Selecting Options to Trade

[JWW]

Hi All,  New member here starting with a trial.  I've been trading options off/on for a long time...  I'm interested in knowing how many of you select which options to trade.  Let me explain...  Here's what I've seen so far online:  

1.  Scans for high IVR

2.  Scans for technical chart patterns or other technical indicators

3.  Scans related to earnings or fundamental research

4.  The moderator's/guru's favorite stocks

5.  High or unusual options trading volume

6.  etc... I'm sure I've missed a few.

Sometimes the details of this selection process allow recommendations to just "appear" out of nowhere...  Once the selection is made then the fun begins to determine the best options trading strategy.  Very interested in your thoughts!

Best,

John

[Yowster]

9 hours ago, JWW said:

Hi All,  New member here starting with a trial.  I've been trading options off/on for a long time...  I'm interested in knowing how many of you select which options to trade.  Let me explain...  Here's what I've seen so far online:  

1.  Scans for high IVR

2.  Scans for technical chart patterns or other technical indicators

3.  Scans related to earnings or fundamental research

4.  The moderator's/guru's favorite stocks

5.  High or unusual options trading volume

6.  etc... I'm sure I've missed a few.

Sometimes the details of this selection process allow recommendations to just "appear" out of nowhere...  Once the selection is made then the fun begins to determine the best options trading strategy.  Very interested in your thoughts!

Best,

John

A couple of suggestions for getting started...

• Read all the "Must Read Topics" that appear on the right side of the main forum page.  This will cover the common trade types that are made as well as information on how to identify good candidates for them.
• Look at the performance tab that has all the official trades going back years as this will show you the stocks that are used for a lot of the trades.  You can also identify some trades, winners and losers, that you can dig into deeper by looking at the trades/discussion forum.