Search results

Greatly appreciate your prompt attention. Keep up the good work.

Tried the previous version, and I am able to create and execute spreads like before. Therefore, must be a bug in the newest version. Again, will report when I hear back from IB.

Got an email a while back, from a CME/GLOBEX rep stating that GLOBEX used to recognize just about any spread imaginable. Since 90% of those exotic types of spreads are hardly used, GLOBEX eliminated all but the most common/popular. I have traded, in the past, short straddles, bull put spreads...

The strangest thing happened today--I wasn't able to create a vertical spread or any other recognized spread type. The following procedure has been done by me for a year without any problem: I right-click on a blank line in TWS and click "generic combo." I enter the underlying "ES" and the...

I agree with Mark--I enter my iron condors all legs at once. I exit differently, though. I may exit by buying back the short call/put and selling the long call/put. I may just exit the shorts. Many times the long calls are "cabineted" rather quickly, so sometimes it is tough to get a buyer...

I know this--my question is one of logistics. Anyone?

I attempted to execute a buy-write using futures (ES) and futures options on IB/Globex. I received a notice stating that the buy-write was not recognized. Is there a way, using the generic combo feature, to create this buy-write? I tried using the generic as well as the single tab. I think I...

I attempted to execute a buy-write using futures (ES) and futures options on IB/Globex. I received a notice stating that the buy-write was not recognized. Is there a way, using the generic combo feature, to create this buy-write? I tried using the generic as well as the single tab. I think I...

I usually get out of my spreads the Monday before expiration. The last two periods (April and May), I allowed the options to expire. I keep a close eye on the margin requirements that week. They tend to shoot up a great deal the week of expiration, especially because of the bear call spreads...

I think everyone has touched on great points. Selecting strategy appropriate to the environment and managing it is the "edge." Let's suppose you believe the S&P 500 E-mini will go down a hundred points. Now the key is to select and manage your strategy. One, you would like to pick the...

To go long puts or calls, you need a rapid, sizable move to be profitable. If you are unsure of the direction of the move, simply wait until the trend becomes clearer; then commit to one direction. Even in this instance, if the move is not quick and sizable, you will still lose money even...

I guess my use of the word "adjustments" wasn't clear. Maybe I should have used the word "moves." In my previous posts, I mentioned four ways to "adjust." I consider exiting a losing trade an "adjustment." I consider exiting any losing/winning trade and entering a new trade as an adjustment...

Seems some of us agree that a particular adjustment (trying to repair a losing trade) is the worst option. If I understand correctly, Mark has been successful repairing losing trades. Someone mentioned low premiums when referring to iron condors. I do agree with this--mostly because of the...

Time for a new thread. In my experience, adjustments rarely worked. If i simply exited the losing trade and admitted that my position was wrong, I would have saved a bundle. Now, I see four ways to "adjust"--trying to fix a bad trade (worst option), getting out of a losing trade, adding...

Suppose I have a $40,000.00 portfolio of stocks whose beta is about the same as the S&P 500 (beta of 1). Suppose the ES (s&p emini futures are trading at 800 and you expect the amrket to continue downward. In my experience, the best way to hedge this is using the s&p e-mini futures. this...

It is easier to invest via IC's (look for your absolute returns) than it is to make a living trading them. I have a certain goal each month to obtain for income purposes. It is easy to go 2SD OTM on the call and the put side, enter a ton of these IC's, and just sit tight. If this trade works...