Trades
All Your Options
Have a directional assumption about a stock? With options, traders have a much larger range of possibilities than with stocks. Instead of being just “bullish” or “bearish,” options provide ways to create trades with high and low probabilities of making money.
Some of the strategies listed on this page have pre-determined levels of risk and reward. In other words, traders can configure a debit spread to risk 1 to make 1. That’s different from a simple stock purchase, where the potential loss is conceivably the entire price of the stock.
There’s no such thing as a “perfect trade in every scenario.” Read each strategy carefully and then determine the acceptable gain/loss and probability.
Michael Rechenthin, Ph.D. (aka “Dr. Data”), heads research and data science at tastytrade. @mrechenthin

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Cherry Picks
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Volatility “Sweet Spot”
|Securities are ranked on this page according to their forward-looking volatility from last year. Traders seeking safer investments—at least those expected to move less—might lean toward the exchange-traded funds (ETFs)… -
More Bang for Your Buck
|As a trading vehicle, nothing beats futures in terms of cost efficiency, liquidity and, for some, tax treatment. Take a look below. First, note the “Futures USD Notional,” which… -
Futures: Ticked Off
|Differing tick sizes and varying dollars per tick can make futures trading confusing. This handy crib sheet can help. Keep an eye on the “Median Day-to-Day Movement” column, and don’t… -
Digging Gold
|When the markets are in turmoil, money tends to flow out of stocks and into “safer” investments. The market’s definition of “safe” changes, but when stocks declined in March, money… -
When Airlines Stocks Resume Flight
|Because of coronavirus fears, the only seats filled these days are the ones in front of TVs. With very few people traveling, airline stock prices have declined an average of… -
Two Ways Back In
|Perhaps some traders are looking to “tiptoe” back into the market and make some cautious purchases. Anyone seeking lower-volatility assets could consider two exchange-traded fund (ETF) sectors: Consumer Staples (XLP)… -
How Gold Fits
|Investors often tout gold as a strategy during market declines. It sounds ideal because a precious metal like gold should withstand shocks to the economic cycle, right? Well, not always.… -
Three Roads to China
|Some stocks offer more exposure in Chinese markets than their names suggest. Here’s a sampling of opportunites. Alibaba A Chinese holding company with a range of products and companies, Alibaba… -
Volatility by Sector
|RIPE AND JUICY TRADE IDEAS Traders think of Biotech as the most volatile sector, but it wasn’t in 2019. Last year, the most volatile sector by far was Oil Services,… -
Sector Ignorance
|RIPE AND JUICY TRADE IDEAS Most investors own one or more of the Dow Jones, S&P 500, Nasdaq or Russell 2000 indexes. Common ways to buy into them are through… -
Worst-Case Scenarios Call for Covered Calls
|Fear of losing money sidelines too many would-be investors. They’re afraid they sell at the bottom. So, what would be the worst-case scenario if someone bought at the peak and then… -
The VIX Cheat Sheet
|Interested in knowing how much the S&P 500 is expected to move? This cheat sheet will help! But first, get the last sale of VIX or type “VIX” into your… -
The Top Cannabis Stocks
|With legalization of pot gaining traction across the country, it’s no surprise that cannabis stocks are becoming more popular. The list of publicly traded cannabis companies below is sorted according… -
Reassessing Options in a Down Market
|In drawdowns as when the Nasdaq, Dow Jones and S&P 500 recently found their way down 10%, 7% and 6%, respectively, from their prior peaks of a few months before,… -
Shorter-Duration CDs Offer Higher-Yield Opportunity
|With the Federal Reserve increasing the overnight interest rate, shorter-duration treasuries have increased in yield. That “flattening of the yield curve” means three-month CDs now have yields comparable to considerably…