http://www.marketsurfer.com/?p=65
Dave: Letâs start off by getting a bit of history about yourself. I know you have had tons of experience in and around the option markets. What first got you interested in options?
Charles: I was an accountant. I use to track the transactions of my clients and I got very interested in the workings of options. I then had the opportunity to visit a friend who was trading on the floor. This was an amazing new world that I never even knew existed, even though my office was just down the street for years. I worked at a family accounting firm during the summers. At this point, I was a year out of college and I visited the floor. Several of my friends were starting to trade futures. Futures did not attract me, but options seemed intriguing. It seemed like you really could control the risk. I went to a free seminar and came back to the office and said âIâm giving a years notice to this family business of 65 years.â Then I went down to become a trader.
Dave: Wow, that took some nerve leaving the security of the family office. We are talking about Chicago and the CBOE?
Charles: Correct.
Dave: What was your evolution on the floor? Did you start out as a clerk or did you step right into trading?
Charles: I stepped right into trading. I read a few books and figured I didnât have to go that route. The market told me differently, because 6 months later I lost all my money. I just didnât understand things. I thought when the customers were buying I could just take the other side and bet against them. I had no idea on how to take on an inventory of options. The other guys in the pits seemed to be so emotionless about every single trade they made. I was riding on every single contract that I had. I was basically hoping, praying and doing all the wrong things.
Dave: What was the path between being a losing trader and the thinkorswim brokerage launch?............http://www.marketsurfer.com/?p=65
Dave: Letâs start off by getting a bit of history about yourself. I know you have had tons of experience in and around the option markets. What first got you interested in options?
Charles: I was an accountant. I use to track the transactions of my clients and I got very interested in the workings of options. I then had the opportunity to visit a friend who was trading on the floor. This was an amazing new world that I never even knew existed, even though my office was just down the street for years. I worked at a family accounting firm during the summers. At this point, I was a year out of college and I visited the floor. Several of my friends were starting to trade futures. Futures did not attract me, but options seemed intriguing. It seemed like you really could control the risk. I went to a free seminar and came back to the office and said âIâm giving a years notice to this family business of 65 years.â Then I went down to become a trader.
Dave: Wow, that took some nerve leaving the security of the family office. We are talking about Chicago and the CBOE?
Charles: Correct.
Dave: What was your evolution on the floor? Did you start out as a clerk or did you step right into trading?
Charles: I stepped right into trading. I read a few books and figured I didnât have to go that route. The market told me differently, because 6 months later I lost all my money. I just didnât understand things. I thought when the customers were buying I could just take the other side and bet against them. I had no idea on how to take on an inventory of options. The other guys in the pits seemed to be so emotionless about every single trade they made. I was riding on every single contract that I had. I was basically hoping, praying and doing all the wrong things.
Dave: What was the path between being a losing trader and the thinkorswim brokerage launch?............http://www.marketsurfer.com/?p=65
:eek: