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Although most of the options people find are ones that expire on the third Thursday or Friday of the month depending on the type of option. There are also some options that last for a shorter period of time. You could find some options that expire in just a few hours or days depending on where you go for a trade. The options that are listed can change after a few minutes. Options trading firms typically use computer programs to determine how much an option might be worth and how the call and put strike prices can be formed. An options trader might give you a certain amount of time before you can enter into an option. This is done to give you time to develop a strategy and to identify something right for you. You might miss out on one particular value for an option while researching it, but it will not be much of an issue at this point.
You should never assume that the values you see when looking at an option are going to stay that way. Be prepared when planning an options trade to look at how the stock might change by a few dollars or pennies before you actually place that trade. Add a small bit of leeway into the option.
Consider how the option might be 1 or 2 percent less than its current start price when getting the option opened. You might see a stock at $45 at the start. Consider the stock if it were at around $44 or $46 when you get the option ready so you have a more realistic idea of what you will actually enter into during the option. More importantly, you should assume that the total you will enter into will be further away from the desired strike price that you want to reach. This gives you a better idea of what could happen if the stock is not working as well as it should.
