I Loved Trading Option Credit Spreads Until...
Welcome to this article on credit spreads. With this class we will be learning the importance of adjustments and what can happen if you do not know how to correctly handle your option positions. The best liked option spreads is called a "credit spread". We will take a good look at this particular spread today. There are those that consider this to be the best type of trade to do, but until working with this trade you will not know nor understand the high risk it can be. If it is traded by itself, an options credit spread can be very risky. This means it is not being guarded by any other option trade.
The first spread learned by most beginning option traders is the credit spread. It's a very simple strategy, but what many beginning option traders do not know is that this particular strategy can be very dangerous. There are many courses on the internet that teach this strategy, but the reason is not because it's a great strategy, but rather, it's simple, and it's easy to sell. What I mean to say is that teaching credit spreads to beginning option traders is simply a great business, but the fact is, many option traders who only trade credit spreads lose a lot of money each year. Not only do they lose a lot of money, but it's also a very stressful way to live. Let me explain why.
It is known that an option trader can go into a "credit spread" with a 90% certainty that he will make money. Most beginners believe in this trade, but if you turn your back to the other side of this picture you may lose big. You need to understand what is happening while this trade is in play. People will not tell you about the high stress that is involved with just trading an option "credit spread".
There are times you can be behind in your trade the entire time you are in the trade, but the teachers will not tell you that. They do not talk about how they really feel, how worried they are, how difficult it is to sleep, all the way to the very last day, and praying for their stock to go up the next day. You are really putting at risk 90% of your money to make a small 10% profit. The truth is you may lose 90% with your first trade. No one tells you that with the "credit spread." A 90% probability does not mean you will make money nine times in a row and then lose one time. You may lose it all the first time. This does happen with beginning option traders.
The problem with the credit spread is that it's a very directional trade. Even though it has Theta on its side, it has Delta and Gamma working against it. For the small amount of Theta that you get from a credit spread, you are picking up even more danger by trading this option spread with very high Gamma. What this means is that as the price of the underlying changes, the profit and loss on the trade also changes very quickly. This type of trade is a lot more volatile and risky than most beginning option traders are aware of.
Well to conclude this class on the risk of the credit spread, I'd just like to finish and say that there are many other types of trades that are much safer than this particular option spread. And if you do insist on trading credit spreads, try to combine them with other strategies so they are not so risky.
Article Source: FxTradingStock.com
About the Author
Looking to find the best education on Stock Options, then visit www.sjoptions.com to find the best alternative trades to credit spreads like Broken Wing Butterflies.
by: Johnny M Junior
Total views: 38
Word Count: 615
Date: Fri, 2 Jul 2010
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