Iron Condor

I thought such an eye-catching title would be appropriate for an article on risk management. Often times, beginning traders forget the fundamentals of proper trading in their quest for instant riches in the stock market. Those of us who have been trading for some time now are fully aware of the danger in that type of thinking.

I was a cocky beginning trader. Soon after attending a stock trading seminar, I had several big wins. In my own mind, I was the exception to any and all stock market trading principles. I could do no wrong. My short-lived reign as a trading Adonis came to an abrupt end. All my money began raining down into the pockets of real stock market professionals. Fortunately, I wised up before it was too late.

In short, I was a young punk who knew everything about nothing. I often times had to learn things the hard. Learning to trade in the stock market was no exception. So, here are my top three ways to prevent an STD.

#3 Way To Avoid An STD

Perform thorough market research! Taking proper research for granted is a one-way ticket to Brokeville. Trust me, I know. Due diligence is required in order to side step a poor stock decision. Remember, getting into a bad trade is simple…getting out is costly. Give market research the time and attention it deserves.

#2 Way To Avoid an STD

Remove hope from your emotional make up when trading! Wishful thinking is a dangerous mindset to be in when you are a stock trader. Hope and wishful thinking lead to irrational decisions based on emotions rather than factual information. Going down with the ship is far from an act of nobility. You will make mistakes. As a trader, you must be willing to make corrections quickly. In the stock market, making too many errors, too fast will certainly cause you to be prematurely ousted from the markets if you do not adhere to the method #1.

#1 Way To Avoid an STD

Make use of a protective stop loss! After placing your order, ALWAYS set a protective stop. Failure is not to far off in the distance for a trader who handles the duties of risk management in the absence of a stop loss. A stop loss is not perfect but the only insurance policy a trader has against stock trading career ending losses. Stop being a philanthropic trader who continues to give money away to the markets.

Using a protective stop loss continues to be the most effective method of risk management. Fortunately, it is also the easiest of the three to apply. Methods 1 and 2 are developed over time as you gain experience. Simply use my top three ways of preventing an STD and you have cut your chances of getting burned.

In such volatile times there will always be opportunities to make a profit and plenty of opportunities to lose more.One industry that has been thriving is the spread betting industry. Whilst there is currently a ban on shorting financial stocks, investors are still enjoying the ability to buy and sell indices like the FTSE 100, thousands of other stocks and shares, forex markets, crude oil, gold etc. etc. Naturally many investors like the fact that there are no commissions or brokers fees and that spread betting profits are tax free*. That is all well and good. Although at this point I should mention that spread betting is not a one way street, it carries a high level of risk to your funds. You can lose more than you initially invest. It does not suit all investors. In short, you should only speculate with funds that you can afford to lose. And, like the adverts say, ‘ensure you understand the risks and seek independent financial advice if and when necessary’.The above pros and cons are not the only considerations in today’s volatile market.For the investors across the world there are further important considerations:1) Am I trading on a stable platform? If I need to make a trade or close one now will the platform be up and running or down for ‘essential maintenance’?2) Are my funds safe? Or if the company in question goes bankrupt do I lose everything I have on deposit?3) What happens if I trade on a particularly volatile day? How can I reduce my downside?These are questions you should be asking yourself in order to help minimise your risks.Most of the big, established spread betting companies answer these questions quite well. For example, IG Index recently reported, “during one week in October we took over 700,000 trades in a period of high volatility, but our platform was 100% reliable with absolutely no downtime”What about my funds on Deposit? FinancialSpreads.com, IG Index and the other established firms segregate your funds in a designated account. The account is ring-fenced from trading activities and covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme to make sure your money is safe. What happens if I trade on a particularly volatile day? How can I reduce my downside?Again, the spread betting companies have moved on from the days of ‘if you lose, unlucky’. The firms now offer a variety of options. FinancialSpreads.com, for example, attaches a Stop Loss to every single opening trade you make. So if your trade goes wrong your bet will be closed out when the market hits the Stop Loss. It should be noted that Stop Losses are not guaranteed, eg if the market gaps then your trade will be closed at the next level the market trades at.One of the ‘relatively new’ companies, ShortsandLongs, has gone one step further and attached a Guaranteed Stop Loss to every single opening trade you make. I say ‘relatively new’ because ShortsandLongs is a new service but operated by Spreadex. Spreadex is an established operator that has been in the market since 1999.The Guaranteed Stop Loss works just like a Stop Loss. If your trade does not go according to plan it will be closed out when the market hits the Guaranteed Stop Loss. However, if the market gaps then your trade will still be closed at the level of the Guaranteed Stop Loss, not the next traded level.A number of companies, now offer Guaranteed Stop Losses. The trade off is often a slightly larger spread however that can be worth the peace of mind (and…reduced risk).In such volatile times there will always be opportunities to make a profit and plenty of opportunities to lose. Make sure you are not losing money for the wrong reasons.* Tax law can change and/or may be different if you pay tax in a jurisdiction outside the UK.

