Best Option Strategies For ThinkOrSwim

Find the best options scalping strategy
In my opinion it would be one that I'd be looking to multiple time frames. The reasoning behind that is if the trend is moving in a direction for a longer period of time then you are more likely to come out profitable. Scalping options can cause you to either make or lose a lot of money really fast (since you'll likely pick options with a very short time to expiration). Because of the high risk high reward setup you want to do whatever you can to minimize potential downside. One of the ways I personally do this is by picking setups that have a potential trend in the direction I'm trading on bigger time frames, that way if I miss my exit on a really short time frame I still have a chance to get out alive without losing all of my money.

So, what does that look like? For me, I enter on short time frames (1m, 2m) when a large time frame (15m) is at the beginning of a trend and I exit when a slightly larger time frame (5m) signals reversal. You should also implement other rules such as what percentage you take profit, if it becomes overbought or oversold on your short timeframe you may want to exit or if the trend reverses right away you'll want to cut your losses early.

Cutting losses early and taking profit appropriately is going to be crucial to your success as a couple of big losses can ruin many big gains and just because you're in profit one minute doesn't mean you'll keep them for long since you have time against you (and potentially volatility) when buying short term options.
 
Does anyone have an indicator/study that works best for them when it comes to Options Trading ?
Thanks.

@Tuna7020 What style(s) of Options Trading are you interested in, and do you have a current setup that you are using...??? I mainly scalp and day trade Options based on momentum so I use indicators that monitor the underlying symbols for confirmed trend reversals and increased momentum... TTM_Squeeze and RSI are good indicators, as well as many others... I have used several setups successfully over the years... What is most important is what combination of indicators works best for you... I'm sure we can come up with something once we know more about your trading style(s)...
 
@Tuna7020 What style(s) of Options Trading are you interested in, and do you have a current setup that you are using...??? I mainly scalp and day trade Options based on momentum so I use indicators that monitor the underlying symbols for confirmed trend reversals and increased momentum... TTM_Squeeze and RSI are good indicators, as well as many others... I have used several setups successfully over the years... What is most important is what combination of indicators works best for you... I'm sure we can come up with something once we know more about your trading style(s)...
Ohh wow. Same here. I usually day trade but swing occasionally if the charts are looking promising. I usually use RSI,MACD, Volume and VWAP. Just got into TTM Sqeeze recently (still trying to figure out how it works). I agree with you. The key is finding the best combinations that works for you. What time frame/s do you use ?
 
@Tuna7020 I primarily use the 2m timeframe but also monitor 5m, 10m, 15m, and 30m... I also use several different chart setups rather than merely relying on a single set of indicators... I have used Renko Bars in the past but am currently using Heikin Ashi candles to help with trends and to avoid knee-jerk premature exits...
 
@Tuna7020 I primarily use the 2m timeframe but also monitor 5m, 10m, 15m, and 30m... I also use several different chart setups rather than merely relying on a single set of indicators... I have used Renko Bars in the past but am currently using Heikin Ashi candles to help with trends and to avoid knee-jerk premature exits...
Heikin Ashi charts are 'average of the price movement' right ? I currently use just the regular candle sticks and my fav timeframes are 5m,15m and 1h. Will look more into the Heikin Ashi candles. How do you set stop losses ? I know some people set them based on % loss but I do set mine based on my support lines...
 
Heikin Ashi charts are 'average of the price movement' right ? I currently use just the regular candle sticks and my fav timeframes are 5m,15m and 1h. Will look more into the Heikin Ashi candles. How do you set stop losses ? I know some people set them based on % loss but I do set mine based on my support lines...

Heikin Ashi is commonly referred to as averaged but in reality it's more smoothed... Then some folks go even further and use smoothed Heikin Ashi, which I find redundant...

I usually set stop-losses at either percentage or price, whether fixed or trailing-stop... There have been times when I've set Stop-loss based on previous low of the underlying as well... Plenty of choices...
 
Heikin Ashi is commonly referred to as averaged but in reality it's more smoothed... Then some folks go even further and use smoothed Heikin Ashi, which I find redundant...

I usually set stop-losses at either percentage or price, whether fixed or trailing-stop... There have been times when I've set Stop-loss based on previous low of the underlying as well... Plenty of choices...
Heikin Ashi is commonly referred to as averaged but in reality it's more smoothed... Then some folks go even further and use smoothed Heikin Ashi, which I find redundant...

I usually set stop-losses at either percentage or price, whether fixed or trailing-stop... There have been times when I've set Stop-loss based on previous low of the underlying as well... Plenty of choices...
Sounds good. Do you use any particular Scan criteria?
 
hey all. Newish to trading and specifically interested in scalping options. due to time limitations

I'm looking for recommendations for studies/indicators that are best used for scalping options, along with any recommendations on lower studies to pair with them. Thanks in advance!
 
Not an expert or trading advice, use it at your own risk.
There are lots of indicators here on this forum, you have to try and see what works for you and what doesn't. Try 9/20 ema crossover, DMI indicator, MACD, Vwap, and 200 ema to determine uptrend or downtrend. Options scalping you make money fast or lose money fast. I will say try scalping shares instead of options first so you can keep losses to a minimum, once you learn to see patterns and are comfortable then go for it. Good Luck

I have been scalping options little over a year now and still learning, blew my account trying to learn. Once I save some funds I will scalp shares before I go back to options trading.
 
What type of minimum criteria would you look for in determining which options are suitable to be scalped in the first place, and how would you go about finding them?

What make you so interested in scalping? In fact, define scalp. Most trader-speak is loosely agreed upon slang, I want to be sure we're talking about the same thing here.
 
What type of minimum criteria would you look for in determining which options are suitable to be scalped in the first place, and how would you go about finding them?

What make you so interested in scalping? In fact, define scalp. Most trader-speak is loosely agreed upon slang, I want to be sure we're talking about the same thing here.
Scalping, for me, is playing an option for a quick profit, can be a matter of seconds to minutes but not to extend beyond the actual day in question. My goal is small gains daily to build my account over time and limit my risk. I'm also currently just paper trading on TOS so I can find my preferences and get comfortable with the platform. I'm using SPY only.
 
Oh ok, sorry, it says only two months of trading experience in your signature, so I was a bit concerned for you in regard to scalping options. But if you're just paper trading, I am not so worried. As for indicators, I can't help you there, I don't use them. I only use chart indicators when developing and debugging scans. I do use $tick though I guess.
 

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