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This is an excellent and simple explanation of a long call option. Actually, a rain check is a long call without any expiration period..so there is no time decay. You can even sell this raincheck for profit. To hedge it, you can sell the product--if you own it. Strategies are complex if you...

I ACTUALLY SOLD BEAR CALLS ON THE WAY DOWN TO 665 ON THE ES. IT DID GET A PROFIT ON THREE OF THEM. IT IS THE LAST FIVE THAT ARE ARE KILLING ME. BTW, THE AVERAGE STRIKE ON THE CALLS WAS 770--OVER 100 POINTS FROM THE LOW. STILL, I DIVERGED FROM MY PHILOSOPHY. I SIMPLY SHOULD HAVE SAT STILL.

THIS IS A GREAT QUESTION. FUNNY THING. MY SHORT OPTIONS ARE SO FAR OTM THAT THE UNDERLYING HASN'T TOUCHED THEM. I ALSO SUBSCRIBE TO THE MEAN REVERSION THEORY--TO REPEAT THE MARKET BOUNCES AROUND. EVEN IF THE UNDERLYING DID TOUCH, I WOULD HOLD OUT FOR A TIME. SO FAR, I HAVE WITNESSED BOUNCE...

IT VARIES, DEPENDING ON THE VOLATILITY AT THE TIME. WITH ALL DUE RESPECT, YOU NEED TO DEVELOP YOUR WING SPAN (AND BODY WIDTH) ACCORDING TO YOUR OWN COMFORT ZONE. THE LONG OPTIONS ARE YOUR ULTIMATE INSURANCE LEGS. YOUR SHORT OPTION PLACEMENT ALSO DEPENDS ON YOUR COMFORT ZONE. THERE IS NO SET...

I THINK THE BEST WAY TO LEARN IS TO READ THIS FORUM. IT IS AN EXCELLENT AND CURRENT SOURCE OF INFORMATION. ALSO GOOGLE IRON CONDOR AND READ EVERYTHING YOU GET YOUR HANDS ON. UNDERSTAND THE CONCEPT..TRADING IS NOT BLACK AND WHITE AS YOU HAVE READ. MOST OF US HAVE DEVELOPED A BASIC SYSTEM, BUT...

Wanted to express some thoughts on the stupidest thing I have ever done in my trading career. This week, I reestablished my IC by replacing most of the bear call spreads with new ones. This move totally goes against everything the IC stands for. 1. By reestablishing the IC, I actually take...

Given the original IC--my bull spreads were pretty deep OTM when the bear spreads virtually became worthless. As volatility increases, the calls quickly lose value, even with relatively small moves. I subscribe to the "mean reversion theory," where a bounce upward or downward is highly...

I will disclose my thoughts on this discussion Saturday. I do like the discussion thus far, but I will know more come Saturday.

Surprisingly, I put in a limit sell of .05 on two cabineted call options today and someone actually bought them. guess it helps when the market rises 35 points.

I trade iron condors on the ES (S&P emini futures). I never hold these to expiration--in order to avoid a gamma blow-up. Interestingly, I had a first for the month of March. I placed my IC's the week of February expiration. Within a week and a half, all of the bear call spreads were worth...

LOL--I also have a funny story re FDA drug approval. I forgot the name of the company, but it was looking for FDA approval of a prostate cancer drug. The announcement was scheduled for a Friday. So on Tuesday, I sold OTM puts. On Friday, the FDA denied the application--after hours. Of...

With all due respect, you should have asked the question before placing the trade. At this point, I probably wouldn't do anything. Wait for your "pop"--if it comes and get out of the calls immediately. Your downside is limited anyway. If the 'pop" doesn't happen, then immediately sell your...

I always wondered about cabinet trades and pricing. I trade puts and calls on the s&p emini. When you have a deep OTM option, you will notice that there are no bids. The minimum tick for this options is .05 (multiplier is 50). I have attempted to sell these options by stepping in front of...

I think I understand your question. I do not normally buy puts or calls outright. My best advice is to buy ATM or slightly ITM puts or calls and buy them three months out. Suppose XYZ is trading at 30, and you expect this stock to take a dive. I would buy June 30 put. You have to set...

Thanks for the explanation. I find this to be a valuable tool, especially when shorting options. Much easier than pencil and paper.

My $.02. If you have the funds, open an IB account and paper rade for a couple of months. You can set up bear put spreads and bear call spreads of equal value and even the same distance from the underlying--and watch it. A couple observations: real-time is different than theory. MacMillan...

When I used to trade covered calls on the ES (s&p 500 eminis), I would cover my downside by buying OTM puts. Then, come the morning (usually after 9:30AM when the Futures options are more liquid), I would close out the puts either at a profit or break-even. You can repeat this nightly and...

Does anyone know how to use this feature? I am looking for a way to view my "net" Greeks on my options portfolio. I believe I may have found the procedure, but I wanted to double-check. In addition, I am not sure how each column would be expressed in decimel form--only whole numbers are given...

How do you know what the underlying will do after the anticipated move? How do you know how big the move will be? Also, getting out of the call will be difficult for the spread will not permit you the full profit. As an example: suppose you buy an ATM 90 call for APPL at 1.00. It moves...

Reinstating the Uptick rule will not stop "forced" selling by institutions, mutual funds and hedge funds. It just doesn't stop any 'real' selling. It definitely makes short selling tougher. As someone mentioned before, there are a couple of options (forgive the pun). One is to buy ATM or...