I’ve been a stock trader for the last ten years and I absolutely love the thrills of making a great trade. I find it quite addicting. Unfortunately, losing money on a trade can be just as disheartening, if not more.

I would advise you to study up on options as much as you can before you begin trading them. Too many people learn the hard way by losing the entire amount of their investment. Don’t let that be you. Here are a few words to the wise that I hope you’ll take seriously.

First of all, realize the concept of time decay in options. This basically means that the further out you buy a contract for, the more of a premium it’s going to sell at today since it has more time to fluctuate in terms of price.

Let’s say you buy a contract for December while we’re in the month of April. The stock price is at $13, and the strike price on the contract is $16. Clearly, there’s a higher percentage chance that this stock will break $16 between now and December than there is between now and May. As a result, contracts with an expiration date that’s further out will sell at a higher price.

Many smart traders also like to hedge their risk by doing things like straddles, or buying puts on their calls and the opposite as well.

Try buying a few contracts in the opposite direction. That way if you lose out big time, those contracts will win big.

Sure, you might not make as much money as you otherwise would have, but investing something like 5 or 10% in the opposite outcome can ensure that you lose much less than all of your investment should your option never hit its strike price.

By adhering to these tips, I’m sure of the fact that you’ll be well ahead of the typical novice.

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