Let’s make this short and sweet.
We want all members of SimonSaysOptions to be up and running in as little time as possible. So here’s what you need to do in a step by step format.
1. Become a member of SimonSaysOptions.com – duh!
Take a look around the site. Familiarize yourself with where everything is.
2. Brokerage account.
If you already have a favorite broker, make sure you are approved for trading credit spreads (selling vertical spreads). You also want to make sure your commissions are as low as they can be.
If you are not already trading options, you will need to apply to do so. The application will be found on your broker’s site.
It basically asks you how much money you have, what experience you have in trading, what your investment goals are, etc.
If your broker does not feel you have enough money or enough experience they can refuse you from trading options or not allow you to trade credit spreads. They make this judgment based on what you enter on your application.
If you get rejected, your choices are to either call your broker and ask again or go find another broker. If you call your broker, tell them you are a SimonSaysOptions member and that you will be papertrading and learning credit spreads with our help.
Some of the criteria you need from your broker are:
- Real time live quotes for stocks and options
- Easy online order placing ability
- The ability to model your option trades so you can visually see the profit and loss graphs
- 24 hour customer service that you can call with competent people who answer
- Low commissions
- Papertrading account
3. Papertrading
Make sure your broker sets you up with a papertrading/virtual account as well as a real account.
Papertrading is like real trading but with fake money.
The point of papertrading is to do several trades and get a feel for your broker’s software. You want to know how to enter and exit trades quickly so that when you have real money on the line, there are no mistakes.
It is not uncommon for new traders, and even experienced traders to make simple mistakes when entering orders. These errors can be costly.
The most common errors when dealing with layup spreads are:
- Buying the spread instead of selling
- Selling the wrong strikes
- Selling the spread for the wrong expiration cycle.
As soon as your papertrading account is ready, start papertrading our selections. And keep doing this until you are familiar with the way credit spreads work, how to enter the trade, and how to model it on your broker’s software.
Don’t forget to practice your stop loss orders as well. These are the orders to exit the trade automatically if you make a certain % or if you lose a certain %.
4. Watch all the videos on our site so you have a firm grasp of the credit spread strategy and how the trades work.
Many new options traders have questions about the math (how returns are calculated, what prices to place your stop loss at, etc). So make sure you watch the appropriate videos and then do some calculations yourself on your papertrades.
5. Whitelist us
To ensure you receive all of our email updates add our email address to your whitelist. There is a chance that you may miss an email if we are not on your email provider’s whitelist. Below are some simple instructions for you to ensure you receive every last drop of information.
Complete instructions are on our Whitelist Page
6. Email us.
Watch out for your first trade selection and reply to it. Email us back. This will also help to keep our emails out of your SPAM folder.
When you reply, tell us about yourself.
- What is your story?
- Who are you?
- What are your goals?
- What do you think of the service so far?
We are all in this together, and we love interacting with our members, so don’t be shy.
That’s it.
That’s all you have to do to get started with our service.