Basic Training: Pro Tips

• Swap LEAPS for stock when writing covered calls.
• Everyone, even pros, have losing trades.
• Never ever ever enter a market order in the options market place pre-market.
• Swap in-the-money calls for stock whenever possible to utilize trading capital more efficiently.
• Use implied volatility on all your option trades.
• Don't base a sale or purchase of an option based purely on the implied volatility levels without understanding the context on the implied.
• When looking at implied volatility, be very careful around expiration.
• Don't be a lemming and blindly follow "unusual activity". Often it's better to sell the strike where the unusual buying activity took place.
• Swap in-the-money calls for stock whenever possible to utilize trading capital more efficiently.
• Fit the strategy to the situation.
• When reverse skew flips, it's usual a big buy signal.

Mail Call:

• Question from Ron Yuravich - I listened to the podcast on calendar spreads and would like to know what book do you recommend that is compressive on spread trading? I have never had much luck with spreads. I have done a few iron condors for credit and few credit spreads - I just let them expire. The concept of trading the spread and not the underline is new to me. I see that I still have a lot to learn, but I am determined to be a well-seasoned, successful option trader in the end. Keep up the good work - I respect your group for knowledge on options. Thanks, Ron
• Question from Tom Simmons - Just to clarify -- If I write a time iron butterfly in DNDN ahead of earnings with Sogo - sell the Sep 5 straddle and buy the Aug 4/6 strangle - Sogo will margin me as if I sold the Sep 5 straddle naked because the Aug will expire before the Sep. Do I have that correct?
• Question from Alan Dickerson, Provo, UT - Options are a derivative of stocks. Yet there are far more options exchanges than stock exchanges in the U.S. How is that possible? Why are there so many options exchanges? Do they all trade different products or serve different purposes?