Would you like to make money from trading but don’t know how to trade?
Have you heard of others making a killing on the markets and wished yourself in their position?
Trading covers a multitude of sins, or at least a multitude of markets. Mention “trading” to a non-trader and they’ll probably think of stock and shares but there are many other markets you can trade in. These include commodities, futures, indices, CFDs and options. They all have their pros and cons and some require specialized knowledge.
The most popular markets used by traders are stocks, commodities, futures, indices and forex. Some traders switch between markets, others stick to just one. Let’s highlight some of the similarities and differences between them.
Shares
In the USA there are over 40,000 shares so you have a lot of markets to choose from. You can’t deal in all of them so you need to home in on those that offer good trading opportunities using whatever trading methods you decide to use.
When buying shares you usually have to put up all the money at the time of sale. That might seem obvious but it’s not so with all markets. Some brokers offer a 50% margin with shares which means you can trade to the value of twice the amount in your account. This seems like a good deal but if your shares start to go down you’ll get a “margin call” and will either have to put more money in your account or sell the shares at a loss.
Shares are normally traded in lots of 100. If you want to trade an expensive share – and some shares are very expensive, particularly in the US markets – you need a considerable amount of money in your account.
It’s not easy to sell shares short. Selling short is a strange concept to many people who think of buying shares at a low price and selling then at a higher price. But it’s often easier to predict that a share will fall rather than rise so what you’d like to do is to sell it at a high price and then buy it back later at a low price. The net result is the same whatever the order of the deals – buy low, sell high.
However, you can’t sell something you don’t own so in order to sell shares short you must “borrow” them from your broker. This is not quite as straightforward as buying and not all shares are available for selling short.
Finally, share dealing takes place during market hours so if you don’t live in the country where they are being traded you must adjust your trading hours to suit.
Futures, commodities and indices
Commodities are goods such as corn, copper, crude oil, orange juice, oats, gold and wheat.
Technically, a futures contract is an agreement to make or accept delivery of a commodity on a certain day at a certain price. In practice this rarely happens unless you’re a manufacturer who actually wants the goods. The vast majority of futures traders are simply speculating on whether the price will go up or down and never take delivery of an item.
Futures contacts include commodities and also stock market indices such as the S&P 500, Dow Jones and the Russell. Indices are simply a composite of securities that provide an overall reading of the market or some section of it.
The S&P 500 (Standard & Poor’s 500) tracks 500 of the largest companies in the US market. The Dow Jones Industrial Average tracks only 30 of the largest and longest-established companies while the Russell 2000 is an index of smaller stocks.
Essentially, commodities and indices are futures and traded in much the same way although traders may use the terms interchangeably.
Unlike shares, futures can be sold short just as easily as they can be bought. Each futures contract has its own fluctuating price and many traders deal in just one lot contracts.
Brokers usually charge a flat fee commission per contract, often expressed as a “round turn” which is one buy and one sell transaction. This may be a few dollars, often less than the value of a point or two on the contract. If you’re trading a long time frame the commission is negligible but if you’re day trading and scalping for a few points here and there it becomes a considerable part of the cost.
Futures brokers usually offer a margin of around 20% of the value of the underlying instrument so you can control $10,000’s worth of a contract for maybe $2,000. However, the same rules apply – if you over-leverage your account you’ll receive a margin call or your positions will be closed at a loss. Margin and leverage are a two-edged sword.
Many brokers offer a demo account so you can get used to the trading platform and test your trading strategies before you put real money on the line.
Forex Currency Trading
Currency trading, foreign exchange or forex as it’s more commonly known, has fast become one of the most popular markets for private traders in recent years.
As its name suggests, it involves buying and selling foreign currency. The most commonly traded currencies are referenced against the US Dollar and are sometimes referred to as a “currency pair” even though you are only trading one instrument. For example, the GBPUSD is the UK Pound/US Dollar pair. A value of 1.7625 would mean that the one Pound is worth 1.7625 Dollars. Other popular pairs include the Euro (EURUSD), the Swiss Franc (USDCHF) and the Japanese Yen (USDJPY) although there are others.
So unlike shares and futures, you don’t have a mass of markets to choose from, but there is variety within forex currency trading to give you a range of markets to trade.
The value of each pair differs slightly but the minimum movement – called a “pip” – is worth approximately $10. The GBPUSD has been averaging 100-150 pips per day which would be $1000-1500. Many brokers let you trade half or even quarter-size lots which are useful when you’re starting out. Also, many brokers offer a demo account so you can practice before risking real money.
The total value of the forex market is worth trillions of dollars per day, far larger than shares or futures. It is also a truly international market with dealing taking place all around the globe 24 hours per day from Monday to Friday. You can, therefore, trade at any time of the day or night at times to suit you. It’s worth noting, however, that the bigger moves generally occur during the US and European trading sessions.
You can sell short forex just as easily as you can buy and brokers offer highly-leveraged accounts too – but the same warning regarding margins apply here as well.
Brokers tend not to charge a commission for trading forex and you will often see adverts for “commission free” trading. However, they make their money on the spread which is the difference between the buying price and the selling price. The spread is usually between 3 and 5 pips although some brokers may offer a 2 pip spread on some pairs, and some less-popular pairs may have a larger spread.
Paying on the spread is particularly useful when trading mini lots. A 3-pip spread on a quarter lot will be about $7.50 whereas on a full-size lot it would be $30. Again, the spread is more important when trading short time frames where you’re only aiming to make a few pips per trade. You need to build the spread into your trading system so you don’t overestimate the amount you might make per trade.
One interesting aspect of forex currency trading is that there is no central clearing house where absolute prices are quoted, unlike shares and futures. So it’s quite possible to see different brokers quoting slightly different prices for the same pair. As the market has become more efficient, this difference has reduced, in most cases, to a few pips but it highlights the importance of checking that the data you are using for analysis is the same – or close to – that used by your broker for placing your orders.
The market you decide to trade will depend on many things, not least of all, your budget, but also how many markets you want to look at and what hours you want to trade. There are trading vehicles to suit all preferences and pockets.

