Today, I had an interesting conversation with an option trader who is still searching for the magic formula to making consistent returns with option trading. He said many things which were so familiar to me.
One thing that stood out was when he said “Non-directional option trading doesn’t mean we can make money in any direction. It means that we make money if the underlying doesn’t move in any direction. In other words, it’s still a directional trade, sideways.” This is correct, and most people advertise that it’s easy to make money with options because we can make money on any direction. This is true in some respects and not true in others.
Those of you trading Iron Condors know what I am talking about; especially if you are trading the Condors that most courses and books teach. If you are trading this strategy in 2009, you probably aren’t making anything. The reason being that the Iron Condor is just as directional as most option trades only that its direction is sideways. For some, it’s just as hard to predict a sideways move as it is up or down.
So many option traders have called me recently to tell me the same thing. “I was doing great with Condors and Credit spreads for a few months, but then last month I lost nearly my whole trading account.” This is so common amongst option traders in today’s market.
This is precisely why I don’t preach the normal style of Iron Condors. If you are a couple days from expiration, and the RUT is right up against the sold contract, subsequently you are investing in the same manner as the average investor does. I’m speaking of the one who has very little investor education, and because of this, shortly you’ll be telling your buddies a similar story. However, it’s a very different story that you’ll be telling your wife! You smile today at this, but you won’t be showing your pearly whites during a time when it happens in your own trading. Another serious problem with this aggressive style of investing is that the anxiety level can be so elevated that it really destroys your well-being on a daily basis. Many of you reading this know what I am talking about.
Anyway, to deal with this problem San Jose Options Mentoring has redesigned Iron Condors and Credit Spreads. We have a different technique which gives the underlying much more wiggle room, lowering our stress level and keeping us out of dangerous situations. Remember, the less you have to adjust your condor, the better off you will be in most cases.
Our safer method of trading speaks for itself, but we have also developed another method that is very exciting to share with you. For most option strategies we trade, we now have a way to lock-in the profits and stay in the trade to make more. This is a great technique to use as an investor.
There’s yet another technique we’ve developed that I’d like to mention before we go. Every trader has some trades that don’t work out right? Well we obviously do too, but in our case, we usually end up with a Bonus Trade which gives us a chance to make back our loss with very little or no risk at all. It’s these little details to trading that make all the difference at the end of the year.
So winner or loser, we have developed a pretty nice way to trade Iron Condors as well as many other strategies.
Want to lock in your profits?? Improve your Option Trading now by visiting San Jose Options Mentoring online at www.sjoptions.com. Visit now and receive a Free Option Trading Video on Option Greeks, a $200 value absolutely free!
Tags: business, education, finance, investing, iron condor, locking in profits, money management, option trading, retirement, risk management, stock market, trading stocks