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300 contracts is a lot of contracts! However, depending on what you are trying to do, large volumes at a good price can be a bit tricky. Have your broker call for a price if you want that many contracts. They'll give you a quote which you can either accept or decline. I do find that...

Here's why I trade the SPX (usually) and not the SPY. 1) The SPX is 10X bigger. This means trading a far smaller amount of options. Commissions are on a per option basis most of the time, usually with a minimum amount, but once you start trading 50 or more SPY, you should think seriously...

Beltway boy, that's one of the big problems with the good old USA--they could care less about the rest of the world, and most of them don't know much about the rest of the world either. They just assume they are better even when they're clearly not. I live in Calgary, and the quality of...

Spin, you're spoiling the fun! I know the answer, and you know the answer, but I was hoping the original poster (OP) would respond. Anyway..... To elaborate on what you said, the more ITM a call is, the higher the delta, and delta is a way of calculating how much the call will move...

Welcome to the forum--- Pretty straightforward question. Answer-- buy to open.... The abbreviation for this is BTO which you will see on this forum fairly often. Now, here's my question, also fairly basic, but important so that you can demonstrate necessary understanding: what is the...

def, can you post a link to these 606 reports so I can look at a bunch of these brokers? I'd be curious to have a close look at them and compare across a few brokers.

droid, The SPX is really good for those with more capital. Usually in real life you can split the bid-ask minus 5-10 cents for a vertical spread. For those starting out, the SPY is much smaller and the bid ask spreads are fairly small. Start with the SPY, and when you are doing 20...

I have traded iron condors and other multilegged creatures for quite a while now, so I'll comment on a few items: 1) There is considerable debate about whether it should be called "buying" or "selling". The reason, of course, is that you buy a call and sell another call at a lower strike...

As usual, Spin and Martinghoul are right. In the last few months, as I have extricated myself from the May 6 debacle, I have held a noticeable number of options right to expiry and collected on them ( or in a few cases paid on them) as they were ITM. The logic behind max pain makes sense...

ForexForex-- I even like FLEXIBLE or uncertain expiry times. Say I sell you a 1000 Put on the SPX that expires after I do!! Give me a quote... Oh sorry, Warren Buffett beat me to that idea:p

Hey Beating the S&P (and I hope you are!) Sounds like we might wind up trading with each other! I haven't traded the weeklies yet, but if I do I'll probably spread the DEC5 series to start with. They're kind of convenient for tax purposes. Who knows, you might be on the other side...

JJacks, I really enjoyed your post! The one idea that does make sense is the listing of options for each month in the next 6 months (although 3 consecutive months for all options would be a good start). Super LEAPS are a nice idea in theory, but driving a train through the spreads...

Broker Margin calculation is not really much of a problem. They all have pretty sophisticated software. I use TOS and they do a good job of calculating margin. They match sides on the IC's for you and have a little box that explains where you are with margin. The will set up iron butterflies...

Daniel, you're getting good advice from the above posters, many of whom have seen some tough days and have plenty of experience. I have traded through the 2008 time period, and been at it a while myself, so I've also seen some tough periods. Here's my take: 1) Contingent orders for...

In Calgary, all you have to do to keep your laptop cool is open the window!! It'll be fine in no time. Of course, YOU may need to wear a heavy coat.:)

Point taken, Mav, At least with ATM Straddles, you are fairly well paid for the risk! That's one of the big drawbacks of IC's. I've at least tried to get paid for a move into some risky territory! Weeklies do offer that opportunity for a reasonable price. With the gamma comment, I...

Trefoil, your observations about IV are interesting, but I must admit that the IV effects are fairly complex with this kind of system. As you can easily see, there are a least 6 options involved-- 3 on each side and often 8 if the "inside options" are spreads, too (frankly, it often leads to...

Thanks for your quick response. My first post talked about 1170 calls and 1195/1200 call credit spreads. The 1195/1200 spreads were the lowest level of credit spreads remaining, and fortunately the smallest group. I actually had a decent number of 1170 calls in action which expired solidly...

Trefoil, Your comment about high gamma made me chuckle, but I think your approach is the correct one. I have been playing current month partially against next month using the same strategy-- net credits overall, but some "protection" in the current month. It definitely helps a lot if the...

Hey Mav, I've always enjoyed your posts, especially the provocative discussion you started with the thread-- The Perfect Option Position I'm looking at trading a few SPX weeklies to supplement my monthly activity, but haven't done so yet. The volume is improving somewhat, but it is still...