As a beginning stock market trader, I frequently visited an unpleasant place called Loss Vegas. It was teeming with would be investors and traders with grand aspirations of making a killing in the stock market. Differing life experiences, bank account balances, and strategies separated them but they were all bound by the possibilities of great riches there for the taking. Some were even aware of the chances of success being less than ideal and were not deterred. I could be counted among those who would not be denied.

The numbers don’t lie! 9 out 10 stock traders will fail, miserably! That is the same ratio for starting a business. At least in the case of running a business, there’s a 5-year failure window. I would say that a very small minority of beginning traders makes it past their first year. The reason for such an unbalanced success/fail ratio is simple. 9 out of 10 people entering the market would be better categorized as gamblers and not traders. Yes, I too, was one of those gamblers masquerading as a stock market trader.

Successful traders employ proven, winning trade strategies. Most beginning traders systematically make the same mistake over and over again. Venturing into the market without a sound trading plan is financial suicide. Here is a guide to structuring your own winning trading strategy.

Many principles of running a successful business can be applied to stock trading. Having a trading plan is essential to the success of your new venture. Consider this trading plan to be your road map that guides you to stock trading mastery. Skipping this step will ensure your permanent residency in Loss Vegas.

The trading plan must outline the why or purpose for trading the markets. If your purpose is to simply make money, you are in for a rude awakening. The number one objective of a stock trader is to trade well NOT make money. Focusing on trading well will result in you making money. Making profitable trades is a by-product of trading well. Calculating profits while practicing your trade is counter-productive to your efforts. You certainly wouldn’t want a lawyer tabulating his fees while researching your case, would you? The same focus needs to be applied while you trade. There will be plenty of time for counting your windfall once you have closed out your position.

