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So?

I would start with screening for stocks that have had large vol moves on the day, then look for option trades in those names. After that you can add more parameters to refine your results.

Read Hull and do every math problem. Keep in mind, the hardest part is going from learning about options theoretically, to implementation. Good luck.

Yes, I use IB. I have played with the Risk Navigator a little bit (I just recently moved my account there). It seems somewhat improved from what it used to be. I like the VaR features. Do you know what prices/quotes they use for greek calculations? Are they real-time? Do they use mid...

You are probably correct that it is overkill for managing a vanilla options book. I have sheets that calculate position and portfolio greeks, as well as VaR and other risk metrics. I am fairly proficient with Excel and VBA, but that's about it. I am mainly just curious to see what's out there...

I wanted to get some opinions about some derivative valuation/risk management software suites. In particular, I want to know if anyone has any experience with FINCAD. In addition, perhaps SuperDerivatives, MBRM, etc. I clear through Interactive Brokers, and I have some excel sheets/models...

Yes, your loss is limited to the debit you paid. If SPY drops significantly before expiration your puts should theoretically increase in value. However, you need to take your theta decay into account. If you hold through expiration, and your puts are ITM, then you have the right, but not the...

I just recently purchased a new trading computer. I spent a lot of time researching most of the companies out there. My advice: Buy from Puget Systems (I am not employed by them, nor do I receive any compensation from a referral). They have all the latest technology, and the customer service...

You will make money if price decreases and/or volatility goes up. But that option will decay as time passes, albeit very little. If SPY does hit 85 by then, the world will be a very different place.

First off, you should have sold the opposing otm contract, instead of buying yours, jk. Yeah, just use any pricing model (BSM is fine) and input your parameters, with the days-to-expiration being the variable. I would start by using the prevailing vol as your input, then you can adjust it...

I was more referring to the use of technical analysis as the basis for finding trades, trades with edge. The price of an option is influenced by more than just the underlying price (volatility, time, etc.), as opposed to a stock or future. While charts/TA may help you pick direction for a...

An ATM straddle (delta neutral) has the highest exposure to impl vol (look at the vegas). Sure, trade VIX futures to get vol exposure. VXX is supposed to replicate the front month futures, but it has certain implications (read: don't buy it for a long hold).

In my opinion, technical analysis/charting has few benefits to options trading, unless you have some sort of directional edge. Before you start structuring trades, read "Options, Futures, and other Derivatives" by John Hull, and do all the math problems. I would also suggest Euan...

There is no edge in trading this type of strategy, although many people think there is. Rolling an iron condor, or any type of option trade, is not a strategy. Take a position on either price or vol.

With DDE you must hard-code any input in the formula's syntax, you cannot reference a cell. Meaning if I wish to pull an item into my spreadsheet, the input must be fixed. For example, if I want to quote the last traded price of AAPL, the function must reference that ticker specifically. Now...

Perhaps DDE links are faster. If one absolutely needs their data to update that much faster, then use DDE. In my case, and probably most others, the slightly quicker refresh rate is most likely inconsequential. As I am using the data to analyze potential trades. I prefer the ability to...

+1 DDE is clunky and obsolete. ActiveX is the way to go. As you stated, IB's API supports this connection.

That's the problem with DDE. You can't have cells change dynamically without refreshing the links. When I was with TOS I had a some VBA code which I put into two buttons that activated/deactivated the dde links for modification. I currently use the LiveVol Excel product, which uses RTD links...

Instead of trying to quote spreads on hundreds of tickers, just input a single ticker at a time, and having resting formulas that will add/subtract prices to form various spreads. I do not know the syntax that IB uses to quote options (symbols) for DDE/ActiveX. But once you know the...

Doesn't appear to offer anything over what your front-end/broker/etc. would have, or what one can build in a simple spreadsheet. Also, it doesn't seem to include data for individual equities. But if you trade those products, then maybe it could be of some value. I would just opt for a data...