The Credit Spread Option Trading Strategy – The Base of Reliable Option Gains

A favorite directionless investment method with option sellers is called the vertical spread or the credit spread. One reason it’s so well-liked is because it’s one of the easiest option strategies to understand. Another explanation for it’s attractiveness is that once the trade is placed there can be very little attention needed to supervise it – allowing the credit spread trader to go out and spend their time doing other things rather than sitting in a dark room staring at a trading screen all day long.

The credit spread trade is a basic building block of many if not most other more complex option trading strategies such as the iron condor spread, the butterfly, and the double diagonal trade. For example, the butterfly is created using one credit spread and one debit spread, while the iron condor is made up from two credit spreads, one on either side of where the underlying is currently trading at.

Option traders love to trade this strategy because the way these trades are constructed can allow the trader to be wrong and still make money. If the trader creates a particular credit spread position, he or she can win if the stock or index being traded winds up doing three out of four possible scenarios. If the stock goes down, the trader makes money. If the stock goes nowhere the trader makes money. If the stock goes up a little, the trader makes money. The only way the trader can lose money if the stock goes up far enough to threaten the credit spread that has been sold. And even then, there are management and adjustment techniques that can be utilized to hedge against losses.

For example let’s say our trader is bearish on the stock XYZ. XYZ is trading at a recent high and our trader believes that the stock will not move any higher over the next 30 days. So, he sells a bear call spread – a call option credit spread that benefits in a neutral to bearish scenario.

If the stock does move down as our trader anticipates, this spread trade wins. If the stock does absolutely nothing and just remains trading at it’s current level, this trade wins. Even if the stock moves up against our traders outlook, this trade can win just as long as it doesn’t move up too much. The only way this position will lose money is if the stock moves too high too fast – in which case the trade could still be profitable just as long as our trader knows how to properly manage and adjust the position – which is one reason why this trade – which is also referred to as the Vertical Spread strategy is so popular among option traders.

Ted ‘The Spread is an option selling – zealous unusually with trading credit spreads and the vertical spread . Go visit his Credit Spreads site to see his ridiculously clear cut system of trading the weeklys for dependable income – and supplementary wonderful option income ‘stuff’.