Big Picture: When the market seems uncertain, it’s helpful to step back and ask yourself what participants might be thinking at different price levels rather than just focusing on what the market is doing. The market talks to us in terms of support, resistance, consolidation, and trends, but the movement is the result of people […]
Big Picture: Markets are constantly changing and changing with them is essential for long term success. In 2009 the U.S. Equity markets and most risky asset classes were coming off of a pretty bad year. 2008 was not kind to stocks and for the first few months of 2009 it seemed like the markets would continue […]
Quick Note: Earlier this week I guest posted on New Trader U, a site run by Steve Burns. Steve does a great job of simplifying concepts and emphasizing principles that matter in trading (like money management). Click here to read the post and check out his site. Big Picture: Move along everyone, there’s nothing to […]
Big Picture: For some reason (that I struggle to understand), the options trading universe seems to be fixated on selling naked premium. Even worse is the notion that it’s a “good idea” to sell futures options because it’s a, “better use of margin.” There are some big names promoting the strategies to inexperienced audiences, which […]
This post originally appeared here on SeeItMarket where I’m a contributor. Investors and options traders sell puts and put spreads to generate additional income or acquire stock. In many cases, traders attempt to time their entry by waiting for oversold extremes. Once the market is oversold, they sell out of the money spreads with the […]
Big Picture: It goes without saying that 2016 has been challenging for most non-directional, short gamma traders. Anytime you’re short premium in front of a freight train, things can get dicey. If you don’t know when to step off the tracks, you’ll eventually get hit. The market is not, “Out to get us,” but we […]