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Just today, at about 3:50 PM EST, I transmitted a trade, but is was never acknowledged. It stayed "blue" until the 4:15PM close. If it makes a difference, it was to place a bull put spread. This has never happened before--usually turns green instantaneously. Has this happened to anyone else...

I exited my bear call spread (865/970) at 6.8. I made 4.30 on the put side and lost 3.25 on the call side. I made a profit of 1.05 on the IC; sure beats losing money.

I am still holding my 865 short call. We will see next week. Looking at the highs and lows of the week of March expiration and the first post-week: Hi was 830.50; low was 746.25. The action is the same as March--underlying exceeded the high and didn't pull back during the March period. As I...

Using April futures options, I placed the following iron condor with the underlying (ES--multiplier is 50) at 751.50. At that point, I planned to exit the trade the Monday before expiration Friday. The VIX at the time was 43.84. The following credit IC was placed: P610. Received 4.25...

Some comments: 1. the market is forward-looking (about 6-8 months). The news is baked in. People are looking at the positive effects from the numerous bailouts, Treasury programs, Fed Reserve programs, and an international effort. The psychological effect is now people are "chasing" this...

Seems there is a great deal of confusion regarding entering IC's. It is true that when you enter a credit IC, you are buying. Here is why: When I set up a credit IC, the bid/ask are negative numbers. The bid/for example may be -8.00 and the ask may -7.00. Remember, -8.00 is SMALLER than...

There is a fourth option, but you need nerves of steel--and if I just used it in March, I would have done fine. Sit tight! This upward movement really hasn't had a correction. You have a stop loss built into your bear call, so the most you lose is $500.00 per contract. Otherwise, I would...

Just a recurring observation that drives me crazy. I do not like Bear call spreads, especially if I were using them alone or even as a part of IC's. When the market rises, these things really takeoff (high delta/high gamma). I find that the long call is useless in hedging the short call. When...

I would add one more thing. Exit your long put/call the Friday before expiration. Whether it is profitable or not, you will keep some time value. In other words, suppose your option is 10 points ITM. You may be able to sell this option for 12 (using limit orders and keeping an eye on the...

I always keep an eye on the VIX index (not the futures). It is one of the most important dimensions of option trading. As far as predicting the future, forget it. The VIX has trended down many times, and in one day, wipes out that nice trend. I like to look at relative levels. Obviously...

Good explanations of collars. Now try to execute this "trade" in the real market. My guess, you may get it with a debit instead of a breakeven. The put will be more expensive than the call, plus you have to deal with the wide spreads. In any event, take a look at your risk and reward. Let's...

Ask yourself this: Why do you want to trade options? You mentioned that you trade FX and Futures (but not the specific contracts). Personally, I have always used options in some strategy. Initially, I did lots of covered calls. Then I traded some covered puts, then naked puts, then bull put...

You guys are missing my point with the March IC. As I have shown, the action in March was ideal for an IC. It is great to be able to close out the bear call spread and the bull put spread and keep 90% of the premium received initially. In other words, you want extreme moves to the downside...

You are correct. It was close. I use it as a guide, for my statement doesn't get read until Monday, and I like to close out the expiring month over the week, and get ready for the next period.

In the past, when I did buy puts and calls on speculation, I bought ATM or slightly ITM and bought them three months out. Suppose AAPL is coming out with some earth-shattering positive news. So, I buy the June ATM or slightly ITM call. Once the underlying and the call pop, then sell the call...

Bumping this so others can benefits from my mistakes.

If you put up the ESH9 on the TWS, it will show the SOQ. For instance, for March09, the SOQ was 788.00. Your March C785 call is ITM by three points. $150.00 (no commish) will be deducted from your cash balance immediately (or within an hour or so), and your margin for that trade will be...

Good theoretical problem. If the scenario is your conviction, I would do an Iron Condor: P122/P132 C154/C164. Personally, I would have entered this IC one to two weeks earlier to get more premium, and my body would be wider and wings further OTM. Lastly, I would exit this IC on the Monday...

The folks here are generally correct. First, no broker will allow you to maintain a naked option without adequate margin--which, BTW, should be enough to be short GOOG come Monday. Also, the folks are right in that you should have closed out this trade before the close on Friday. Now, the best...

Just wanted to express how the end-game occurred. First, I managed to turn a profitable $2,700.00 IC into a $238.00 loss. The bull put spreads were allowed to expire since they were DOTM. As you may recall, I placed bear calls spreads (8) to replace the closed out-ones (for a profit). I did...