The TradeKing team recently got back from this year's OASIS conference, sponsored by Optionetics, which was a roaring success for us. We always enjoy the chance to meet with prospective and current clients face-to-face -- an opportunity you don't get everyday in an online business -- and OASIS draws an engaged and intelligent crowd. But this year we got an even more positive response than previously. Lots of folks made a point of saying that they admired our staying power since last year's event and were now impressed enough to give us a try. We're really glad you did, everyone -- and we'll try hard to exceed your expectations!

The other key to our success this year was a sneak-preview of our new Options Playbook. Our Director of Education Brian Overby (aka the Options Guy) worked hard with our agency Stick-and-Move to produce what we think is a real industry first: a handy manual of options strategies (or "plays"), explained in layman's terms and topped with charts detailing exactly where your breakeven, profit and loss points for each play fall. We wanted to create a book that laid out key options strategies super-clearly, so that you can keep this puppy close as you trade and move upwards on your learning curve. There are oodles of options books out there, but few (if any) give you the straight skinny on how to set up and successfully execute options trading, play by play. We wanted to fill this need with a jargon-free book that's compact, useful and fun.

You can lay your hands on a copy now at Amazon or Trader's Library. And let us know what you think!

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Follow the markets at the TradeKing Blog, or learn more about options strategies from the Options Guy.

I don't do options now but I started learning and seems like covered call seems an interesting strategy to me. I know that there is no free lunch that every strategy has their drawback (has the in the money and out of the money zone)

I learn a lot from Tradeking (and Brian Overby). Looking forward to learn more from TK's option playbook.

Sidarta Tanu

Glad to hear you’re interested to take the plunge into options, Sidarta – and just as glad to hear you’re ready to do your homework first. You’ve already hit on a lot of great educational resources we offer newer options traders, but here’s one you missed that seems tailor-made for your situation: a whitepaper by Brian Overby called Top Ten Mistakes New Options Traders Make. Just head over to the Learning Center, under the Education menu. The link to download this paper is directly below Brian’s picture on the upper left corner of the Learning Center home page.

Best of luck, and please let us know how things are progressing for you!

Be Good,
Don

I have yet to issue (or buy) my first options.
Based on your recommendation, I read (briefly, but will read in more detail this weekend) the top 10 mistakes new option traders make written by Brian Overby (His writing is awesome).
As I read the first section (on How can you trade smarter), Brian mentioned that we should consider selling a call option on a stock that we own (covered call), and that already makes me feel smarter because that is exactly I was thinking. :)
On some of the stock that I owned, the premium of the options is very high (maybe the stock is volatile) and it even seem to make sense to buy the stock in margin and then issue the call option (and the call option price will be able to cover the margin interest). Of course I'm just trying to make a point here and not recommending people to go and buy on margin and then issue call option.

And if the option is exercised, it means we are successful (we might not have the highest gain, but we still gain especially when we sell out of the money call option). definitely better than the stock dropped a lot and the option might be expired but the underlying stock that we owned worth a lot less. looks like the optimium gain (both monetary and psychologically (i.e. the opportunity loss)) if the stock price end up at the option exercise price. (I'm elaborating this for other newbies/readers out there)

It is important to realize that there is no bulletproof strategy. Every strategy always have the downside (no free lunch). we just have to figure out which risk and return profile we want to take, and what we (and experts out there to some extent) think the market or particular stock is heading and bet on it.

Thanks for bringing up Brian option's whitepaper Don.

Sidarta Tanu