Category: Options Basics

01) Options Chain

As an options trader, you’ll be looking at an options chain very often.  So, it’s good to have a strong understanding of each of its common parts. Let’s start out by looking at AAPL’s...

02) Calls and Puts

This is just going to be a quick overview to get you started. When a trader believes a stock will go up, they would buy Calls.  If they believe it will go down, they...

03) Strike Prices

In this lesson we’ll be talking about “strike prices”.  A strike price is defined as the price at which the given options contracts may be exercised. With call contracts, it’s the price at which...

04) Expirations

In this lesson we will be going over what expirations are and the different types of expirations. There are 4 groups of expirations, Weekly’s, Monthly’s, Quarterly’s and LEAPs.   Weekly Expirations expire on the close of trading...

05) Moneyness

In options trading you’ll hear these phrases a lot: “in the money”, “at the money” and “out of the money”. These are what is known as “moneyness”. They all refer to the relationship between…...

06) Order Actions

In this lesson, we will be taking a look at the different types of order actions.  If you’re new to options trading, these can be a bit confusing at first, but I assure you...

07) Greeks Beginner

In this lesson I will be going over a very important aspect of options trading, the “Greeks”.  If you want to be a successful options trader, then understanding the Greeks and how they affect...

08) Bid & Ask

In this lesson we’ll discuss the Bid and Ask prices, which are found on the options chain. The BID price is the current price you’d likely be able to SELL a particular options contract...

09) Volume and Open Interest

In this lesson we’re going to take a look at 2 related yet distinct elements of the options chain, Volume and Open Interest. Volume The number shown under the “volume” column of the option...

10) Selecting a Broker

If you are new to options trading, you likely have the question, “which broker would you recommend for options trading?” TD Ameritrade I would recommend TD Ameritrade as a great place to trade options....