After committing yourself to learning to trade well, the next step in the process is executing the plan. This includes but is not limited to:

1. Conducting Market Research-stock selection, risk/reward ratios

2. Pinpointing Entry Points

3. Money Management- where to place protective stops

4. Establishing Exit Points

5. Trade Review

I use this exact process when trading stocks and options. Deviating from your trading plan can hinder your progression as a trader in two areas. First, the effectiveness of a trading strategy cannot be accurately measured when a trader is inconsistent in the execution of a trading strategy. And secondly, altering your strategy in the midst of a trade is hazardous to your wealth. A prime example would be moving your protective stop in the opposite direction of your trade. This allows for a wider, much riskier stop loss cushion. Moving protective stops in the opposite direction of the trade is a sure sign of a rookie trader.

Following this simple formula will not eliminate visits to Loss Vegas but will ensure shorter, less frequent stays. Happy trading and here’s to your success!

In today’s web technology world trading currency have taken a big step online. And one of the best is the online forex trading. Forex trading online is the biggest market on net and they also employ their services round the clock. Traders who invest with this company will make as much as half of the profits. These online forex traders are very promising and also trustworthy traders.
Most of the companies work online today. Any person who wants to trade with forex has to open a new account with their website. This type of facility is best for those huge investors and most frequent traders.
There always some thing for everyone here.
This online trading currency company also provides good transaction online facilities.
The good thing about them is there is no broker involved. And if you have a personal system and net connected then you can do the trade as well as money transactions all from the convenience of your home.
The internet forex currency traders provide the information about various other currency rates this information online helps the traders to exchange the money when ever they want according to the market changes.
You have wide choice when it comes to trading online , as they are fifteen companies. There are so many options on currency trading and everything is attracting many number of people all over the globe and every one is eager to make profits.
Because there is no broker involved in this online trading, it makes a new comer wonder what to choose when they start on. And the result is they end up in a loss. Thus you will see that the existing online trading companies make sure that the new traders learn all the aspects of trade so that they can use their money in a profitable manner.
Before you start investing in the online forex trading make sure that you have learned about it well, about its losses and profits. You should consider looking for options which either are intermediate or provide long term results. Day trading generally has shown to end up in fewer profits so it will be better if you avoid that. How you craftily manage your money or investments is really important. Extensive knowledge about the whole market and the way it runs and also who are the players is very important for the new traders.
You can also choose to join the course available on net for learning the trading business. Courses offered train the traders about how one should manage the finance and will also provide you with course related to profit and risk making moves, their strategies, technical aspect and market trends and how others use networking for online trade. The course also let you know the present software in use for the online trading purpose.

Does your trading story read like mine? The first 12 – 15 years, when I traded, I eagerly digested all the books I could lay my hands on. I went to day trading courses, tutorials and lectures and bought software packages to help devise a unique trading system of my own. What I ended up with was a reduced bank balance. Forget about the months and years I wasted. It was all of no use; the tutorials, classes, and software packages all have little scope. Not one of them trades before the market movement.What You Should Look For In An Effective Commodity Trading System:What eventually matters is the ability to forecast the price of the product you are dealing with. Traders who are truly successful correctly forecast time and again, without using indicators or studies, often resulting in ten point trades and more. They deal in real time and usually much before the market moves in that direction. Ascertain that the commodity future online trading system you use functions in all market conditions. Also, you should be able to use it for all future, commodity or stock trading together with e-mini day trading. Which Future You Should Opt To Trade:I would advise you to trade a future that allows you to day trade in spite of your being only an individual with little hard cash. Almost all futures provide enough leeway, considering the range of stocks offered, and the options are many – the very ones that big players trade in. At the same time, it must not cost you the earth for each contract. The main thing to keep in mind is that you should not have to spend hundreds of hours in research, or making use of stock screeners and examining charts in each and every time frame.It should be possible for you to fill the contracts without delay with the market normally moving in your favored direction. The Difference An Effective Trading System Can Make For You:An effective system will teach you to predict commodity prices correctly and easily. If you encounter a system like this and figure out how it works, you will wonder why you had never noticed it before; of course, it isn’t easy to see unless it is pointed out to you. And when it is, many new trading opportunities await you.Trading futures on-line, which seems so complicated can be child’s play. You can have fun raking in the moolah, in future system trading, without any of the stress and worry normally associated with day trading. It’s all in knowing how to forecast correctly and once you master how to do it, you can become a winner for the rest of your life.To recapitulate, even my best day trading strategy only insured my making losses. This program changed all that. It is not the Holy Grail, but it comes close. How To Be Sure The System Is Really Good:There are a number of advisors for commodity trading who will tell you that their commodity trading software program is infallible. Always remember that the proof of the cake is in the eating. The next time you hear about a wonderful online future trading system, tell the vendors you want to look at their trading record.How much money have they made on the open market, in the proceeding year, say? Do the people who use their system make about 10 points daily? Would they allow you to watch them call the market in real time before the market moves, with a degree of certainty? Would they give you a free trial?If you venture into day trading online before resolving these points first, you run the risk of losing your shirt, as I almost did. Jim Canter is an expert day trader. He has developed ‘The Precise Day Trading System’, which teaches you to read charts without the use of indicators. He invites you to have a look at his trading record, and take a 1-week Free Trial of

