Abhishek has an uncanny insight into Trading! Visit his website www.Trading-Masters.com and download his FREE Trading Report and learn some amazing Trading tips and tricks for FREE. His tips would save you thousands and make you better at Trading! But hurry, only limited Free copies available! www.Trading-Masters.com

I have been a part time lecturer and online article author in the field of finance for the past 3 years. Not only my in depth specialization in the financial analysis field, I also write detailed articles on various type of exotic futures trading contract. You can also check out my latest website on

Option Trading – As Risky As The Reputation?…

Options Trading has a reputation for being extremely risky, but this reputation is in large part undeserved. True, option trades are extremely risky – even dangerous if you have no idea what you are doing. However, that is true of all forms of offline or online trading, and trading in options is no exception.

While options trading has this reputation among laymen, it is often considered to be a form of risk limitation with professional traders. After all, in what other form of investment can you guarantee the maximum loss you can suffer right at the point where you enter the trade?

Options are contracts that give the purchaser the right to buy or sell an underlying security, such as a stock, a bond or a commodity, at a fixed price and for a fixed time period only. You can find options on underlying securities such as stocks, mutual funds, bonds, commodities, and more.

Option trading gives you the chance to exploit a whole range of market opportunities that are unavailable with conventional online stock or forex trading. For example, one class of option trade allows you as the buyer to make money if you expect the market to move strongly in one direction or the other, but you are not sure in which. If you are the seller of position, by contrast, you are betting that the market either goes nowhere directionally and/or the volatility declines.

Trading in options can actually lower your risk. For example, whenever you buy an underlying stock, there is always the extremely small, but non-zero, risk that the company can go bust and the stock price can first be suspended and then go to zero. That means that your potential loss is the point difference between the price you entered the stock trade and zero, multiplied by the number of shares you own! If you had done the corresponding option trade by contrast, i.e. buying call options on the stock, your loss would be simply the price you paid for the options.

Where options are very risky is where untrained traders go “naked short”, as it is called. In one common example, they sell put options on a stock index future and collect the option premium as payment. This gives the buyer the right to sell the stock index future back to the put option seller at a fixed price, called the strike price. This is fine as long as the underlying index continues to rally and the strike price is basically never reached. However, in one famous example, one hapless option punter, who had been happily selling put options on the FTSE index futures for years and collecting the cash, got badly caught when the entire stock market crashed in 1987, and the option buyers exercised their right to sell their positions at prices much higher than the current market!

However, such foolishness apart, option trading can be an extremely profitable way to trade in stocks, forex, bonds, currencies or whatever. When used properly, they can actually limit your risk drastically. Option trading can allow you to create positions and exploit market opportunities not otherwise available. Best of all, if you combine options with the underlying instrument, you get to create a whole range of interesting risk profiles.

The key to success in option trading is, as with anything else in life, to study the subject hard before trying to trade and, if possible, begin by paper trading the market. Once you are satisfied that you know what you are doing and have a valid option trading methodology, then you can begin risking real money. Even then, you only trade very small to start with and with money that you can afford to lose. Once you know what you are doing, and your account size show some nice profits, then you can afford to trade progressively larger size for progressively larger profit.

Commodity Futures Trading Account – The Sensible Approach to Opening Your Trading Account

You are considering the trading of commodities, or the options on futures as a wonderful way to supplement your income. You can even go one step further and determine that trading commodities and futures is a wonderful way to make a living. This is a great idea! The futures can only go two directions; up or down. All one needs to do is determine the commodity direction and jump on board. What could be easier?

The next logical step is to find a place to execute your trades. You begin by going to the internet to find commodity and futures brokerages. You quickly discover that there are many futures brokerages offering a number of services to the commodity trader. Through your research you discover there are three basic levels of service futures brokers provide to commodity traders, which are full-service, discount, and online futures trading. Through more intense research you find out the very cheapest means to execute your trades is through online trading. Generally speaking the majority of beginning commodity traders will opt for online futures trading because it is normally the least expensive choice. Also, there is the sense of independence when online trading because one can place their own trades, bypassing a commodity desk clerk or futures broker.

The next thing needed is to call several futures brokerages and negotiate the cheapest online commission possible. It has been my experience over the years that beginning commodity traders spend a great deal of time and effort negotiating a commission rate. I believe the primary reason new futures traders spend so much time looking for the cheapest commission rate is because it is what they understand best. By this, I mean when they were young they saw their father haggle with the car salesman to get the the very best price for the new car and mom scouring the weekly grocery ads to find the best price for needed groceries. It is what we all have been exposed to all of our life. This approach is fine for most endeavors but probably the very worst approach to take when establishing a commodity trading account. As explained earlier, pursuing a cheap commission rate is what a new futures trader understands best.

