Warning about Binary Options

I always knew binary options was a bad gig. A BO broker called me and tried to get me to sign up, after having difficulty answering my skeptical questions (is binary options manipulated) i asked him if i could open a demo. He said no, you can only trade binary options live. That right there says it all folks

I gave it a shot and now I get junk emails from brokers and agents all the time. I think it would take some real luck (unless there’s a golden strategy) to make money with this kind of option trading. Without strategy or luck…its kind of a 50 -50 gamble…except that on average you’re expected to make a loss.

Why is it that binary options are given such a hard time? Have a search on these forums and you will find hundreds of similar posts where traders are condemning Forex brokers, spread-betting companies etc to hand for manipulating price feeds, closing candles early etc. I can also assure you that market makers in shares are also discredited by many for their price manipulation, particularly on smaller markets such as AIM (UK).

So why do binary brokers get such a hard time?

Well maybe the manipulation is a bit more ‘obvious’ due to the short lengths of the contracts and the expectations of the punter. It certainly happens, of that there can be no doubt I am just surprised that people are ‘surprised’ that it happens. Heck the whole current banking crisis is the result of people not playing by the rule book. The regulators failed to sort out that one so does anyone really think that they are going to do a good turn at regulating the binary industry!?!?!

The thoughts of making $$$$$$$$$$$ from trading binaries is just not going to happen. Read the small print and look at the maximum contract sizes you are allowed to trade. Most brokers won’t let you trade anything over $1-2k per contract (I think 24option have raised there limits far higher) and if you start winning at these levels then you will soon see your account closed down. Quite simply there are not that many brokers that have the ‘money’ in the bank to fund such winnings and given that most people trade tiny amounts you will stand out like a sore thumb.

You can however make money but you have to be sensible. Keep under the radar, spread your risk between brokers and trade only small amounts. Oh and avoid 60 second contracts. If they turn on the spreads you will get killed. :cool:

Simple answer, you don’t get the correct odd’s. I use the term odd’s as it’s gambling which is why in the UK they are regulated by the gambling authority, while trading margined FX is regulated by the Financial Services Authority.

If your smart you can place the same binary option trade on a margined FX account and get a better RR

Agree completely with Jezzode…the odd’s just aren’t in one’s favor with this kind of trading.

In fact I think this video explains why binary option trading, without a strategy, isn’t worthwhile…though the math is a little involved.
[video]YouTube

I 'm currently trying bin.opt. and I made $1285 profit last week (my 1st week). I use a demo fxcm with live streaming chart with macd and fib. to pinpoint the probable direction of a currency pair with about 75% accuracy. Also, I only strike and go short or long at support and resistance levels (very important). Need to be patient and wait when the trend comes into your territory. Like everything else in life, you can win if you have a strategy.
Of course, I know the dealer plays little tricks. At times, the screen would freeze suddenly upon placing a trade, and time would work against me, and I loose that trade. Sometimes, the system would place my bid a bit lower or higher whenever he decides to.
I’m just practicing some of the lessons learned from this site. Other people may be more successful at cracking that B.O mystery

How man, how. I have lost $4000 in past 7 months. I always put my money in currencies and commodities. How you made profits? Who is your trader man?

[QUOTE=JohnCA;284281

I have also scalping experience, so I could occasionally “predict” the movements of a few assets (usually FX Pairs) correctly with the help of Technical Analysis. But remember, as my profit was a lost for the broker, soon the manipulation started. The options expired with a delay, so that an profitable trade became a losing one. Its funny how every delay made my previously profitable trade into a loser. I wrote to them and got no answer. I called, but was put on hold and didn’t get any support at all. My profits were gone due to the manipulation trades.

So I decided to withdraw the left money, which took horribly long. I already gave up, as I couldn’t get any helpful answer from the “Customer Support” (a huge joke, I think the guys sitting their have no clue about options). In the end I got my money, it wasn’t a huge amount, so I wasn’t freaking out about the long time waiting. But imagine waiting weeks to get a larger amount of money back, which you need. I was lucky that I opened my account with a small amount of money.

This is my experience with binary options. I haven’t try the other BO brokers, but please people, [B]be aware as the BO brokers are not regulated. If you are too profitable, they easily could take your profit. You can’t sue them, nobody will help you.[/B]
[/QUOTE]

I’ve just started to look into this as well (have been trading spot for about 3 years) and from what I have seen the possibility of manipulation is there from any broker who’s charts / data does not go straight to market. There are many brokers out there who trade in house and therefore have a vested interest in helping you give them money. it’s worth doing the research on the brokers who place your trades straight to market which eliminates manipulation

Mick

Dear John

I have had soo much problem with my binary options account not only did they take my trades and gave loosing signals to the winning ones but they also took money from my credit card without my permission. When I called my broker he said he hit the wrong button and the money was deducted from my account…WELL…when I tried to get my US$6,000 back they then sent me an email requesting for verification docs as they didn’t have any… so I sent everything… then they said they couldn’t read the last digits of my card. I then asked if my doc are not verified how come you can take money from me but can’t give me back money??? I think I will now try and close my account this should be fun as I’m sure they will have all kinds of excuses…anyway I had enough of their fraudulent ways and I’m going to complain big time…they have gone too far this time…are there no laws regulating them !!!

