Small Account

chyldom said:
Hello guys,

I would like to ask you few questions. I would like to start trading options, but I will have limited account. Lets say 4000$.

I saw some courses for 1000-3000$, do you think is it worth it to buy these courses? Or it is better to start learning from free resources and better to invest in myself and fund my account. I know sometimes you need to pay for knowledge and learning, but in world of rich trading gurus it is hard to believe someone.

I know I am not going to be a millionare from 4000$, my point is to learn how to trade small account and be profitable in a first place.

Would you suggest any paid course? Or any free courses, youtube, book or anything? I know there are tons of books and videos to watch and learn, but this is mainly for a big account about 25000$ and more.

Would you suggest TastyTrade to learn how to trade options?

I would love to learn how to trade, but when I see this big trading accounts videos, I just dont know where to start and learn..

So I will be glad for every advice, if you tell me fund your account and learn it by yourself, good but please tell me which strategies you would use for 4000$ so I can study this strategies as much as I can. Thanks a lot guys and have great and successful week!
More...
Don't trade options if you have never trade any instruments in the past. They look simple but are extremely difficult and complicated. Whether you buy, sell, spread, combination, hedge, the odds of making money in the long run is small. Why? Your counter parties are usually the market makers and professional traders who almost always have better tools and more capable than you.

Can it be done? Yes.I started a long time ago buying and selling equities while holding a day job. After I quit my day job, I tried day trading for a while, then swing trade equities for a few years until in 2013, started trading options. After 6 1/2 years, I am still a newbie.

I spend most of my days researching, modeling, reading (including reading ET :D) and occasionally place a trade or two. It is actually hard work but I enjoy it.

If you are still interested, here is my suggestion:

1. Don't quit your day job until you don't need a day job.

2. Read up on stocks, stock markets, economics, finance as much as you can. I took many free courses on Coursera.

3. Don't purchase any courses, they won't give you any more information that you can get from books or watching free YouTube. Read up on options using all the books mentioned. I would add one more once you understand options: Colin Bennett's book on Trading Volatility.

4. Try to learn how options are priced and try to do some basic modeling yourself using Excel, VBA....

5. Try backtest and forward test. I forward tested by using single lot, cheap options to see how the strategy behave with real money.

6. Becoming a full time retail trader like us. :cool:

Welcome to the club. It can be done if you have the passion to learn and are willing to work hard.

Good luck.
 
ironchef said:
Thanks.

Googled my brokerage, they are prime broker, but I just don't feel I am that special. :(
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Just to be more clear, you typically have an executing broker and a prime broker. With Lightspeed, Lime Brokerage is the executing broker that introduces business to the Prime broker, Wedbush Securities.
 
Holy shit did this thread get hijacked, "my dick is bigger than yours", "your bs", "no your bs", and go down the toilet...

Nice to see that we've ... kind of gotten back on topic..

I used to take expensive courses like that for some other topic. Didn't work out.
One think that I learned with most of these guys, they are not invested in your success. They don't care if you don't understand the topic, if you don't learn the material fast enough, if it takes you longer to learn it.
There many times always seems to be a teaser too, leaving out one or a few more "special" things that could make you money, and you just need to buy this one more course to learn that.

Just from an economics perspective...
If many of these teachers are really that successful in what they do, why are they selling these courses for such crazy money.
I've heard from more than one long time successful trader that, if the teachers really are making big money, then the amount of time they are setting aside for creating the courses, refining them, selling them, advertising them, teaching them, mentoring others, you would take away from you main income so much that you'd LOSE MONEY.

I firmly don't believe in teachers who constantly peddle their classes like it makes such a huge impact on their income. it shouldn't.

Everybody trades in their own unique way that works for them.
Somebody else's technique/strategy, may not work for you, just because of how you operate and think.

If XYZ class doesn't compliment you or work for you, will they give you your money back? No way.

A very different environment from somebody who might be a friend, relative, or mentor that's experienced, that tries to help you be successful for the long haul, and won't say, "can't help you until you buy this next course." or "This course is only 3 phone call consultation" and they're gone after that.

You can spend a lot of money learning about material that doesn't work for you.

Search YouTube.
You'd be very surprised at what you can get for free.

I tripped across this site recently and was impressed by how much free material they have,
https://optionalpha.com/
There's a lot of other sites that have tons of free information.
It's ridiculous how much you can learn from YouTube.
 
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