We will now explain the sensible approach to take for a commodity trader when opening a futures trading account. The very first thing one should consider once they have decided they would like to trade commodities is to find a broker that they feel comfortable working with. A commodity broker who has the years of experience, understands charting analysis for the many commodity markets, and also incorporates seasonal tendencies into their futures analysis. Many commodities such as gold and silver have strong seasonal tendencies, not just the agricultural commodities. Make sure the commodity broker you are considering will take the time to work with you, teaching you futures chart analysis, provide you seasonal information, and generally speaking, increase your overall trading knowledge, so you can become a successful commodity trader.

Please keep in mind that the leverage when trading commodities is tremendous. For example; the margin required in your trading account to hold a Corn futures contract is $2100.00. Corn futures pay $50.00 per one cent of movement. You purchase a Corn contract and it moves twenty-five cents in your favor the very next day, your profit for that one Corn futures contract would be 25 x $50.00 = $1250.00. That is almost a 60% return on your original investment, which in this case was the margin money that was required for you to hold a Corn futures in your commodity trading account. That is some significant leverage! The tremendous leverage associated with commodity contracts is the very reason why you need a well qualified, professional commodity broker to work with you, assisting you in improving your trading skills.

Finally, when deciding on a broker to work with, go to the National Futures Association website and check out the history reported by the NFA for the broker you have an interest in working with. Also, check out the Futures Commission Merchant that your commodity broker clears his trades through. This only takes a few minutes of your time and you can verify that your broker is licensed and registered with the proper authorities and does not have a history of poor trade execution.

Options Trading in Extremely Volatile Markets

The recent stock market crisis (2008) not only rocked the financial system and the world economy but also the pockets of countless options traders all over the world. Options traders who used to profit in the years prior to this market crisis broke their bank as none of their options strategies seem to work in this market anymore. So what is it about extremely volatile markets and how should one profit through options trading under such conditions?

Extremely volatile market conditions not only produce unpredictable short term stock price swings but also open up the bid ask spread of individual stock options due to a lower liquidity and profiteering by market makers. This combined effect not only made it doubly hard for options traders to make a profit. Volatile options strategies, supposed to be meant for such conditions due to their ability to make a profit when the market moves up or down strongly and their ability to profit from an increase in volatility, also failed to produce any consistent profits due to the higher premium outlay and wide bid ask spreads, soaking up most of the profits. Unexpected rallies also crunch volatility to the extent of producing losses through decaying the premium of long legs at express speed. Short term (weekly, monthly) directional options strategies fared even worse as it not only became almost impossible to predict short term price swings but the high premium and bid ask spreads also took most, if not all, of the profits away even if the stock did move in the expected direction.

So what works in an extremely volatile market condition such as this one?

First of all, let’s look at all the different ways to trade options. There are 3 main options trading methodologies; Swing Trading, Position Trading and Day Trading.

Swing trading is a directional options trading methodology that aims to pick stocks that will move quickly and strongly within a short period of time in a predictable direction and then execute bullish or bearish options strategies in order to profit from these moves. As mentioned before, trying to profit from directional swing trading in an extremely volatile market is like swimming against the tide. Not only is directions hard to predict in the first place but the high options premium along with gapping bid ask spread all work against its favor.

Position trading is more complex than Swing Trading as it aims to profit mainly (although there are also position trading strategies that are directional in nature) from volatility or premium decay through putting together several different options and / or stocks in order to produce a hedged, market neutral position. Position trading has produced some pretty profitable results for me in this market crisis as volatility soared and options premiums are high. This puts the disadvantages of an extremely volatile market condition in the favor of the options trader. Such positions include dynamically hedged delta-neutral as well as delta-gamma-neutral positions. Both of these position trading strategies aim to neutralize market movement such that unexpected swings do not affect the position significantly while the position safely takes the high options premium on the short legs into your pockets.

Day trading is an extremely dynamic options trading method where options are bought and sold very quickly within one day in order to profit from the slightest intraday price swing or change in volatility. This strategy was a pretty hard one to profit from in low volatility market conditions as prices doesn’t change enough within a day to produce significant profits. However, day trading becomes extremely profitable in the hands of seasoned options trading veterans in extremely volatile market conditions such as this market crisis as the Dow itself has produced intraday trading ranges of up to 10%! Yes, this is the kind of trading range and price range that cannot be realized in normal market conditions. Day trading often takes the form of simply buying or shorting call or put options and then quickly covering them when profitable. Day trading also avoids the extreme overnight uncertainties that so often catch swing traders by surprise in this market crisis. Sudden overnight good news can often gap the Dow up by a significant amount and closing it over 10% higher. This can wipe out all your profits if you had been betting in the opposite direction overnight. Day trading, however, is extremely risky for beginners in options trading as the price movement is so fast and dynamic that when things happen, beginners may not know what to do and be able to do it quickly. This is therefore not recommended for beginners.