With the world in recovery mode, many people are still questioning how the financial markets got so out of control. They are also questioning something a little closer to home; how to better look after their own money and finances.If we are being honest with ourselves, we would probably admit that we can improve on at least one of the following; long term investments, tax efficiency, actively reviewing our existing investments and looking at new opportunities that the markets in 2009-2010 have provided / will provide.Also, I don’t think that there are many of us who wouldn’t benefit from putting more thought and effort into these key areas. Having said that, there are a growing number of individuals who are making use of a newer, and highly regulated, form of trading.One type of trading, namely financial spread betting, has a range of attractive features and is an option worth considering as part of your portfolio.When speculating though you must always remind yourself that the markets can go down as well as up. With spread betting you can lose more than your original stake or investment.But why trade if there is a risk?Whether you have an existing investment plan or not, it always worth considering any avenue that offers quick, simple access to the markets and a range of tax-free* advantages. Spread betting is one such avenue.Of the many other advantages, spread betting profits do not incur capital gains tax*. You are not actually buying and selling any assets or stock or shares. You are simply speculating on the future price or value of a financial market.A boon for many spread bettors is the sheer convenience of trading over the phone and online, even after the main stock markets and futures exchanges have closed.Another plus point is that there may be occasions when an investor wishes to close a spread bet early. This can work in two ways. It can help you limit a losing position or it can also help you lock in profits on a winning trade.The Financial Services Authority regulates the spread betting companies. This helps to ensure a certain level of quality or, more importantly, financial protection. With regulated companies like paddypowertrader you can trade some markets 24 hours a day, including key Forex and Stock Market Index markets. Naturally, you can also trade Crude Oil, Gold, UK and US shares and so on.So whilst there are a good number of positives, it is important to understand the negatives.Spread bets do carry a high level of risk so you should only speculate with money you can afford to lose. Before you trade, please ensure that spread betting matches your investment objectives, make sure you familiarise yourself with the risks involved and seek independent advice where necessary.* Based on current UK Tax law. If you pay tax in a jurisdiction other than the UK then this may be different.