Another way I beat BO. I place up trades going long early in the day for nasdaq, and the s&p right at the bell when the market opens. They usually goes up. But, I confirm my position going up or down using linear regression curve or cci. Winning some losing some, I usually end up with at least 3 more wins (than losses) within the early hours @$100/$150 each. Then, I have fun with forex late afternoon or during the evening hours after leaving my job. I will not give you any broker’s name because I don’t want to support any bin. option dealer. There is a guy who sells a good forex software over the net. He also gives it away for free but without documentation and support. His method is to study each currency separately to learn their dynamics before you choosing which one to pair and successfully guess their direction. Some people do well in bin. options using his method. Again, I don’t want to tell any body’ name because I’m still researching the best way to beat bin. options and I’m no expert

Hi Paulanater. Well there has been no regulation but this is coming into effect and many brokers are now starting to be accredited regulation. Those based in Cyprus first and now some are starting to get FSA (UK) regulation. It sounds like you are having problems and this will come too late for you. Are you going to name and shame?

Read up on some binary options resource sites.

Best advice - the flashy ads and banners claiming it’s as easy as UP or DOWN are total BS. Trading is hard and requires research, effort, patience and some luck. Binary options are great so long as you realize it’s just black or red Roulette for the financial markets.

Hi, I have been trading binary options for quite some time now and have to disagree that it is gambling. It is trading, but you need to understand them and create a strategy that is profitable. I tend to cash out on 14 out of 20 trades on average. It has nothing to do with gambling.

I do agree that the advertisements are very misleading and makes it dangerous for new traders. They claim you don’t need to have any knowledge, just pick your pair, expiration time, amount and direction and bam…you will most likely lose. I like binary options as part of my trading and use those profits every friday to fund my forex accounts.

You need to be aware which broker you use and make sure they give you real market prices as there are plenty of bucket shop outlets who manipulate the price in their favor.

Easy money making, but it all depend on the broker you with, legitimate brokers traders make money, scam brokers traders lose money.

Dear John

My exact experience everything you say mirrored what happened to me in everyway…on my own I was a good trader and when I used this particular broker he cleaned me out even to the point of taking money from my account saying he pressed the wrong button. It took me ages to get my money back but I wrote to the options regulatory body and they refunded my stolen money…eventually…crazy…I lost around 60,000 usd never again will i use a broker or play binary options…

So you are basically saying that you gave $60,000 to someone you do not know, and on which you did not made any research to trade binary option???

I can make you prices for binary options with my super duper company if you want. Really tight prices and on request quotes. Please contact me so I can give you my account number. Entry size is $50,000.

:smiley:

What you said makes no sense. For starters, binary option are not regulated yet and are just getting there with only the valid brokers applying for regulation for obvious reasons. Nobody would have funded a binary options account with $60K as it defies the purpose. An option regulatory body who refunds your money does not exist and the simple fact that you refer to it as playing give me more reason to think you have never placed a single trade in your life and definitely not the size you want this forum to believe.

No i’m not basically saying I gave 60,000 to a broker i dont know… DAH!!! obviously you have no idea about VIP accounts at binary options…especially when you have no idea about the binary options regulator who made the B.options company refund my money also…u are obviously a small time trader and should not be involving yourself trying to think you know something about VIP option trading…!!! when you are able to trade in large amounts with binary options then you may have a more qualified say in binary option trading…until then please refrain from commenting on financial matters you have no idea about

Hi John,

I had the same thing happen with regards to Binary Options. It seems that they are not regulated, but are always “in the process” of being regulated. The one that I used had a head office in the UK but its seems that they are actually doing their business in Cypress. I too started with the least amount required to join and use a Demo. Using the Demo account worked tremendously, but once I moved to using my own money, then the trades could be “predicted” on my part, but manipulation started. There was a “delay” when the Options expired. Any email or phone call went unanswered and I did ask for my money back…takes a long time as you mentioned. I would be quite concerned if I had placed a greater amount than $1,000 into the account or even made money…don’t know if you would ever get anything back. Perhaps, as they say, they are actually “buckateers” and just place our trades into a bucket and spend our money. I did feel after a few months in Binary Options that it felt more like a Casino and have moved away from this type of investment or loss whichever category that you would like to place Binary Options.

Sharron