[trader220]

I was an institutional derivatives trader for 20 years. Owned seats on 4 exchanges, and pretty much have traded the gambit of options out there.

I would be happy to help you if you have particular questions along the way. I am sure I know just about every strategy you'll come across and all the ones you don't too.

Options are really about math, more specifically about probabilities and statistics. It really doesn't matter what the underlying is when you get into the nuts and bolts of why options are priced the way they are. Most institutions don't trade with a big axe to grind, a lot more often than not their derivatives plays are not directional. The strategy they are employing is usually part of something larger, so looking at what they do is generally not going to help you.

I use the professional version of Think or Swim, its called Think Pipes. TD Ameritrade offers Think or Swim and its really an excellent platform. I would say its easily better than any of the professional platforms from a few years ago.

When I started we pretty much did everything by hand with a calculator and then as the market moved we had to estimate new values. Today few of the traders know any of that and they don't have to because with a few clicks they can identify anything thats not priced to perfection and then find out why.

One of the reasons I left is because the theoretical edge in the market, the part as a market maker you make your living on, got very very thin and I had to trade huge size to earn what I easily did just back in 2002 or 3. Thats great for the retail user and the end institutional user but it stopped being worth my time and effort. I find running a few strategies that I prefer and not having to deal with the constant churn of being a market maker suits my life much better these days.

I still love options and I still trade quite a bit.