So it looks like we have avoided a 1930’s style depression however the current forecasts still suggest slow growth and a difficult time ahead. So what should you do in a difficult environment with your own finances?If we were to be honest with ourselves, then we should probably accept that we can improve on at least a couple of the following; tax efficient investments, long term investments, actively reviewing our existing investments and looking at new opportunities that the financial markets are currently providingI am sure we all appreciate that we could benefit from planning more. That is not to say everyone is simply sitting on their hands. Many people actively trade stocks and shares.The increase in the popularity of spread betting is understandable. A few of the attractive benefits include the fast nature of placing a trade and the large variety of global trading options on offer.Naturally, as with all types of investment, be it on Stocks and Shares, ETFs, pensions etc, there is a negative side and with spread bets you need to be careful because you can lose more than you initially invested.If there is a risk to your capital then why should you contemplate spread betting as part of your investment strategy? Spread betting can be beneficial on a number of fronts, from tax efficient investments* to ease and speed of making a trade.There are many benefits. For example, spread betting profits do not incur capital gains tax*. You are not actually buying and selling any assets or stock or shares. You are simply speculating on the future price or value of a particular financial market.As discussed, investing does have its risks. Nevertheless, there are things you can do in order to reduce your downside. Adding a Guaranteed Stop Loss Order to your spread bet helps reduce your risks. If you start to lose on a trade and the market continues to move in the wrong direction but hits your Stop Loss then your trade will be closed and you won’t lose any more money.In order to spread bet you do not take possession of any assets or stocks. You are just speculating on the future value of a market. This allows you to place trades quickly and with little fuss, an important feature in fast moving markets.Where to trade? A number of spread trading firms offer the usual benefits of letting you trade thousands of international markets as well as letting you trade outside normal market hours. Companies, like Capital Spreads and FinancialSpreads.com, will also let you trade markets like Crude Oil, Gold, the German Dax and the UK FTSE from Sunday evening all the way through to Friday evening.So whilst there are a good number of positives, it is important to understand the negatives.Spread betting carries a high level of risk. You should only speculate with money you can afford to lose. Like the adverts say, before you trade, ensure that spread betting matches your investment objectives, make sure you familiarise yourself with the risks involved and, where necessary, seek independent advice.What else should you consider when trading?In the numerous chat rooms and internet forums there are many trading tips and theories. Some are fairly sensible, some less so. The following includes some of the more common principles.It is worth having a look at a spread trading practice account. These are free accounts with virtual funds. If you are less familiar with this form of trading then a little practice should help you understand the positive and negatives as well as the various types of bet you can place.Greed can be your worst enemy when trading. It can be tempting to trade lots of positions in lots of different markets. Personally, I tend to trade 0-5 markets at any one time. I have no idea how anyone can fully research and make informed decisions on 20 open trades, especially if they start moving against you.* Since you are placing a bet rather than buying an asset or share, it is treated like a bet by the UK and Irish tax authorities which means your profits are tax free. Tax laws can change.

