best for options traders - commissions aside. Facebook question from Tim Stevens - As a new options trader, should I focus my efforts on maximizing delta or theta? I primarily buy calls/verticals. Tweet from @Eddie66 - Hey drill instructors, I love the Bootcamp! I'm looking to hedge my portfolio - Spy puts or VIX calls?

Options Bootcamp 8: It's All Greek to Me Basic Training: Time to revisit the Greeks: Delta - The chief Greek Gamma - The rate of change of Delta, as the underlying stock changes, but sometimes overwhelming to beginners. Theta - Time decay. The rate of change of an option given a change in the time to expiration. Vega - The king of the Greeks. The rate of change of an option price, as a result of change in implied volatility. What is the difference between a retail and professional options trader? Mail Call: Reaching out for a bootcamp lifeline. Tweet from Tex05: Mark, why do you always say that retail options traders trade Delta and professionals trade Vega? Email question from Evan - Atlanta, GA: Can you guys explain the importance of dividends to an options trader? That seems particularly important given the recent snafu over SPY dividends. Why are dividends important to options traders and how should it affect my options trading? Facebook question from Mike Debrasse: I'm hearing a lot about this being a

Roll Call: Mark and Dan introduce the newest Drill Instructor, John Critchley from SogoTrade. Find out more about SogoTrade, from its philosophy to its commission structure. Basic Training: What you need to know Why should someone trade options? What's in it for different levels of traders? Will you be able to drive a Maserati tomorrow? How options work: the honest breakdown. Believe it or not, options can actually reduce risk. The negative connotation of derivatives. The concept of the multiplier. Why trade options? Mail Call: Giving listeners a chance to steer the discussion. Can you exercise options early? What happens when options are exercised? How options settlement works. When is premium credited to an account?

Options Bootcamp 6: Complex Spreads Basic Training: Today we're going to dive into complex spreads. What are complex spreads? We're usually talking multi-leg spreads. Calendars are when you buy and sell a call/put at the same strike price, but in a different month. Diagonals, a combination of a vertical and horizontal spread, can be a proxy to a covered call. The concept of the ratio, 1-to-1 on a simple spread, but you can play with the ratio. A stock repair strategy using diagonals, ratio risk reversals and collars. Roll Call: Mark and Dan sit down with Craig Pinkston, Senior Director of Operations at Zecco. Mail Call: Does the Theta decay occur just at open/close or is it a gradual decay throughout the day? (Via Facebook from Jason Cruz)

Options Bootcamp 5: Spread Trading Basic Training: Today we're going to dive into spreads. Spreads are really the defining characteristics of options. What is a spread? Why would you do a spread vs. trading an option outright? Max value of a spread is the differential between the two strike prices. Long call spread, aka vertical, examples with everyone's favorite stock XYZ. Spreads have components called legs - they are the individual parts of the spread. Roll Call: Mark and Dan sit down with Christopher Newman, the Zecco Trading Vice President of Customer Service, and run him through a few questions: A big part of the brokerage experience is support. What are some of the things Zecco does to ensure the customer has a great experience when they need support? If I'm a Zecco customer, or a potential Zecco customer, how can I reach out to get support?What methods of communication does Zecco offer? If I'm an options trader, will Zecco go the extra mile for me on the phone? Explain what options traders can expect

Options Bootcamp 4: Selling Options Basic Training: Turning to the dark side! It's time to learn how to sell options. Why sell options? Time decay and theta. Collecting theta, instead of paying theta, turning an enemy into a powerful ally.Example: The Naked Call The Naked Short Put Options Drills: The Covered Call Roll Call: Mark and Dan sit down with this Zecco Trading's President Michael Feser, to discuss Zecco in 2012. Given the difficulty for new retail traders in the last year, what can we see now, a full quarter into the new year? What issues may investors need to be cognizant of before coming into the market this year? Explaining the success of Zecco Share. Mail Call: Facebook questions from the Zecco community.From Chad: What is the difference between a married put and a covered call? From Austin: I have an IRA account which is approved for basic options strategies. My investment objective is to preserve capital and generate additional income while remaining risk adverse. What basic strategies c

BASIC TRAINING - BUYING OPTIONS Buying Options, with special guest Joe Burgoyne from the Options Industry Council. Benefits & Downsides of buying options. The Greeks most relevant to novice options buyers. Bullish Example: Buying a call Bearish/Defensive Example: Buying a put. Common options buying mistakes: Buying OTM options vs ATM/ITM options, Intrinsic vs. Extrinsic value, Loading up before earnings. ROLL CALL Mark and Dan sit down with this episode's guest Benny Joseph to discuss the Zecco mobile app. They cover a wide range of topics including: Can it execute options orders? Can you access the greeks of your position via the mobile app? Can you execute complex, multi-leg spreads via the mobile app? What features of the Zecco mobile app set it apart from the rest of the pack? What has the feedback been since launching this new app? MAIL CALL Mark and Dan answer questions from Zecco's Facebook community including: From Arsalan: If I buy a call option and when it is time to exercise it, will t

Options Bootcamp 2: The GreeksBasic Training: Risk variables (aka "the Greeks") are Delta, gamma, theta, and vega. Delta: The measure of the sensitivity of the options' price given a change in the underlying instrument. It's also used to view the likelihood of whether an option will expire in-the-money. Gamma: The rate of change of an options' delta given the change in the underlying instrument. Theta: The rate of change of an options' value given a change in the number of days until an options' expiration. Vega: The rate of change in an options' value given the change in implied volatility. How professional traders use the Greeks and ways that novice traders can use them, too. It's a symbiotic relationship. Roll Call John Foley joins Mark and Dan to discuss the how customers can use the Greeks to enhance their trading, where they can find the information in the Zecco platform, and how to avoid mistakes they have made in the past.

Options Bootcamp: Premiere Episode Host: Mark Longo, The Options Insider Co-Host: Dan Passarelli, Market Taker Mentoring Guests: Michael Raneri and Tony Leach from Zecco Basic Training: Dan and Mark make the case for trading options, shattering myths and resetting expectations. The evolution of options: eliminating barriers to entry, increasing the flow of information, commissions. What is an option? The impact of timeframe on options. What are calls and puts? The leverage, safety, and risk management components to options. How options can be income-generating. Long call and long put examples. Roll Call: Mark and Dan are joined by Tony Leach and Michael Raneri from Zecco. They touch on the need for more options education. Why did Zecco want to educate the retail options trading audience? For Zecco, why options, and why now? Zecco's new trading platform: The single trading page approach, contextual trading, help mode, ease of spread execution, the depth of spread calculations within the strategy chain, custo