You have seen them on CNBC’s Fast Money – the Najarian brothers – who are options trading experts. They say it is better to be lucky than smart, but realistically luck eventually runs out. Jon and Pete Najarian have been successful for too long with options to be considered “lucky.” In recent years they have translated their success in trading options into a website that provides actionable intelligence to the options trader – called optionMONSTER. Building on the success of optionMONSTER and catering to all traders, they created the tradeMONSTER online trading platform for trading stocks, options and mutual funds.

Now, I have been trading stocks online since the late 80’s. Most people are rolling their eyes right now – “Yeah, right. Trading online??” True story! Before the internet was commonly accessible (outside of universities), brokerages offered some proprietary trading platforms. The first one I used was “The Equalizer” from Charles Schwab. I ran it on my 8086 PC with a 2400 baud modem, but it worked and I was overwhelmed with excitement. Back to the main story – I have seen a lot of evolution and revolution through the years in the online trading. The tradeMONSTER platform is another leap forward toward trading nirvana. How so?

Real-time streaming data – Data is to trading as gas is to a car. Without consistent, quality gas your car won’t run well – or worse – will not even start. The quotes are like snowflakes in a blizzard – without a well engineered platform the streaming data will bog down the whole system. You, the trader, depends on this interface to the lifeblood of data – be sure your platform can handle it like tradeMONSTER can.

Low Cost – High Value – Just remember $7.50. All equity trades are $7.50 during normal trading hours. 100 shares? $7.50. 5,000 shares? $7.50. That is pretty easy to remember. Options trading is really competitive, for instance trade 10 contracts for $12.50 or up to 100 contracts for $50. 100 contracts at optionsXpress would cost you $150. Make a couple of round-trips and you are talking serious transaction fees.

Professional Service and Educational Resources – Back when I was trading with Charles Schwab in the 1980’s, a discount brokerage was bare bones – they placed orders for you. Today, tradeMONSTER puts the service back into “financial services” with educational resources to help you make informed decisions. Your success is their success, so their brokers are always there to help when you need a hand.

Are you nervous about putting the rubber to the road? It all looks so easy on CNBC when the talking heads are telling you about their great trades, but they have experience. Experience can be messy at times, which is why tradeMONSTER is also offering the paperTRADE account that allows you to try out trading for free and without risking any of your money. Plug into real-time streaming data and test your strategies wiht the paperTRADE account at tradeMONSTER. Refine your options trading the ability to virtually test complex options strategies. Once you find your comfort zone, then you are ready to put some money at risk – but not without putting some effort into your paperTRADE account.

The markets are constantly evolving and the tools continue change and improve with them. tradeMONSTER is pushing the envelope to provide a better environment for the trader. Don’t take my word for it – try before you buy! Use the free paperTRADE account – take advantage of that to see the platform working.