Retail Trader vs Market Maker and the Winner..?

Quote from dagnyt:

All you said is true and can be considered as the cost of doing business.

The MMs have an advantage, but that does not prevent you from making money when trading options.

I began using options in 1975 and have been profitable over the years (most of which I spent as a CLOE MM). But retail trading works also.

Mark
http://blog.mdwoptions.com/options_for_rookies/
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Mark,

Thanks a lot for sharing your experience and I am really appreciate that your inputs.

When you mentioned you have been profitable over the years, what kind of return you have in average (I understand you may make more and less in particular year) but in average, are you making 10%, 20%, 30% or in average in yearly basics ?
 
Quote from SmithTheTrader:

What kind of return you have in average (I understand you may make more and less in particular year) but in average, are you making 10%, 20%, 30% or in average in yearly basics ?
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You should not care.

For many years I wrote covered calls and sold naked puts. Thus, my returns depended my on ability to <b>select stocks</b> and not on any option strategy. Thus, whether I averaged 5% or 50% has no relevance to you.

Over the past few years I have been buying iron condors (sell call spread and put spread) on major market indexes. The success of that strategy depends on my strike selection - but more importantly, it depends on how well I managed risk. My ability to manage risk, and my personal tolerance for risky positions is surely different from yours.

If I told you I made over 50% per year, you'd probably jump right in and try iron condors without really understanding how they work.

If I told you I made only 5%, you'd dismiss the strategy as useless.

Believe me when I tell you that you do not need to know. What you want to do is understand how options work, how to decide which specific options to buy and or sell, how to choose one or more strategies that are appropriate for you and especially why buying options is not the path for long-term success (for the vast majority of traders).

Mark
The Rookie's Guide to Options
 
]You should not care.

If I told you I made over 50% per year, you'd probably jump right in and try iron condors without really understanding how they work.
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We care because we're nosy.

If you made 50% a year, I'd send you my adoption papers

:)
 
Quote from SmithTheTrader:

As a retail trader, there is a question that always comes back and hunt me from time to time..

May be this is an easy question to all the elite trader here ?

We all know that market makers have inherit advantages over retail traders - bid/ask slippage, order flow info, arbitage ..

Is there any chance that any retail trader will beat market makers and success in LONG term ? :confused:
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I think the bigger question you need to ask yourself is why you feel the need to beat anyone? Too many people have this ego mentality of trading that they have to beat someone or a specific group. Your goal in trading is to make money and simply accept the fact that there are traders that will make more money than you and traders that will make less. If none of them are paying your bills or signing your checks then @#$% everyone else and just focus on your self and you have a better chance of being profitable.

:D
 
Quote from spindr0:

We care because we're nosy.

If you made 50% a year, I'd send you my adoption papers

:)
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Spin,

You are a bit too old to be my son, but I do not make 50% - as if you didn't already know that.

Mark
 
Quote from athlonmank8:

Who cares? Why is anyone wasting their time arguing this? Forget the MM's.

They do their thing, you do yours
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More succint version of what I was trying to say.. ;)
 
Phil,

I think that there's a need to beat money market rates (and then some). If one can't do that consistently, one really needs to find another hobby/profession.


Mark,

I'm really rather cuddly when swathed in 100 dollar bills.
Adopt me !!!!
 
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