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Tuesday, November 3, 2009

I Lost It All Trading Option Credit Spreads

By Morris Puma

Hello option traders and welcome to this discussion about credit spreads. In a few words today we'll be discussing why it's so important to have adjustment plans before you enter into a short-term credit spread options trade. Although the credit spread is very popular amongst option trading community the high risk in the trade is not always talked about. Credit spreads can be very risky trades if they are not being hedged by other option strategies, and being that most option traders do not know how to hedge this position, many of traders are losing their trading capital on a daily basis.

The credit spread is one of the most popular option spreads traded today. The reason is because the credit spread is simple, it makes money over time and it is a trade with a high probability. But this probability rating can be very misleading. The dangers of the credit spread are rarely addressed in books and online credit spread courses. The sad truth is that most people teach the credit spread because it's a good business, but not because it's a good option strategy. It's actually a very risky trade and very directional.

It is very well known that we can construct an options credit spread with a probability of 90%, but how much money will be made with a 90% probability options trade? Not very much at all... usually we can make between five and 10% in one month. This sounds like a lot of money, but what are the risks involved? What happens to your portfolio when this trade goes against you? Catastrophic losses can and will occur to your trading capital if you have the least range short-term credit spreads.

Salesman don't tell you how far behind you can be on a credit spread in just a few days if the trade goes against you. Salesmen don't talk about how you can lose 90% of your trading capital the very first monthly trade credit spreads. Salesmen don't tell you this stress related but this particular option trade. They don't tell you that you won't be able to sleep at night.

Those who tell you that credit spreads are non-directional trades are not telling you the whole truth. It's true that a credit spread can make money in any direction, but the direction cannot be very far. Also, if the trade goes the wrong way from the beginning, you will be in a very dangerous position, and you will be way behind on the trade. If you are trading short-term credit spreads, you often times find yourself standing at the edge of a cliff and very close to losing all of your trading capital.

Well to conclude this class on the risk of the credit spread, I just like to finish and say that there are many other types of trades that are much safer than this particular option spread. And if you do insist on trading credit spreads, try to combine them with other strategies so they are not so risky. - 23167

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