How many options strategies should you realistically master?

[turkeyneck]

There is a phone book's worth of strategies listed in McMillan's but these are the bread and butter strategies I use regularly as I like to keep things simple and most important of all profitable.

• CC / short put
• debit / credit spread
• long / short straddles

 

[Robert Morse]

Good morning turkeyneck, interesting member name. IMO, you need to have a detail knowledge of the risks of trading options. Then, you need to have an opinion on the direction or lack there of, of the security in question. After you have done that analysis and have an opinion that you have high expectations on, you look at the current option pricing. Then, and only then, should you evaluate the rick reward of the naked stock positions, hedged or not with options or just options to best give you the highest dollar expectations for your given risk. You can do any formal spread or make one up. Not what you wanted to hear, but I believe that those that look to do option spreads with no opinion on the stock or index, seem to find things to do with little true expectation of profit.

 

[TheDawn]

There is a phone book's worth of strategies listed in McMillan's but these are the bread and butter strategies I use regularly as I like to keep things simple and most important of all profitable.

• CC / short put
• debit / credit spread
• long / short straddles

short put is not the same as CC. It's not covered. And I would also add butterflies and iron condors and calendar spreads to the list. They are quite useful as well.

 

[newwurldmn]

Whats the difference between a short put and a covered call?































INFINITE GAMMA

 

[newwurldmn]

There is a phone book's worth of strategies listed in McMillan's but these are the bread and butter strategies I use regularly as I like to keep things simple and most important of all profitable.

• CC / short put
• debit / credit spread
• long / short straddles

You are confusing structures with strategies.

 

[mervyn]

nothing fancy, cc and short puts, I like collecting premium. then there are calendar spreads I buy in large volumes.

 

[turkeyneck]

short put is not the same as CC. It's not covered. And I would also add butterflies and iron condors and calendar spreads to the list. They are quite useful as well.

I mean cash secured short put.

 

[2rosy]

It's easier if you take a step back and understand how a long/short put or call or underlying behave. From that you can build up anything.

 

[taowave]

Dawn,Dawn,Dawn,you just cant leave well enough alone

short put is not the same as CC. It's not covered. And I would also add butterflies and iron condors and calendar spreads to the list. They are quite useful as well.

 

[taowave]

Are you directional?

There is a phone book's worth of strategies listed in McMillan's but these are the bread and butter strategies I use regularly as I like to keep things simple and most important of all profitable.

• CC / short put
• debit / credit spread
• long / short straddles