How much capital is enough to start trading options?

F&O
1

I just want to know the minimum required capital with which one can start trading options. (Considering, he has been observing markets since 2-3 years and knows a handful of strategies.)

Is it 1 lakh? 5 lakhs? Or 10 lakhs?

2

A butterfly for 1 lot in nifty or banknifty is around 50K. Most of the strategies/gurus are enticing users to speculate rather than hedge. You should use options to hedge your portfolio.

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3

I think 5-10 lacs could be fine. With the new margin rules, hedged and offsetting positions have reduced margin requirements, so you don’t really need a very large capital. Of course, higher the capital, higher the number of lots you could trade and therefore, higher profits theoretically.

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4

Having a capital base too low just makes the account too volatile. But, you could trade with a capital of less than 5 lacs as well.

1 lot of naked ATM short option of the Nifty blocks about 1 lac in margin. Maybe, check the zerodha margin calculator for the strategies you want to execute and see what would be the adequate account size for you.

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5

You did not mention the type of options you want to trade.
So, considering the least one, You can trade in currency even with 5k. (limited lots only).
The minimum amount will be higher for index/stocks.

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6

Min and maximum required money for trading: As much as you are willing to loose voluntarily.

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7

Options are only meant to hedge if you want to trade particularly in Index and using 2-3 basic strategies 1-2 lacs is enough/ trading session/ATM, but higher the funds minimum the risk.

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8

To become a successful options trader, you don’t need a large sum of money. You don’t have to start out with a large amount of money. You need to be a careful trader when you are just starting out, so that you can reduce the risk of losing money and increase the return potential of your trades.

9

Sure, but for it to make a meaningful change , imo you need 30+ lac…

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10

Anything less than 2 lakhs would be a small capital to trade in options. But it also depends upon how you manage it. It is not impossible to trade options with a small capital but it can be challenging. If you can start with 3 lakhs or more that would be ideal in my opinion.