The option markets now provide a variety of expiration dates. Standard option contracts will expire the third Friday of the month of expiration. The third Friday is used because it is the Friday with the fewest market holidays throughout the year. Weekly contracts expire at the end of each week, and Quarterly options expire at the end of each quarter (the last day of the quarter does not have to be a Friday). In the near future, contracts will be releasing with daily expirations as well as end-of-month expirations.

Josh Sampson

OptionsFirst Education Specialist

Once you are logged into your account, select the Trade tab. In the left-hand margin, you will see a Quick Quote search box. You can get extended-hours bid and ask prices by entering the ticker symbol of the stock you're researching into the Quick Quote box and then adding a .Q or a .T to the end of the symbol, depending on where that stock is listed. For stocks that are listed on the NASDAQ, enter a .Q to the end of the ticker symbol to see the extended-hours bid and ask prices for that particular stock. For example, if stock XYZ is listed on the NASDAQ, you would enter XYZ.Q to access pre- and post-market bid and ask prices. If XYZ is traded on any other exchange, you would type XYZ.T to retrieve the extended-hours bid and ask.

Oscar Pineda-Madrid

Scottrade Trading Analyst

No, you have to be approved to trade options, which you can request by filling out an Options Application either when you open your account or after your account is active. Your account on Scottrade.com allows two levels of options trading: covered calls and the purchase of long puts and calls. Advanced options trading such as spreads and naked writing can only be completed in an OptionsFirst account. More information is available at options.scottrade.com.

Josh Sampson

OptionsFirst Education Specialist

Options involve risk and are not suitable for all investors. Detailed information on our policies and the risks associated with options can be found in Scottrade's Options Application and Agreement, Brokerage Account Agreement, and Characteristics and Risks of Standardized Options (available at your local Scottrade branch office or from the Options Clearing Corporation at 1-888-OPTIONS or by visiting www.optionsclearing.com). Market volatility, volume, and system availability may impact account access and trade execution. Supporting documentation for any claims will be supplied upon request.

You can use the Reference Notebook in your account to bookmark Knowledge Center articles for future use. When you access articles from the Knowledge Center tab in your Scottrade account, an Add to Notebook link will be located at the bottom of each article. Once you click Add to Notebook, the article you have added will be available in your Reference Notebook at any time. To access to your Reference Notebook, go to the Knowledge Center tab of your account and click View Entire Notebook in the bottom right corner of the page.

Jaci Kueker

Scottrade Customer Education Editor

It is a myth that a large percentage of options expiration worthless. Only about 33% of contracts are held to expiration and expire worthless. The key here is that they are held to expiration. Over 50% of options positions are closed out before expiration, some for a profit and others for a loss.

Josh Sampson

OptionsFirst Education Specialist

Yes, you can! With our new Media Center, you can detach any of the educational webcasts into a separate window and move the video to a new location on your screen so you can continue to watch while you navigate elsewhere in your account. To access the Media Center, click the Knowledge Center tab in your account, choose Interactive Learning, and click on the Media Center heading from the main screen or the left menu.

For example, let's say you're getting ready to place a conditional order for the first time. To make sure you place the order correctly, follow the steps below:

1. Go to the Media Center and choose the interactive learning webcast titled Conditional Order Explanation. You can locate videos using the left navigation menu or by entering a topic in the search bar provided.
2. When the video screen appears, click the detach-from-screen icon.
3. Click and drag the detached video until it's next to the Order Entry page you're using to place your order.

The detachable videos feature offers you the ability to view instructions for website tools as you're using the tools in your Scottrade account.

Jaci Kueker

Scottrade Customer Education Editor

Yes, OptionsFirst does offer trailing stop orders on option contracts. To place this order:

1. Select Advanced Order under the Order Ticket tab on the bottom left of the OptionsFirst window.
2. Enter the symbol of the underlying security in the empty Symbol field under Configure Ticket and select Go. The left side of the ticket will then activate.
3. Select the check box on the lower pane that says Set a Trailing Stop.
4. Under Symbol, select Option, and click the blue Set Trailing from Chain link in the upper right of that box. This will take you to the options chain where you can select from which option contract the order should trigger.
5. Click either the bid or ask of the option.
6. A menu will populate that will allow you to select from a Trigger or Trailing option. Select Trailing. The Order Ticket will then set the order to trail that specific option.
7. Enter the Condition and trail amount in Box 2, and select the duration of the trailing order.
8. Use Box 3 to set up the order you wish to be triggered once the trailing stop is hit.

On the bottom left is an Order Summary that will display your order in plain English as it is being entered. Once the whole order is set to your specifications, select the Preview button at the bottom right of the Order Ticket. The next page will preview your requested order. Select Place Order to send the order to market.

Josh Sampson

Scottrade OptionsFirst Education Specialist

Yes, you can check your positions without leaving the order page while you're placing a stock order. This is also true for the process of placing options orders from the Scottrade Trading Website. When you're placing a stock or options order, the right side of the order page contains an 'Account Balance Summary' box. Beneath the summary of your account balances, are three boxes labeled from left to right as 'Open Orders', 'Positions', and 'Alerts'. To view your positions, left-click on the middle box labeled 'Positions'. The Positions box will then expand to show you a summary of your positions without navigating away from the order page or interfering with your ability to place an order.

Oscar Pineda-Madrid

Yes. Quarterly and weekly options are available for trading on the OptionsFirst platform. These series have to be turned on under the Tools icon at the upper right of the Options Chain. The platform allows you to choose if you wish to show or hide the quarterly and weekly options. This allows you to eliminate clutter on your option chains and streamline the data you see.

Josh Sampson

Scottrade Options Education Specialist