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If you had the balls to short SPY or SPX straddles in the midst of that stampede, you're a better man than I.

I attribute the discrepancy to the fact that the VIX futures traders thought the VIX cash spike to 90 was a very temporary event that would not last until expiration. They were so sure that the rise to 90 was temporary, and so anxious to short it up there, that they were even willing to short...

As simple as they sound, these are pretty good suggestions. Generally speaking, the simpler the better. At some point I'll do an ultra-simple intro to futures and options.

Yep, I'm currently working on greeks videos even as we speak. But I'm curious about your suggestion of a video about open interest. What is it about open interest that you find people are confused about?

Yes, absolutely. I want to do a bunch of more fundamental videos first to establish a solid foundation, then I'll get into the more sophisticated stuff.

In a post today, Bill Luby at http://vixandmore.blogspot.com/ confirmed my suspicion that the SEC/CFTC regulatory split is responsible for the brokerage companies erroneously using the cash VIX instead of the futures as the underlying for the options. Forget mental gymnastics to correct for...

I just posted a new video on VIX futures and options at http://www.masteroptions.com

LOL - Great answer.

What is the risk of selling hurricane insurance? Maybe, a hurricane?

I agree. A good way to approach learning is to read a little Natenberg, then do example after example on an analyzer or simulator until you see with your own eyes how and why it works that way in real life, then read a little more, etc.

Think or Swim, the "Think Back" feature.

I just posted an educational option video on my site which answers exactly that question. www.masteroptions.com and scroll down to the video. The video lays down the foundation, then gives an example exactly like yours right at the end and explains why it happened.

Usually the weekend's time decay gets taken out before the weekend. If you suddenly see IV drop on a Friday, that's probably really the weekend's time decay being discounted. "Synthetic time" as somebody here called it. There's a play a friend of mine and I used to do when we were in T-bond...

The last example in the video - ARNA puts at 443% implied volatility - is a good example of ridiculously overvalued options that can be sold with a very high probability of success. If you had sold them you would have made money - even though ARNA itself dropped 28%. This is a good example of...

How do you get rid of your straddles? You can sell them at any time. If you don't, they'll eventually expire. Sure time decay will eat into your profits. That's the unavoidable nature of being long options (also known as long premium, long volatility, long gammas, etc.). Scalping gammas...

Yes, absolutely. Very nice way to scalp out of your position. The details of the best way to go about this depend on the personality of the contract you're dealing with. Let's take stock index options. In that case, IV will reliably go up when the index goes down, and down when the index...

Going through the logs of the options video I posted, I noticed that after the US, more visitors came from France than any other country. I used to teach options courses in French at the Matif in Paris, before it was swallowed up by Euronext. So I could do educational options videos in...

Very good question. I guess the intended audience is anyone who knows what puts and calls are. To move to the next level, an option trader absolutely needs to master the concepts in the video. What's really hard for me is to have a sense of what info is difficult to absorb, and what is...

Yup. But beating back temptation is THE essential ingredient to successful trading. That's why paper trading success is so meaningless. I mean, there's nothing wrong with paper trading as a way to practice or try out a system. But never forget that 90% of the game is missing.

This is a great point and failing to heed it is one of the most common reasons for loss. It's tempting once you've made a profit to let your guard down, lower your standards, have a little fun with that money, take a chance you wouldn't otherwise have taken. BIG MISTAKE! Much better to...