Make Money Trading Options: Short-Term Strategies for Beginners

Most option trading books are packed with complex charts and indicators, offer competing strategies, and focus on making money at the expense of protecting your money. Designed for beginner traders, Make Money Trading Options takes a different approach. Writing in clear straightforward language, MarketWatch columnist Michael Sincere shares his expertise and battle-tested strategies for building wealth in the options market, while reducing risk at the same time.

Author’s Note:

I spent a long time researching, analyzing, and experimenting with options, and I want to share my education with you. Here are the three main goals that I want you to achieve as you continue reading:

1. Learn how to minimize risk by avoiding making the common mistakes that doom most options traders.
2. Learn to identify and find winning stocks and ETFs (exchange-traded funds) that will bring the most profits.
3. Learn a fast way to evaluate the overall market environment. This will help you decide whether to go long, go short, or not trade at all.

Obviously, you will learn more, but if you can evaluate the overall stock market and find winning stocks almost every day, you will have an edge over other traders. But let me be clear: Although I am going to teach you ways to make money trading options, it will not be easy, and it won’t happen quickly, especially if you’re inexperienced. But it is possible, if you are willing to take the time to study, and learn from your mistakes.

The book is divided into four parts, which can be read in any order. Although you should read each part in full, it’s your choice what to read first. Here are the four parts:

1. Part One: Managing Risk and Money
2. Part Two: The Test Trading Strategy
3. Part Three: Other Trading Strategies
4. Part Four: The Basics

In Part One, you will learn about risk management, but the information is presented in a different way. Here you will read a fictional story based on the real-life experiences of a hapless options trader, Sam. After the story, I discuss all the mistakes that Sam made, and what he could have done to protect his account. In Part Two, you will learn about a new method, the Test Trading Strategy, which involves using a simulated or paper trading account to find winning stocks. This easy-to-use, practical strategy is unlike any other options strategy you’ve read about.

In Part Three you will learn about other options strategies, each designed to make money. Some are new, a few are traditional, and a couple are “off the wall.” In Part Four, beginners who know little about options can take an options minicourse, designed to quickly teach basic options vocabulary and concepts. The minicourse should give enough information about options so that you can read this book without feeling lost. Also, those who know little about technical analysis will be introduced to the two most powerful technical indicators, moving averages and RSI (relative strength index).

If you are new to options trading, I recommend that you read my first book, the bestselling Understanding Options, 2nd edition (McGraw-Hill), which explains in easy-to-understand language how to trade options. Obviously, there are also dozens of other options books available online or at bookstores.

Contents:

• A Week in the Life of an Options Trader
• Lessons Learned the Hard Way
• The Test Trading Account
• Identify True Winners
• Buy Options on Winning Stocks
• Stock Market Behavior Analysis
• Trade SPY and QQQ
• Off-the-Wall Option Strategies
• Questions and Answers
• Options Minicourse
• Two Useful Technical Indicators
• Lessons from Livermore

Make Money Trading Options: Short-Term Strategies for Beginners By Michael Sincere pdf