Question regarding selling puts for premium

[Autodidact]

No. What I said is the only way to trade options safely is to severely limit the number of contacts you gamble with. But... the reality is nobody does this. It's only a matter of time before an options trader gambles with too many contracts at the wrong time.

You are describing a trader with no sense of risk aversion, you don't survive this game without proper risk management; options or stocks.

 

[Xenomorph]

You are describing a trader with no sense of risk aversion, you don't survive this game without proper risk management; options or stocks.

Options can crush you in a way that stocks rarely do. You can be left with a ZERO account balance in just a few weeks or even days. It happens all the time to options traders. A lot more has to go wrong for that to happen to an equity or futures trader.

 

[Autodidact]

Options can crush you in a way that stocks rarely do. You can be left with a ZERO account balance in just a few weeks or even days. It happens all the time to options traders. A lot more has to go wrong for that to happen to an equity or futures trader.

You talking like someone who learned about options in the past 3 months, not everyone in this board is a neophyte.

 

[longthewings]

You can be left with a ZERO account balance in just a few weeks or even days.

He or she did not hedge correctly....

 

[Xenomorph]

You talking like someone who learned about options in the past 3 months, not everyone in this board is a neophyte.

Say whatever makes you feel better about your gambling addiction.

 

[Autodidact]

Say whatever makes you feel better about your gambling addiction.

You think I'm a degenerate gambler because I think options can be traded with positive expectancy ?

Whatever you say Don Noob.

 

[mikhail]

So when selling puts to collect premium, your Risk:Reward ratio is outstandingly different. Sometimes you're risking 100 to make 1. http://prntscr.com/7cvgx5 for example you're risking a max loss of $5927 and a max reward of $23 (2 standard deviation trade).

A max loss at this capacity will most likely wipe out someones capital, so how does traders manage losing trades?

There are so many ways to manage this risk:

1) Use a simple stop loss and close the trade if it had reached a certain loss level.

2) Hedge the position by shorting a stock (so that the delta of the position becomes zero).

3) Buy another put (with a different strike or the same, doesn't matter) so that the delta becomes zero (or becomes smaller).

 

[Xenomorph]

You think I'm a degenerate gambler because I think options can be traded with positive expectancy ?

Whatever you say Don Noob.

I notice you didn't bother to 'correct' me when I said you have blown out your account to absolute zero gambling with options. Which means you obviously have. 'Positive expectancy' is a silly term options traders use to convince themselves they are not gambling.

 

[rmorse]

I notice you didn't bother to 'correct' me when I said you have blown out your account to absolute zero gambling with options. When means obviously you have. 'Positive expectancy' is a silly term options traders use to convince themselves they are not gambling.

It's interesting that you're so negative on the use of options. Did you or a close friend have a very bad experience? Leverage that is inherent from the use of options and futures and options on futures is not right for everybody. You can make the same argument for FX trading. However it's certainly possible to use leverage and not "gamble".

 

[Xenomorph]

It's interesting that you're so negative on the use of options. Did you or a close friend have a very bad experience? Leverage that is inherent from the use of options and futures and options on futures is not right for everybody. You can make the same argument for FX trading. However it's certainly possible to use leverage and not "gamble".

Why are you working in 'Business Development' if you are such a great options trader? Shouldn't you be retired and working from home? See. I can ask questions too.