Options trading websites

[chipy]

i apologize in advance if there's already a thread on this. i actually thoguht there was but when i searched, i couldn't find it. all that came up were the Stock Market threads (maybe it's buried in there somewhere).

anywho, i'm wanting to get into options... primarily as a hedge for my stock investments. i checked on FatWallet and it seems there are a few brockerages that specialize:

1) Options Express
2) Options House
3) Think or Swim
4) Interactive Brokers
5) Trade King

who do you all prefer? who has the best execution times? who has the best rates? i heard Options House was the best but apparently they changed their rate structure. any advice is greatly appreciated thanks guys!

 

[SSSnail]

Who's your broker right now? Because, AFAIK, almost all brokers offer options trading, just have to sign up with them.

 

[jacob0401]

My dad and I both trade options on options house

 

[chipy]

Who's your broker right now? Because, AFAIK, almost all brokers offer options trading, just have to sign up with them.

i've got Scottrade. i checked their cost for options yesterday and i think they are more expensive than Options House or Options Express.

 

[wedi42]

https://www.thinkorswim.com/ is great for options
their educational division even has some free classes:
http://www.optionplanet.com/assembled/list.html

 

[chipy]

thanks all. any more input?

 

[Miramonti]

Execution times are fairly irrelevant these days since all have the same electronic access and they are all vulnerable to being frontrun by flash trading anyways.

 

[FelixDeCat]

Trading options is fun but extremely risky. You are right Scott Trade costs the most at comm + 1.50 per contract. The other big brokers like TD Ameritrade which I use charge comm + .75 per contract.

I checked into Options House, but if you read the fine print it states that they can not guarantee executions in illiquid markets. What that means is that if the independent market makers they rely on to allow you to buy and sell so cheaply dont have the cash to pay you - YOU WILL NOT GET PAID - and your contracts will be deemed worthless regardless of how much you have tied up in them or what paper profits you sit on. When I read that, I realized how they could be so cheap and that was the way they did it. I have done $50,000+ option trades (the commission was $3,000 per trade) and I would never put money in a place like that.

Be warned however to temper your greed! I have made and lost big money. Money quickly made is usually money quickly lost. Quit while you are ahead, take the money and run, etc. When you get over $100,000 (or even $10,000) you can just sell covered calls on an index fund ETF and not even bother with speculation.

With speculation I rode $7,000 to $60,000 and back to ZERO. With speculation I turned $500 into $4500 in options by going ALL IN on the correct side, over and over and over again. But as I mentioned above, greed will kill your ass if you dont know when to quit. Your luck will run out sometime and then its game over.

Speculation + greed = bad

 

[JMapleton]

OP, I've studied, but not traded options. Please remember what I'm going to tell you: Options are a fickle mistress and are difficult to both trade and understand their behavior in the actual market place. It's a real tough game so don't put a penny into it until you've spent a long long time studying. For every question that is answered, it produces about 10 more questions about that answer, and multiplies downward accordingly.

 

[Miramonti]

OP, I've studied, but not traded options. Please remember what I'm going to tell you: Options are a fickle mistress and are difficult to both trade and understand their behavior in the actual market place. It's a real tough game so don't put a penny into it until you've spent a long long time studying. For every question that is answered, it produces about 10 more questions about that answer, and multiplies downward accordingly.

Most people will focus on an outright purchase or a basic covered stock spread. The risk analysis of more involved spreads can get complex but it doesn't take advanced math to understand them. Once you grasp what an option actually is and the factors involved in its pricing in the market place, it gets easier to break down various spread risk/reward graphs, etc. When I started learning them I was in an option stupor for 6 months, but when it finally clicked, everything soon fit into place.

 

[Net]

well, optionsXpress is offering a $100 for people who signup with a new account.

Check the link "money stashers" in my signature for more info.

 

[chipy]

thanks everyone for their inputs. i guess it just depends which services you put most weight on and the commission/fee. i've avoided options in the past just because i didn't really know how they worked but i'm reading a bunch of articles online and i'd like to get started in them slowly. if i'm understanding correctly, i think the married put can be a great strategy. i appreciate everyone posting on here. Net- if i go with OX i'll let you know so we can get the bonus.