This is good advice. My additional school-of-hard-knocks observation on quotes themselves:Heineken-Ashi said:Stops in options is a fruitless endeavor. Money is made on options off the entry. I don't enter if I'm not willing to lose everything I risk.EnronAg said:
so, kind of a long winded question, but can the options experts shed some light...sold puts at $1.50...now those puts are trading about $0.45...these options do wonky pricing at end of day where the bid/ask spread will then show something stupid like $2 for the closing ask...how can I safely set a stop at say a buck, so I can guarantee myself a gain in the event it starts to plummet...but also, not trigger a buy on a stupid end of day fictitious price?
I think instead of setting a stop, you need to highlight where the first resistance point would be. Buy enough up front that you can sell whatever portion is needed at that point to go net free. Then you can ride a risk free position and lose the stress.
Don't trust ANY options "quotes". They are even worse than penny stock quotes. It can use any of these methods, and none are accurate - you only should look at actual bid and ask offers, along with the volume of the offer:
1) Last trade: Ludicrously inaccurate, since it may be weeks between trades for some thinly traded options.
2) Midpoint of bid/ask: Also a bad measure, especially if the bid is zero, and the ask is 6.00. The midpoint of 3.0 tells you nothing about true value of the position.
3) Closing bid: Simply any open bid that is in effect at close - very likely inaccurate as to true value
4) Estimated value or "Mark": Some brokers attempt to give somewhat of a true assessment of value, using a combination of the above, but since the methods are all flawed in their own way, this one shouldn't be relied on, either.
Some options with highly liquid trading (SPY, QQQ, etc.) can get pretty close to trading like a stock, with enough volume to keep bid/ask spreads reasonable and quotes fairly accurate, but these are few and far between.
Bottom line - set your entry and exit point via limit orders, and wait for anyone (market makers or other traders) to meet you at that price. Until you are very near the expiration date, it's pretty much a game for the patient and disciplined trader - don't chase after false quotes.