Options Trading Simulator

A while back I mentioned that I would create a very simple options trading simulator and I finally got around to it (well i kind of only extended one I built during uni).

This excel options trading simulator is not designed to get you better at reading markets or reading the tape, but instead it is designed to improve your knowledge of options and how they behave. It allows you to track your trades and see how the greeks change with a change in the underlying, implied volatility and time.

Key things to remember in order to get the most benefit from the simulator:

1) After each day change, look at what happens to implied volatility and the underlying and what that does to your greeks and P&L. Try to anticipate all these scenarios Work on being able to track your exposure in your head, most important thing is your overall delta/gamma/vega and your net contract exposure.

2) Always be able to keep track of your net long and net short exposure. Remember you barely ever want to be net short options, there are much better ways to sell premium other than net short options (ie butterfly).

3) Go through each option strategy in the following order: long call, short call, long put, short put, long straddle, short straddle, long call spread, short call spread, long put spread, short put spread, long butterfly, short butterfly

4) Try doing both gamma as well as vega trades

5) Keep thinking of how to adjust your position instead of exiting. The thing that seperates options from shares is that instead of closing a trade, you can adjust it

To run the sheet make sure to have Macro's enabled and then press the restart button, then to change days simply press the next day button.

This is a very simple and basic simulator and allows you to practice trading two different months in a very simplistic manner. It wont necessarily get you better at trading, but it will get you closer to getting a more established knowledge of options, to the point where it becomes second nature.

http://www.leveredhedge.com/articles/trading-arti…

9 Comments
 

This sounds legit, I'm going to check it out. Thanks man.

Edit: You're charging for it? Sigh... should've been clear about that in your post.

By the way, your website is in no way optimized to maximize conversion rates. I bet most people leave your site without signing up for a membership. You should look into A/B testing.

Wall Street leaders now understand that they made a mistake, one born of their innocent and trusting nature. They trusted ordinary Americans to behave more responsibly than they themselves ever would, and these ordinary Americans betrayed their trust.
 

Sorry forgot to mention in the original post, Im keeping it as a member only item for the next week to reward people who have purchased the interview guide, and then next friday it will be free for anyone.

Its not membership in the regular way, members are anyone thats purchased a guide (even the CV guide which is like 9 bucks), with the guide you get a login to the site, I dont run a membership program by itself (ie no charging).

 
derivstrading
StudiofanDont want to sound rude, but why wouldnt you just use the thinkorswim paper trading platform?

no access for outside of the US anymore

Just use the Goldman Sachs NY address and contact number when registering for a paper account. Well, that's what I did.

I win here, I win there...
 

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