Need Help with Becoming a Better Options Trader? Come to Options Boot Camp!

| Apr 03, 2012 | Comments 2

If you’ve tried the new Zecco Trading Center or the new Zecco Mobile for Android or iPhone, you know we are committed to giving our customers the trading and research tools they need to succeed. Yet, skills and knowledge are just as important as the right tools.

Let me use a personal example.

I’m an avid skier. I especially love to ski out of bounds, which can be risky. To do it safely I’ve taken a lot of classes, including advanced training in avalanche rescue. I was lucky enough to recently ski in the French Alps, on some of the most challenging slopes in the world. I made sure I had an experienced guide and carried the right safety equipment – including a rescue beacon and a shovel.

My point is that if you plan to take risks, you need to educate yourself about how to stay safe. This is especially true when you trade options.

That’s why we’ve partnered with The Options Insider to bring you Options Boot Camp – a series of full-length audio programs designed to educate options traders of all skill levels. Throughout the series, Options Boot Camp will cover many facets of options trading, from the most basic concepts to complex options strategies.

Mark Longo, the founder of The Options Insider and a former member of the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), will host the shows. Like any good coach, Mark will answer your questions about options and help you do the work you need to become a better options trader. And don’t worry, he won’t make you do any push-ups.

I made my first options trade back in 1989. I learned options investing by trial and error, and errors can be expensive. I wish I had someone like Mark to help me figure out how options work. After listening to the Options Boot Camp shows, I believe you’ll feel more confident about making options trades that align with your investing objectives.

Options Boot Camp complements our online education on stock and options trading. The first episode, covering options basics, is now available in streaming format on the Zecco and The Options Insider websites, as well as in podcast format on iTunes.

If you have any options questions, we’d love to address them on the next episodes of Options Boot Camp. We encourage listeners to submit their questions here or through Zecco’s Facebook fan page at www.facebook.com/zecco.

Enjoy the show, and good luck with putting your new options insights to work!

 

Important Note

Content, including research, tools and securities symbols, is for educational and informational purposes and should not be intended as a recommendation or solicitation to engage in any particular securities transaction or investment strategy. You alone are responsible for evaluating which securities and strategies better suit your financial situation and goals, risk profile, etc. The projections regarding the probability of investment outcomes are hypothetical and not guaranteed for accuracy or completeness. They do not reflect actual investment outcomes and are not guarantees of future results, and do not take into consideration commissions, margin interest and other costs that will impact investment outcomes. Content may be out of date or time-sensitive, and is subject to change or removal without notice. Supporting documentation for any claims made in this post will be supplied upon your email request to editor@zecco.com.

Options involve risk and are not suitable for all investors. Please read Characteristics and Risks of Standardized Options. Multiple leg options strategies involve additional risks and multiple commissions, and may result in complex tax treatments. Please read Spread Trading Disclosure.

Filed Under: CEO Blog • Featured

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About the Author: CEO of Zecco Holdings, Inc.

  • Raina Wells

    The customer Sevice sucks with this company.  I had a wire transfer that was sent to my Zecco Trading accoung Thursday 05/17/2012.  I have been treated like no one cares…. I still do not have my money and apparently there are no supervisors to speak with.  I am going to get an attorney today because I should not have to come to tears on the phone with one of your reps to get my money.I am so upset I am crying as I type this email. I needed my money within a specific timeframe and… it’s to late.  I still do not have my money and Ihave been told in 30 mins the money will be there and i’ts been another 2 hours.I am going to file a complaint with every federal office I can find and I am going to request my account be audited.  There is no reason a 1 day transaction should take this long

  • Pjameslamar

    hey there, i have a question of sorts i would love to have addressed. Let me pose it in example form….i work a job from like 7am till 4pm. I trade primarily options. I would like very much to have the ability at Zecco to be able to enter a complete, simple options trade all at once and all contingent on the underlying. For example i like the SPY. Little to no spread on the bid and ask, and a lot of volume. I would like to be able to place a contingent or conditional order for when the market opens, that if the SPY reaches $140 an order is triggered to buy 10, august $140 put contracts with a market order. Also on that order i would like it that if that happens and the SPY continues to rise to like $140.50 my 10 contracts would be sold at the market….Or…..if the SPY drops to like $138.50 my 10 contracts would be sold at the market for a profit. 
         At the present we have the ability to use a contingent order to get into a trade like this but not the ability to have both a profit  and a stop both contingent on the underlying. After i am in the position i can place a contingent for either the stop or the profit target but not both. I can place a bracket order on the option but not contingent on the underlying. I can do a OCO but not contingent on the underlying. 
         If this ability was available and one traded with a 1/3 risk – reward ration this would be a good safe strategy and working stiffs trying like me trying to trade could do so with confidence and as stress free as is possible. I would at least have some control over what my loss would be and i would be ok with that. 
         If this ability was available one could place and manage multiple trades and positions much easier as well. My ultimate question is how can we make this happen for Zecco traders. I imagine   there is not much call for order types like this but that does not mean it would not be a good way to trade simple options. Also if other traders have not asked for this type ordering perhaps they simply have not thought about it. Besides options, being able to have the ability to set and forget stock trades as well would be beneficial to traders. I mean it would take away a lot of the emotion that is involved with trading. Even with simple stock trades one has to manually enter the bracket order to sell even if they use the contingent order to get into a position. 
         The current single condition, contingent order that one could use to get into a trade leaves a trader like myself vulnerable to the market until such time as i could enter the bracket or OCO to get me out of the trade. Also there is no “emergency exit” button to get me out of a trade. 
         Entering a position without the ability to simultaneously cover our exits is dangerous and i think at Zecco we should be able to cover our backs when we enter a trade. 
         Any one have any pros or cons on this?
    thanks