The Option Alpha Podcast

Show notes: http://optionalpha.com/show125Want to learn how to trade options the right way but feeling overwhelmed? It's like this big giant elephant is standing in front of you and you have to figure out a way to consume it. And the best way to do anything in like, like eating the proverbial elephant, is to tackle it one bite at a time. So today, I want to introduce two ways of learning how to trade options; the first using frameworks, and the second using concepts. Both are effective ways to quickly process information, and more importantly, retain the information so you continue to build your knowledge base for trading. Plus, either one I feel could be done start to finish, including coverage of all options trading topics, in less than 90 days.

Show notes: http://optionalpha.com/show124Selling cheap options with very high probabilities of success makes rationale sense on the outside. I mean, why sell options with a 70% chance of success when you can sell options further out that have a 90% chance of success. No brainer right? Well, not so fast. The options market is fair and efficient - and selling these far out-of-the-money options might look good from a win rate perspective, the total dollar profits you'll generate far under-perform the stock market. Today, we'll use our Options Backtesting software to run two option selling strategies on TLT. The first selling options at the 0.25 delta and the second selling options at the 0.05 delta. Inside we present the results and our analysis as to why selling cheap options could be less beneficial to your portfolio.

Show notes: http://optionalpha.com/show123At Option Alpha we believe (and the research confirms) that the options trading possibilities for retail investors are nearly endless. Higher returns and better performance for your portfolio, but only if, you cross this one trading bridge first. So many newbie traders learn about options and the stock market and experience a rush of energy and motivation to jump in with both feet and start trading. Naturally, this jolt comes from the expectation of huge returns. But without the proper framework and understanding of how portfolios evolve, all that excitement can quickly turn into burnout and failure. My goal today is to help you cross this proverbial "trading bridge" and learn how to confidently analyze option strategies before putting money at risk.

Show notes: http://optionalpha.com/show122As options traders we need to focus on the levers that really move the needle in terms of generating income and cash flow for our portfolio. There's no point in doing something if it doesn't contribute to the overall profitability of the portfolio right? It'd be like shoveling your driveway before a huge snow storm. Or washing your car before it rains. The wrong activity for the sake of being active serves no purpose. Today's show resets the foundation for options traders by focusing on the "big rocks" that should take priority. Get this right and you'll set yourself up for success.

Show notes: http://optionalpha.com/show121Trade long enough and save enough money and eventually, you'll need to make a couple small tweaks to your options strategy as you start managing larger trading accounts. Today's show is all about transitioning your options strategy in a way that optimizes the increased capital you have to invest. If you're not yet at the "large account" level we talk about, don't worry. One, you'll get there over time if you stay committed. Two, the concepts are important for all traders to understand so that you can start planning ahead as your account grows and as you add more funds in the future.

Show notes: http://optionalpha.com/show120Over the last 10+ years I've seen thousands, and coached hundreds, of traders navigate the markets. And if you study option trader success long enough (and geek out about it as much as I do) then you'll quickly come to realize that success is nothing more than a persistent person with great habits and a clear mind. Today's show focusing on why I believe some traders are frankly always more profitable than others while re-visiting six key areas that differentiate them. I encourage you to take a close look at this list we present today and see what areas you might be able to improve on moving forward. Honestly, the perspective I get from running Option Alpha continues to be one of the driving forces for me to keep pushing forward on all fronts with this platform and community because I can quickly learn and adapt what works and what doesn't to my own trading style by watching and listening to other people. My hope is that today's show does the same for you and helps encourage you to keep pushing forward.

Show notes: http://optionalpha.com/show119The last couple weeks of trading for many newbie investors was quite the learning experience. The market fell from all time highs quickly and then recovered nearly half of that move in a single week. Still, we got a flood of emails from people who were not well positioned for the drop in equity prices and learned the hard way why you can't practice trading options with large, one-sided trades. One unfortunately person placed a single $6,000 trade in a $10,000 account and felt the full wrath of Murphy's Law. In today's show, I want to get back to basics here for a couple minutes and re-visit some important concepts or frameworks you can use when trading that will help you navigate the next move down in stocks. 

Show notes: http://optionalpha.com/show118It's always good to look back and analyze what happened in the past. Often times it can help shape the future (good or bad) and how you trade moving forward. In today's show, I want to take some time to share my top five options trading psychology lessons I learned over the last 18 months. Many of these I scripted out well before the recent mini-crash we saw in equities so it's fitting to talk about now because my comments might not have hit home without the recent market volatility. Still, I encourage you to share your own lessons in the comments below as I'd love to hear the shifts and progress you are making as a trader.

Show notes: http://optionalpha.com/show117One of the most popular and widely used options greek is Delta. And while I believe that you can't necessarily learn about option pricing and option greeks in a vacuum as they all work together to represent potential price action for changing market conditions, having a solid understanding of how Delta works is important both in entering new positions and managing your basket of trades in a portfolio. Today's show dives a little deeper into the lead greek and covers both a basic understanding of what Delta is and how it works, plus some more high level insights into how I used Delta to enter our recent trade in XLE.

Show notes: http://optionalpha.com/show116You've targeted a stock or ETF setup you like and want to make a directional trade. Maybe some technical indicator alerted you to a possible turn in the underlying or you just needed to hedge your portfolio with a new trade. Whatever the case, you are now left wondering why type of options strategy to pick. How do you decide between trading debit spreads vs. credit spreads and when should you use each style? In today's podcast, I'll walk through the different market environments and setups that might work best for each.