6/18 OptionPlanet class

I attended an OptionPlanet class on "Complex Option Strategies." TD Ameritrade, InvestTools, ThinkorSwim are sponsors. I got some good bits from the class, more about features of the TOS trading platform than about options.

I sat next to a lawyer, real sharp guy. He had gone through one of the more expensive InvestTools education programs and was enthusiastic in his praise. That is a far cry from other stories I have heard and shared about some of the fly-by-night classes that talk about doubling your money every month in options, and "no-lose" strategies.

One take away I got was that if an option trader understands vertical spreads, and calendar spreads, that's all there is to know. All the more complex strategies, such as butterflies, Iron condors, are layers of verticals and calendars.

An informal stock market sentiment poll for the room of 300 advanced option traders, had about 35% bullish, 40% neutral, 15% bearish. As with all anecdotes, one anecdote, one room doesn't mean too much.

For all the dads out there, Happy Father's Day.