So, there you have, 2 ways to profit from this market crisis through options trading which I have used profitably. Options trading (http://www.optiontradingpedia.com) is definitely profitable under any market conditions as long as you use the right method for the prevailing conditions.

Futures Trading…Know The Market Before The Experts

You Don’t need a Crystal Ball

One might say that there has to be some kind of mystical knowledge being used, considering the price for the commodity doesn’t yet exist. Commodities are any physical, tangible goods, such as crops like corn or wheat, to oil, gold, and currency, just to name a few. The futures market has nothing to do with the use of a crystal ball, though there are many traders who wish they had one. A futures contract is a standardized contract to buy or sell a specified commodity of standardized quality at a certain date in the future, at a market determined price (the futures price). The contracts are traded on a futures exchange.

A futures contract gives the holder the obligation to make or take delivery under the terms of the contract, whereas an option grants the buyer the right, but not the obligation, to establish a position previously held by the seller of the option. Like all financial instruments, the futures market is highly regulated, but not by the SEC.

The SEC administers and enforces the federal laws that govern the sale and trading of securities, such as stocks, bonds, and mutual funds, but they do not regulate futures trading. The federal agency that does regulate futures trading is the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. With limited
exceptions, the trading of futures must be executed on the floor of a commodity exchange. Similar to broker-dealers that are members of the National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc. or some other self-regulatory organization, all firms and individuals who trade futures with the public or give advice about futures trading must be registered with the National Futures Association (NFA).

The Players In This Chess Match
Hedgers and Speculators

Commercial hedgers are corporations and sometime individuals, that seek to ensure the stability of a given commodity by taking a position in the commodities market. Take peas for example, and the hedger, a food processor who cans them. If pea prices go up the hedger ends up having to pay the farmer or pea dealer more. Because it is basically a cash commodity, to protect himself against higher pea prices, the processor can “hedge” his risk exposure by buying enough pea futures contracts to cover the amount of peas he expects to buy. Since cash and futures prices do tend to move in tandem, the futures position will profit if the price of peas rise enough to offset cash pea losses.

Speculators are the second major group of futures players. These participants include independent floor traders and investors. A speculator is a person, or more likely an institution, that purchases or sells the commodities based on factors other than simply analysis. Whereas investors will focus, by and large, on detailed analysis.

Gambling With Your Futures
Five Reasons To Roll the Dice

Since most individual traders are speculators, here is a list of some of the advantages and disadvantages of the futures market over other investment possibilities.

1. The possibility exist that a person can make more money faster in the futures market, because  the speed of prices tend to change faster than stocks. Conversely, bad judgment can cause one to suffer greater losses than traditional investments.

2. Futures are highly leveraged investments. The trader only puts up about 15-20% as a margin, yet still being able to ride the full amount of the contract. Unlike stocks where at least 50% of its value has to be put up, and the investor pays interest on the difference between the margin and the full contract value.

3. For the most part there is no inside trading. Everyone has the same insiders information on the weather, for example. This is an open outcry market, very public, which insures a fair outcome.

4. Commission charges on futures trades are small compared to other investments, and the investor pays them after the position is liquidated.

5. Most commodity markets are very broad and liquid. Transactions can be completed quickly, lowering the risk of adverse market moves between the time of the decision to trade and the trade’s execution.

I hope this has helped in your research. I don’t profess to being an expert, but I do know of some. I obviously don’t have the time to go into all the details now, but at my site  Market Mentalist you will find all you need to know about investing online. I have a page devoted to futures. There is access to some of the top trading systems available including software, books, newsletters, and Forums. Whether you are an inquisitive novice or a seasoned pro Market Mentalist offers the online investment resource you just might be seeking.

Futures Trading ? Do?s and Don?ts

Futures Trading – Do’s and Don’ts

A common problem that many futures traders run into is that they start trading, make some decent profits, then all of the sudden they encounter what seems to be an endless stream of losses. Eventually they end up losing their profits and eating away at their trading capital as they struggle to try and figure out what they are doing wrong. To be successful in futures trading, you must know what the common pitfalls are and what you can do to profit in the different futures markets. Here are the most common mistakes of futures traders and what you need to do to be a good futures trader.

