It's been a rough ride for a lot of investors. Some investors are waiting (patiently) for some of their losers to turn around. Some traders are buying at new, cheaper prices.

One of the most important steps in any option trade is to analyze implied volatility and historical volatility. This is the way option traders can gain edge in their trades.

Option traders manage risk. Want a job description? That's about it.

One of the basic directional spreads in trading options is that of the vertical spread. It is extremely versatile and represents a major building block of more complex spreads.

How can you know how much an option is going to move with respect to said underlying? Very simple ? check out its delta.

Over half of 2011 has been characterized by a low implied volatility (IV) environment in virtually all underlying securities.

The trifecta of option greeks are delta, theta and vega. But the next most important greek is gamma.

Volume and open interest are two very important options data that can help traders understand what is going on in the options market. it is an important part of any trader's options education.

Several groups of option strategies have defined maximum rewards that are approached as a result of the passage of time, changes in implied volatility (IV), and/or movement or failure of movement in price of the underlying.

One infrequently discussed topic important to understand in becoming familiar with the mechanics of option trading is that of the various settlement mechanisms.

"May you live in interesting times" is an ancient Chinese curse. The fact that the last few weeks have seen neck snapping and wild changes in volatility, I think we qualify for living in what these philosophers would consider to be interesting times.