Options Indicator Explained - so you can SEE what you tradeEver since we created this indicator back around 2020 on the TradingView platform it is so far the best platform for our analysis, research, coding, and development of different trading tools. This was 4 years ago, but we have been with TradingView almost for a decade !
The whole concept of this indicator came when a long time ago we read the big big book of options, and could not understand how come the stock price moved up but our calls are losing money ! Yes, we have been there too. And then came this indicator to life. We don't make a trade without it ever since. If you saw the video, you clearly know why.
Let's delve into some key concepts that can elevate your trading game:
### 1. Visualizing Profit and Loss
One of the most powerful tools in an options trader's arsenal is the ability to plot profit and loss lines on a chart. This visualization helps you understand the time decay of the options you buy or sell. By seeing how your potential profits or losses change over time, you can make more informed decisions about when to enter or exit trades.
### 2. Moving Beyond the Greeks
The Greeks—Delta, Gamma, Theta, and Vega—are often emphasized in options trading, but their standalone value can be limited. What truly matters is how these metrics impact your profit and loss curvature. Think of it like driving a car: while an acceleration meter provides some information, what you really need is the speedometer and a clear view of the road. Focusing on the profit and loss curves allows you to grasp the real impact of these factors on your trades.
### 3. Identifying Pivot Points
By observing profit and loss lines, you gain insights into optimal entry and exit points. Placing trades at pivot points can enhance your reward-to-risk ratios. Certain options offer generous room for stop-loss placement and quick profits if you choose pivot points where price rejections are likely. Seeing these lines helps confirm that your trading idea has a high probability of success.
### 4. Conducting Volatility Simulations
Professional volatility testing with your indicator is crucial. It allows you to anticipate how changes in volatility will affect your options' profit and loss. Each case is unique and dependent on the underlying stock, so it's vital to have contingency plans and avoid trading blindly. You must always take into account that the volatility can drop or rise against you, and you need to see that even if it happens, you will still be okay, and not be a dreamer. Reality is everything, trade realistically.
### 5. Timing Your Trades
Boost your performance by understanding how much profit you can lose (when buying options) or gain (when selling options) over the duration of your trade. This knowledge helps you make better timing decisions and manage your trades more effectively while you are inside the trade. In some trades you can clearly see that you just don't have the time to survive a correction and then wait for the next pulse wave to come and save you, you can see clearly that it is better to take profit today, since you just do not have enough time for a correction and a bounce back to the current profitable price. In options, what it is profitable today is NOT profitable tomorrow. I show you this in the video.
### 6. Simplifying with Profit Lines
You don't need to rely heavily on the Greeks anymore. Profit lines already account for these metrics, freeing your mind to focus on price action. This approach eliminates the confusion often associated with the non-linear behavior of options, rooted in complex models like Black-Scholes.
### 7. The Black-Scholes Model and Implied Volatility
Understanding the Black-Scholes model and implied volatility is fundamental. These concepts help you grasp how options are priced and how market conditions can impact their value. Using the indicator, you don't need even to know who or what is the Black-Scholes Model, since it does all the work and heavy lifting for you, by plotting you exactly what you truly need... Where you make a profit, where you will make a loss, and how much (profit lines).
### 8. In the Money vs. Out of the Money
Knowing the difference between "in the money" and "out of the money" options is crucial. In-the-money options have intrinsic value, while out-of-the-money options are more speculative and rely on price movements to become profitable.
### 9. Short-Term vs. Long-Term Options
Short-term call options offer quick potential gains but come with higher risks due to time decay. Long-term call options, on the other hand, provide more time for your trade to work out, reducing the impact of time decay but often requiring a larger capital investment. I show a clear example in the video.
### 10. Maintaining Reward-to-Risk Ratios
You should make sure you always maintain the reward-to-risk ratios in your favor BEFORE you enter the trade, this is what keeps you in the game and makes you thrive and not just survive. Do you think they let a pilot to land an airplane, just with his "gut feeling" or do they give them an indicator to SEE the runway? If you don't see your profit and loss lines, you don't see the runway when you land your plane. We've all seen those wallstreetbets BLIND crash landings in options and know how they end before they started. This can and should be avoided, always know your risk, and your potential reward.
### 11. Proof of Accuracy
Finally, reliable indicators provide proof of accuracy, showing you the same profit or loss you'd experience given stock movements and implied volatility changes. This consistency gives you confidence in your trades, eliminating confusion and preventing unexpected losses.
In the end of the video, there is proof of the accuracy, that the indicator in did shows you the same profit or loss you will have in the position, given the stock movement and implied volatility changes, so you can rest assured that your landing indicator will not surprise you no matter the weather, you will have full control on your options trade. No more the feeling of confusion and then your fast profit crushes to zero or even a loss and you don't know why.
Master these concepts, and you'll have a robust framework for navigating the complexities of options trading with precision and confidence.