Common Futures Trading Mistakes

All successful futures traders have a system in place that will help them make better trades and effectively keep losses to a minimum. These strategies have been developed over time by the traders themselves or in combination with other trading systems. You can improve your odds of success by avoiding the common mistakes that many make when their new strategy is starting to work for them. These include:

Not Sticking With Your System
Just when a trading strategy is starting to show promise, many traders will deviate or abandon the system that they are using. This change means that you will not be able to unemotionally evaluate the market, leading to incorrect analyses and ultimately, losses. Instead, when you start to see signs of a change in trend taking place, you should be prepared to adapt your strategy to the changing conditions. This gives you the flexibility to make consistent profits in any type of market. Not Protecting Yourself
Futures trading (like all trading) does involve a certain degree of risk, so it is important to protect yourself. There are a few ways to do this, such as using a sell or buy stops to limit your losses to a comfortable level, or by using heading strategies like buying puts. This will keep your losses to a minimum while maximizing your profits. Not Staying Focused
To trade successfully, your undivided attention is required to be able to read and evaluate the markets effectively. Sometimes distractions are unavoidable, but you always want to have as few distractions as possible when you are trading. This will help you to focus properly, thus increasing your odds of more profitable trades. Not Being Open to New Ideas: The markets are always changing. No matter how great you think you are as a trader, there’s always a new idea that can help you improve your trading results. Too often, traders get caught up in thinking that they already know enough and they aren’t willing to learn anything new. As the market conditions change, this type of trader is left behind with nothing to show but losses. However, if you remain open to new ideas, you will be able to change with the markets – and profit consistently, no matter what they do.

How to Be a Better Futures Trader

A good futures trader is someone who can profit in any type of market condition. Traders come from many different backgrounds and lifestyles, but most good futures traders are:

Independent Thinkers
Great futures traders think for themselves. They follow what is happening with world-related events, the markets and other factors to make their trading decisions. In times of collapsing prices, they avoid panic and seek out paths to profit by using bearish strategies. Conversely, they do not get caught up in greed when others are feeling like prices will continue to rise with no inevitable correction. Avoiding this kind of crowd mentality allows the best futures traders to position themselves and profit at the right time. Strong Analysts
To be a good futures trader, you must understand technical and fundamental analysis. The more you are able to apply your understanding, the better you will be at spotting trading opportunities. To do this you want to learn as much as you can about all the different forms of analysis. This will help you gain the knowledge and the experience necessary to make better trades. While this may seem like an enormous task, in reality it’s not. It can be done during your leisure time by reading different books, magazines, visiting futures-related websites, watching the news and by paper (practice) trading. Active Learners
To continue learning new ways of trading, consider going to seminars or other events where you can interact with other traders and learn to accept and use new ideas. This allows you to learn from other traders’ mistakes, meaning that your odds of having more successful trades increase. Handy with the Tools of Their Trade
When you are trading futures information is key. You want to make sure that you have the ability to place trades 24 hours a day, have real time quotes, software to help you analyze the markets quickly and be able to receive fast executions. With these tools you will be able to react quickly to the changing share market conditions.

The Bottom Line
Being a good futures trader means staying informed. Inform yourself about different forms of analysis, different strategies and learn from the mistakes of others. Trust in your well-researched strategy and your diligence will pay off. By following these simple tenets, you are increasing your odds of seeing more profits and fewer losses in these challenging yet rewarding stock market.

Diveya Alok Simon

www.capitalvia.com

Is Option Trading Gambling?

We have seen it way too often, haven’t we?

Advertisements that tout making thousands of percents in profits within days and millionaires made within weeks, all by option trading! Such advertisements usually draw hordes of hungry, indebted gamblers who need that “one big win” to recover their debts or losses elsewhere to their unusually expensive seminars.

95% of those who walked into such seminars, paid for it and actually traded options, lost all their money. 3% will make some money within the first few trades and then lose it all subsequently. 1% will really make some sustainable money and a final lucky 1% will make the 1000% a month on their first month (again, just to lose it all within the next month). Anyone who has been in this predicament usually think that option trading is nothing more than just a gamble on an instrument that has no value of its own.

Yet, many professional traders and fund managers are making a good, consistent profit from option trading! These professionals don’t make 1000% a month in profits, neither will they ever, but they continue to make a living in the markets month after month, year after year (me included)!

So, what makes option trading a real investment and trading activity to these professionals and a mere gamble for those who lost all their money attending option trading seminars?

