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    Tax question

    IRS is rather vague as to the specifics. Where do those rules come from?
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    What options scanner do traders here use?

    I am a long time LVX user; opened the account back on the days when they were on Montgomery St in San Fran. Met with the founders a few times. However, I only used LVX to place trades. There is not much to research. There is no sure way to interpret the option volume contrary to what those two...
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    Diversification good or bad?

    The trick is to strike a balance. Easy said than done. At least 15 to 20 positions in order to manage risk effectively. Then how to weight each position is another art.
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    What risk management mistake did optionsellers.com fund manager do to blow up his fund and clients?

    The big mistake: the underlying is too concentrated. You have to spread the risk to include equities. I would argue that most holding should consist of different stocks in different sections. When the first warning sign appears, liquidate the whole account. Don't wait for the black swan to...
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    You are not a trader until you ...

    You are not a trader until you know you are only as good as your last trade.
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    Any full time traders in San Francisco?

    I am a position trader using leverage to manage a medium-term portfolio consists of a basket of stocks and options. Looking for another trader to interact with and bounce off ideas...
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    IB commission fee vs standard pricing.

    No one can beat their margin interest rate.
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    Two Years of Trading Dangerously at 84% Annualized Returns

    You may also write a bearish call spread further out of the money to finance the put side since it won't require additional margin.
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    My Picks For The Next 6 Months

    I am going to pick 5 stocks for the 2nd half: gimo, data, yelp, snap, twtr I would put them in equal weight with $10,000. each for a portfolio of $50,000. I do own them all among many other positions. For the purpose of tracking, I would use today's closing price and come back in January 2nd...
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    Are there extra benefits to retail investors with >1m in their Interactive Brokers account?

    If you have an introducing broker in front of IB, you may get a better commission from that broker, especially if you trade options. But the margin rate is the same, so are the other IB rules.
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    Real Time Trades Tracking

    You are only as good as your next trade. No one can steal any system because no system is perfect.
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    The Story of a trader who lost $56.5 million in two weeks

    https://www.sec.gov/litigation/admin/2015/33-9991.pdf
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    WTD: San Francisco Traders with Friends Who Hate Talking to Them

    I am in the City. I trade equity and equity options.
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    My Option Trading Records

    Dig out old files and realized that I actually put in 140k in 2008. During the following three years I withdrew some and deposit some with net total deposit of 110k from 08 till now. If I add 110k to the beginning of 2008 NAV 603k. My 3 year return till now is 20.7% vs s&p 8.8%. If I go back to...
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    My Option Trading Records

    I did add cash at the end of 2008. Forgot how much. I belived it was 100k. My starting balance this year is 756k. On October 31, 2008, my balance was 1.2M. There was less than 100k in early 2009. My whole networth was in this account. What saved me is that I can tolerate the pain. I never lost...
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    My Option Trading Records

    Thank you, John. I like the advice of buying SPX put as a hedge against the portfolio. It is a cheaper insurance. Yes, the first year is very painful. I just didn't believe the financial stocks would collapse to such magnitude. But I am glad that I didn't give up. I hope that what didn't kill me...
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    My Option Trading Records

    The following is my trading records for the past 4 years: 2008 -93%(-630,000) 2009 +215%(226,000) 2010 +95%(367,000) 2011 closed the book on 6/28/11, +23%(186,000) My approach is simple. Build a portfolio of 100 to 60 different companies or ETFS by selling puts. I use IB portfolio...
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