The Most Essential Question for Traders

There’s an essential question I’ve been asked over and over again throughout the years from folks who are new to options trading… [Jeff Clark's Market Minute]( The Most Essential Question for Traders By Jeff Clark, editor, Market Minute There’s an essential question I’ve heard over and over again throughout the years from folks who are new to options trading. I was recently just asked this question again, so I wanted to address it here… How much money should I put into each of your trade recommendations? Let’s start the answer to that question with the obligatory disclaimer… The answer depends on who you are as a trader/investor. Your age, net worth, risk tolerance, financial goals, income, and many more factors need to be considered. What’s right for one may not be right for another. So you need to trade in amounts that are comfortable for you. Now, having said that, let me share a few thoughts… Remember, the purpose of options is to reduce risk – not increase it. As a simple rule of thumb, you can trade one option contract for every 100 shares of stock you would normally trade. If you normally buy 1,000 shares of stock, then buy 10 option contracts (or sell 10 [uncovered options]( as per the recommendation). If you normally trade in lots of 500 shares, then five option contracts will do. Even if you start with just one option contract, that’s perfectly fine as well. This is an ultra-conservative option strategy. It’s what I would tell my mother to do if she were new to option trading. You’ll never overleverage a trade this way, and you’ll never have one losing position blow up your account. Now, if you’ve been trading options for a while – and are comfortable with them, can handle a more aggressive form of trading, and can be disciplined with your position sizes – then let me share with you how I basically trade my own portfolio… Recommended Link [“One-Stock Millionaire” Trades ONE Stock for 3 Decades… Wins In Any Market]( [image]( Jeff Clark here… I’ve joined the ranks of the top 1% of wealthy Americans… by IGNORING 99% of the entire stock market. Among 6,000 different stocks on the market to choose from… Hides ONE incredibly special stock. I call it, [“The One-Stock Retirement”]( because I’ve used it for over 3-decades (through ANY market) closing gains like 373%, and more – time and time again. Trading this ONE stock over and over again is changing the lives of everyday folks across the world – from school teachers to doctors. You do not need trading experience and you can [get started with only $100!]( [Click Here to See This Millionaire’s Secret.]( -- The Conservative Option Trader’s Portfolio Let’s say you have $100,000 in your trading account (you may have more or less but using $100,000 makes the math simple). Take $80,000 and set it aside for conservative trades like selling uncovered put options. (Delta Report subscribers can access my full report on this strategy right [here](. The other $20,000 can be used for speculative option buying. The basic idea here is to attempt to make enough money on the $80,000 conservative side of the portfolio to cover any potential losses on the $20,000 speculative side. And if you do well speculating, then you’ll add a nice windfall profit to your account. Selling uncovered put options is a low-risk, conservative strategy. You get paid cash up front for agreeing to buy shares of stock you already like and at a discount. It’s one of my absolute favorite options strategies. So, let’s first look at how to allocate the $80,000 in conservative uncovered put option trades… Take the $80,000, divide it by 10, and you get $8,000. That’s the most you will allocate to any one conservative trade. I can’t ever recall a time when I had more than 10 uncovered put option positions at work at the same time. Usually, I have maybe four or five trades at work. So, I almost always carry a large cash position. That comes in handy on those rare occasions – once or twice each year – when stocks reach truly extreme conditions, and I have lots of trading opportunities in front of me. For the purpose of this example, I’ll allocate at most $8,000 (10% of the money I’ve set aside for this strategy) for each uncovered put position. One time I recommended selling the Citigroup (C) September 18 $50 uncovered put options for $1.65. The [margin requirement]( for each option contract was $1,000 (that’s 20% of the purchase obligation to buy 100 shares of C at $50). If we divide $8,000 by $1,000, we get eight. So in this instance, I would be comfortable selling eight of the C puts. Of course, that means I must be comfortable buying 800 shares of C – which I am. Your risk tolerance may be different, and you might choose a smaller position. But most folks SHOULD NOT take a larger position than this. By selling eight of the C uncovered put options at the recommended price of $1.65, I’ll collect $1,320. And if the option expires worthless – which is always the best outcome on an uncovered put trade – I’ll record a nice $1,320 profit on the trade. So if you’re not taking advantage of this strategy, then you’re missing out on some tremendous returns. And it’s those returns that help to fund the speculative side of the account… [Millionaire Trader Reveals: How to Make One “Backdoor” Currency Trade – Every Month – And Start Making All the Money You Need to Fund Your Retirement]( Free Trading Resources Have you checked out Jeff's free trading resources on his website? It contains a selection of special reports, training videos, and a full trading glossary to help kickstart your trading career – at zero cost to you. Just [click here]( to check it out. How to Speculate Without Risking It All Buying speculative puts and calls is exciting. It’s thrilling to think about the potential of earning 100%, 200%, or more in just a few days. But the reality is… Most folks who speculate with options lose money. First of all, [put]( and [call options]( have the potential to expire worthless – meaning everything you put into the position goes to zero. Plus, most folks overleverage their trades. They take on too large of a position. Then, when the trade goes against them, they wipe out their account… Don’t be that person. Take, AT MOST, 20% of your account (in this example, $20,000), and set it aside for speculating. Divide that $20,000 by 10, and you get $2,000. That is the absolute most you should put into any option speculation. Similar to my uncovered put option trades, I don’t think I’ve ever had more than 10 speculative positions at work at any one time. Usually, I have three or four trades running, and I carry a large cash position. Another example is the Beazer Homes USA (BZH) August 21 $10 call options I once recommended buying for $1.30. The absolute most you would buy is 15 options ($2,000 divided by $130). Now, frankly, I might even be more conservative than this and limit the trade to $1,000 or $1,500. But even if you take the $2,000 position, the most you’re risking of your total account is 2%. If you’re wrong, it’ll hurt to lose $2,000. But it’s not going to wipe you out. And if you’ve been selling uncovered put options, then your profits on those trades should make up for the loss on an errant speculation. Buying calls and puts is a riskier strategy than selling uncovered put options. But the rewards can be terrific. The ideal strategy, though, at least in my experience, is to use the bulk of your trading account for conservative trades – like selling uncovered puts. Then, take the profits from that activity to fund a few speculative purchases. READER MAILBAG Have you ever blown up an account by overleveraging? If so, did it make you more of a conservative trader? Let us know your thoughts – and any questions you have – at feedback@jeffclarktrader.com. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT… [The media is right about one thing – we are about to witness a huge economic crisis...]( We all know the mainstream media will say anything for more viewers and clicks... But folks who are distracted by this kind of propaganda are about to be left behind. 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