Study futures charts, stock option charts and commodities charts for actionable trades

Very few technicians and traders can determine where future prices will be with consistency and accuracy. That point made, it is critical to study options charts, futures charts and commodities charts to reduce your risks and increase your overall profits. By using, both futures and options technical analysis you can profit from the volatile swings that occur when others don't know what to do.

I recommend: A key to successful options and futures trading is reliable, real time information such as the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) Real Time Streaming Quotes and CBOT Futures and Options Charts to help you spot and take advantage of the countless trades that can occur on a daily basis. Sign up for a 30 day risk-free trial of CBOT Advantage.

Futures and options analysis requires you to know the requirements for different futures brokers

The margin requirements and account minimums can be vastly different. It all depends on what a particular futures broker's policies are and the types of strategies you'll be using. Some futures brokers try to entice you to trade right away, claiming, that the only way to gain experience is by doing actual futures trading and options trading with real money. Nothing could be further from the truth. Success in futures and options analysis demands you to be attentive to everything.

I recommend: Use futures brokers that will allow you to do practice trading before doing actual futures trading. Good futures brokers include Forex Capital Markets and Lind-Waldock.

Understand different strategies for using stock options charts and futures charts

There are a wide variety of strategies available to take advantage of numerous market conditions. Knowing your risk factor and what your outlook of the markets are will determine if you use bullish, neutral or bearish strategies. Effective futures and options analysis involves knowing how to calculate the risk factor so that you lower your chances for having an unprofitable position, while, at the same time investing wisely based upon time-tested strategies. A few options and futures trading strategies include hedging, straddles, strangles, and call or put writing.

I recommend: In commodities, options and futures trading knowledge is power.  Learn how and under what conditions you can use the different stock options and futures strategies. This is a key factor in determining how profitable you will be. Some good resources to investigate are Options Industry Council and Commodity World.