Options Trading Tutorial

are there any free option trading applications available that uses real securities data?

I'm working on my series 7 exam and I really want to get hands on experience with option trading. Paper trading on goes so far and I'm limited on capital or else I would you my on monetary currency. Any suggestions would greatly be appriciated. --sage

Public Comments

1. if you looking for real time and a trial account then go to optionhouse.com.. you can test drive options live with real data.. they give you play balance.. options are not a game.. even with a series 7 nothing in there will teach you how to trade options profitably. books are good but still limited. you must learn from real traders who have been doing this for a long time. I was a market maker and learned options trading by traders.. learn about the "greeks", calculating implied volitility, and how strike and time effect the pricing and timing....these things will help you get a good foundation.. remember there is no one correct way to trade..you must find a "way" that works for you and be disciplined to the rules.. good luck
2. The CBOE has a virtual trading tool at http://www.cboe.com/tradtool/virtualtrade.aspx which I think is likely to be as good as any other. I will warn you that I do not think any virtual trading facility, even those using live market data, will give you a totally accurate experience. In real trading you often run into liquidity issues. I one time last year put in a limit order to buy 100 contracts at the ask quote and only got a partial fill of one contract before I canceled the order two days later. If I had been using a virtual trading facility it probably would have shown I got all 100 contracts. Similarly, if you tried to split and the bid and ask quotes in real life you might get a fill, but I would bet you would not get the order filled in a virtual trading facility unless the price moved.