Beginning options traders often make costly mistakes due to either a lack of knowledge or misinformation about the basic parameters of options and their exercise. Examples of common errors include being surprised that one is unable to close an index option position on the Friday before expiration, or being surprised by an unhedged option exercise during expiration. This paper covers some of the basic concepts surrounding option expiration and how options are exercised. Be sure you understand the settlement, exercise, and expiration characteristics of the options you trade.Option ExpirationEquity options expire on the Saturday following the third Friday of each month. It is common to hear or read that equity options expire on that third Friday. While that isn’t technically correct, it is true that Friday is the last opportunity to trade those options. Saturday expiration was established to give the brokerages time to settle the accounts before the options technically (legally) lose their value.However, some (but not all) index options cease trading at the close on the Thursday prior to expiration and those positions are reconciled on Saturday based upon the settlement price established on Friday. For example, the SPX index options cannot be traded after the close on the Thursday before expiration; but the settlement price, usually reported as SET or $SET, is established Friday morning based on the opening price of each of the 500 S&P stocks. Since many stocks do not open immediately at the opening bell, the settlement price will differ from the SPX opening price on Friday. Option ExerciseThe owner of an equity option has the right to buy or sell 100 shares of the underlying stock anytime before expiration. If you are long the option (i.e., you originally bought it), you may or may not choose to exercise the option you own; it is entirely your choice. If you are short the option (i.e., you originally sold the option), it may be exercised against you at any time. Typically, you will receive an email from your broker after the market close, notifying you of the exercise. You may be exercised for only a portion of your option position, e.g., only 2 of your 10 contracts. If you were short call options, you will now see a short stock position in your account, i.e., you were obligated to sell the stock at the strike price. If you were short put options, the exercise forces you to buy stock at the strike price, resulting in a long stock position in your account. When options contracts are first created, exercise is specified in one of two different ways: American style or European style. American style options can be exercised on any business day prior to expiration, whereas European style options can only be exercised at expiration. All equity options are subject to exercise American style, while most index options are European style, e.g., the SPX. But there are some exceptions with a small number of index options settling American style, e.g., the OEX.Upon expiration, your broker will automatically exercise any expiring options in your account that are $0.05 or more ITM (in the money) in accordance with Options Clearing Corporation regulations. If expiration is approaching and the stock price is near your strike price, and you do not want to hold either the long or short stock position that will result from the exercise of your long option, sell the option before the market closes on the Friday of expiration week. If you are holding a European style index option position and wish to close it before expiration, be sure to complete those orders before the market closes on Thursday before expiration. If you wish to exercise any of your long equity options, you must issue an order to your broker before the market closes on the Friday of expiration week. It is generally good practice to close option positions before expiration to avoid unpleasant surprises.Option spread positions always have a short option position by definition, so they are subject to exercise at any time. However, the long option protects you in this situation, e.g., if I am holding a 10 contract spread and I receive a notice of exercise from my broker for 3 of the short options, I simply ask my broker to exercise 3 of my long options to cover the exercise.In practice, it is rare that your short option positions will be exercised against you before expiration. But, as noted above, your long option position protects you against this exercise. In general, put options are rarely exercised unless there is less than $0.10 of time value left in the option. The same is true of call options with one major exception: calls are often exercised just before a stock goes ex-dividend, e.g., if the call has $0.10 of time value remaining, but the dividend is $0.50 per share, it may be advantageous to the option owner to exercise the option and hold the stock through the ex-dividend date to collect the dividend payment. Sometimes an option will be exercised against you in a situation where it makes no sense whatsoever and is probably a mistake or due to inexperience of the person on the other side of the trade.If you are holding a vertical spread position going into expiration, there are several different situations possible. If both of the options are fully in the money, your broker will automatically exercise both of the long and short options and credit your account with the spread amount less commissions. However, if the stock price closes expiration Friday within the spread, the situation is a little tricky and the results may surprise you. For example, if we were holding a bull call spread, the short OTM call will expire worthless and the broker will exercise the long call on your behalf, resulting in shares of stock in your account the following Monday (and perhaps a call from your broker if your account does not have sufficient cash to buy the stock). If you do not want to purchase the stock, you should close the spread before the market close on the Friday of expiration week.Credit spreads can also result in surprises at expiration. For example, if I hold a bull put spread and the underlying stock closes Friday of expiration week at a price within the spread, my short put options will be exercised against me, resulting in a long stock position in my account. The long put option does not protect me because it expired worthless.In general, if the stock price closes on expiration Friday within the strike prices of my vertical spread, it will result in either a long stock position or a short stock position in my account the following Monday. Unless you are willing to hold that stock position, it is usually best to close the spread on Friday. Many traders adopt a general rule of closing all option positions the week before expiration to avoid the surprises that are all too common the week of expiration.

What so scare about stock trading is the possibility of losing millions of dollars of your money.
That is why it is important to practice first before doing real time trading.
One of the best way to learn about trading, no matter the instruments are through practicing simulated stock trading or known as virtual stock trading. The data can as real as the real stock market, but with fake money.
In that way, you can limit your loss, because practically there is no loss at all. But still having fun doing stock trading. Optionsxpress provide free simulated stock trading you can access here. Inside you will find enough things to start your trading venture, you can practice trading option, spread, future, short sell and so on.
Optionsxpress also act as online broker, and that is a good thing for you. Because once you have accustomed with the trading environment of Optionsxpress, you can start trading immediately without the necessity to learn all sort of administration chores in different broker.
Knowing Which One is Your Best Broker
Knowing which one is your best broker is crucial to your trading success. Many people have experienced failed trading venture not because of they have a lack of trading knowledge or experience but simply because of bad broker.
One thing you might want to take into consideration when choosing your trading broker especially online broker is the reliability of your order execution. Many bad brokers failed to bring reliable order execution that cause slippage and made their customers paid the price dearly.
You might want to review people experiences with that broker by visiting online forum or reviewing customer survey website. This way you can have a grasp on the reliability of particular broker compared with others.
Generally speaking, there is no such thing such as perfect broker. So, no matter how great the broker seems to be, on few occasions you might discover some errors with their brokerage services.
At this point you might want to decide how much is too much. And the point of error at which you can tolerate.
What To Learn from Your Simulated Trading
It is a common truth that simulated trading will never replace the emotional pressure of real online trading. But simulated trading with help you find the best system to be used as your arsenal when it comes to real online trading.
The simple rule of advice is “try to make consistent profits 6 months before you move into real trading”.