With the Fed on deck to make an announcement today and December options expiring Friday, this week could be one of the more volatile ones this year. The bears are testing Wall Street’s patience, and the poker table is getting hot. Some players are folding like cheap lawn chairs, while others, like me, still have a lot of chips to play.

One of the “chips” to use in these kinds of markets is cheap options to start small positions. In fact, all of my current Momentum Options trades were opened for less than $1.00. I haven’t made bigger bets (premiums more than $1.50 to $2.00) because, while I saw this pullback was coming in the charts, the bears could stay serious this time. If the 10-year uptrend lines for the major indices come into play, then I would start playing defense with bearish puts.

For now, though, in addition to cheap options, I have also used January, February and March options to get me through the volatility because this is exactly how the October lows felt before I cleaned house and hit on nearly 80% of my Momentum Options trades during that period.

So, while it’s clear the bears cracked another level of support, I think the action still favors bullish bets if you keep them small and cheap on bigger blue chip stocks. Calls on American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) fit the bill perfectly.

Buy to open the AXP January 95 calls (AXP150117C00095000) at current levels, which are currently around 50 cents.

There are several expiration dates in the AXP January series, so make sure you’re buying the regular monthly calls that expire on Jan. 17, 2015.

While my profit target for the calls is a money doubler at $1.20, I’m watching the underlying AXP stock for any sell stop signals. A close below the $86 level might tell me it’s time to exit the trade. Resistance for AXP is at $89.50-$90.

Again, keep any new positions small – the upside, of course, is that at about 50 cents a contract (or $50), you can have a little Vegas money in play without risking much at all.

Whether you’re new to options or have years of experience, the tips Rick will share can help you lock in bigger gains, find new winning ideas, wring the risk out of your trades and become a more confident and successful options investor.  Click here now to download your FREE copy of The 5 Golden Rules of Options Investing.