The difference is in ATTITUDE. Attitude governs decisions and actions. Anyone who approaches option trading with the “get-rich-quick” attitude will also soon find themselves “getting-poorer-quicker” simply because these punters hoping to “make-it-big” on their next trade, totally rejects any semblance of a trade management strategy, totally cast aside sensible analysis in favor of a 50/50 “bet” and take totally senseless out of the money positions that either make it big or expire completely worthless!

A real option trading professional utilizes sensible money management strategy on every trading opportunity, weighted against the potential risk of non-performance. This means that a real option trader will never put all his money into one big out of the money position! A real option trading professional utilizes trade analysis methods based on proven methodologies so as to put the odds of performance in their favor and never treat every trade as a 50/50 bet. A real option trading professional calculates the amount of options leverage to be used on every trade so that his portfolio is never over-leveraged. A real option trading professional do not expect to make it big on his next trade and he is not aiming for one huge home run but a series of small wins that eventually adds up. A real option trading professional never allow one loss to wipe out his portfolio because he treats the market with respect knowing that no matter how much analysis has been conducted, there is always a chance that the market will work against him.

In a nutshell, a real option trading professional (and an option trading winner who stays in the game for years) differ from a gambler (who rarely survives for more than a month) mainly in terms of mental attitude! The wrong mental attitude transforms option trading from the sensible and sophisticated financial instrument that it is into nothing more than lottery tickets.

The problem with most option trading seminars today is that they don’t put these critical elements of successful option trading together! All they teach are how option trading can make anyone rich very quickly! It is like teaching someone how to queue up for a lottery ticket! A real option trading system incorporates all the critical elements to successful option trading; From looking for trading opportunities systematically, to analysis of that opportunity in view of the trading horizon required, to selecting the correct option based on the requirements of that opportunity to risk balanced trade management and more! One such option trading methodology is the Star Trading System that I have taught online for years.

So, isn’t it time you reviewed your attitude and approach towards option trading?

How About Learning Futures Trading?

Oil is the lifeblood of global economy. In the summer of 2008, crude oil prices jumped from around $60 to around $150 in just a matter of few months. Those hedge funds and savvy traders, who knew how to trade crude oil futures made a windfall in a matter of few months. This rise in crude oil prices is going to repeat itself in the near future. Enter the exciting world of futures trading. Suppose, you want to profit from the volatility in the crude oil market. You take a position in crude oil market by going long on crude oil futures. Suppose, you buy 1000 barrels of crude oil. Hey, can you keep 1000 barrels of crude oil in your garage! Definately not! You are just looking for an opportunity to profit from the crude oil prices not taking physical delivery of 1000 barrels of crude oil. The beauty of futures trading lies in the fact that you don’t need to take physical possession of any commodity. You can keep the position open and close it in cash when your profit target is achieved or the futures contract is about to expire!

Have you ever thought about trading futures contracts? The average trader would be surprised as to the range of things that can be traded with futures contracts. As a futures trader, you can take opposing positions in gold and US Dollar futures contracts to take advantage of the opposing price moves.

As a futures trader, you can trade precious metals like gold, silver, platinum or palladium. You can also trade futures contracts on currencies like US Dollar (USD), Japanese Yen (JPY), Canadian Dollar (CAD), British Pound (GBP), Australian Dollar (AUD) and others.

You can trade metals like copper, aluminum, zinc, lead, tin or nickel. You can trade steel. You can trade grains futures contracts like wheat, corn, soybeans, bean oil, oats, rice, barley and others. You can even trade food and fiber futures contracts like coffee, sugar, cocoa, cotton, orange juice, lumber or others. You can trade meats like live cattle, pork, lean hogs and others with futures contracts.

You can trade plastics with futures contracts. You can trade energy futures contracts like crude oil, Brent Crude, natural gas, propane and others. You can trade financial instruments like Treasury Notes, Treasury Bonds, Munis (Municipal Bonds), Eurodollar, Bund ( German Government Bond), Euroyen and others. One of the most popular futures contracts are the Stock Index Futures like the S&P 500, Dow, E-Mini S&P, NASDAQ, FTSE, DAX and others. You can even trade futures contracts on individual stocks. There are even futures contracts on Hurricanes, home prices and even on things that you cannot imagine.

The main players in the futures market are the exchanges, speculators, hedgers and the regulators. The major futures exchanges are the NYMEX (New York Mercantile Exchange), CME ( Chicago Mercantile Exchange), CBOT (Chicago Board Of Trade), LME (London Mercantile Exchange), TOCOM (Tokyo Commodity Exchange) and the Eurex.

If you are a speculator who is looking for making a quick capital gain then futures trading is for you. As a speculator, you would like to profit from the market risk and volatility.