Implied Volatility

For most traders, fear and uncertainty are primary factors that drive volatility in markets higher and lower.

Expand option market learning to weekly double calendars. They can increase in profitability if implied volatility rises.

The six-year-old rally has produced monster stocks. How do you get involved when the altitude makes your stomach quiver? Ratio spreads might be the answer.

Consider straddle/strangle swaps to better position for earnings. Use option strategies and charting tools to help navigate these vexing volatility events.

Check out short-term options pricing to gain a sense of how the underlying stock could move around an earnings release. You can track straddles or use the TD

Traders often think of options in small denominations because that’s how the bid/ask quotes appear. But beginning investors in particular must remember to use a 100x multiplier to help determine correct position sizes.

Picking months and strikes are big decisions for options traders. Do probabilities matter? We think so.

thinkorswim platform’s ® Today’s Options Statistics divvies up the market by call and put volume, delta values, historical volatility, and more.

The first step to overcoming any fear is understanding what you're dealing with. With short-naked puts, that means understanding the strategy and the risks.

Trading earnings announcements can be a fool's game. When volatility is high, trends can break after a company announces. Consider a few volatility tricks.

Option prices can speak louder about the state of a stock than most analysts. You just have to listen and understand what they're trying to say.

Without stock and options volatility, there are no trading opportunities. So to revere it rather than fear it–you need just need to “get it.”

A guide to weeklys: Volume is swelling, and traders are using weekly options to speculate on very short-term moves, or simply as a hedge.

Diversification approaches for active traders to hedge non-systematic risk across spreads, including directional risk and time and vol.

If you own stock, and don’t want out, there are ways to protect yourself and still profit on upswings. When looking to make a few bucks sans stock, go simple.