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I, too, am trading calendars in SPY and have been considering making the jump to SPX for the exact same reasons you mention. I took a tour of the CBOE floor last week and met with some people there. I was asking around if its possible for the public to get as good a fill in the SPX options as...

I have no hard evidence to support my claim, but might it be that the true DAYtrading masters of the past were usually pit traders? Those in the Chicago pits and on the NYSE floor? These guys (and a smattering of women) were mostly flat at the end of the day, counting their winnings. This...

Daytrader2010... If we were to have another 9/11 tomorrow...there's a very real possibility I could lose 50% of my equity. I am very aware of this. It should be reiterated (was mentioned at the very beginning) that this is an AGGRESSIVE portfolio. Definitely not for the squeamish to try at...

A real-life example. The current trade I have open in this account is a $SPY Mar/Feb 114 call calendar spread initiated on Jan 6 at $1.00 As you can see in this attachment, my breakevens are 110.64 on the downside and 117.35 on the upside (these can change with changes in volatility). If...

I have been so far (crossing my fingers). A little clarification: I'm not trying to limit my losses to 10%, nor do I use 10% as the trigger to exit. The only trigger I use is: whether or not the underlying is beyond my expiration breakevens. Because, at this point, I am no longer earning...

Glad you find this interesting. 1) The whole point (for me) of using calendar spreads is that I cannot predict which direction the market will be going. I proved to myself a long time ago that I have no clue. A coin-flipper would do better than me. The best indicator of where the market will...

All I can say is: "Wow".

Man, striving for 10% gains in calendar spreads really is tough around the holidays amid low activity and steadily dropping volatility. But, thankfully, exited our last January position today for our 10% profit target. The SPY Feb/Jan 113 call spread we entered on 1/4 @ 1.57 was closed today...

John - The SPY Mar/Feb 114 Call spread was entered on Jan 6 @ 1.00. What this means is: I bought the Mar 114 call long and sold the Feb 114 call short for a net debit of 1.00 (plus commissions). This was entered as one trade (I didn't enter each leg separately). At the time I entered this...

With only 9 days left until January expiration, I shifted my attention to Feb options. Today, I put available cash into a $SPY Mar/Feb 114 Call spread @ 1.00 (total cost = $102.52 after commissions). This still leaves $56.56 remaining in free cash which isn't ideal, but we'll deal with it. I...

Well, I am a voracious reader of anything related to (or loosely related to) trading. I've probably read all the major books that just about every trading professional would recommend. And it certainly won't be shocking to anyone here to state that my favorite trading book of all time which I've...

The S&P continues to make new headway on its amazing rally since the March 2009 low. With 10 days until January expiration and SPY trading just outside the profit zone for the Feb/Jan 111 call spread, it was time to close it and take the small loss today. We opened this spread on Dec 10 @...

With the S&P making new rally highs to begin the new year, I initiated a $SPY Feb/Jan 113 call spread today at 1.57, for a total cost of $159.52 after commissions. There are only 11 days remaining until January options expiration, so I don't expect this position to be held very long before it...

As long as you manage your risk and trade with money you can afford to lose, then just relax and trade your plan. If $500 is what you're starting with and you can afford to lose it - go with it. I should've mentioned earlier to the guy who asked me "why not $500 to $5 million?".... I chose...

Who says I'm not doing that with the rest of my trading? ;)

I like calendar spreads because I've learned through much trial-and-error that I'm no better than a coin flipper in deciding (predicting) which direction the market is headed next. With a calendar spread the market can go stay flat, go up a little, or go down a little, and I'm ok. If it goes up...

Yes, $2 million for 10 years of work in the markets does seem excessive (time-wise)...but consider, I'm starting this challenge with $200 and don't plan to add any cash. My main trading account is better funded. And I employ similar strategies there. So hopefully, if all continues to go...

Ha! I enjoyed your response. Even if you're mocking me... I'm hoping to be able to achieve my goal inside a decade. With a little luck, and a lot of perseverance...I'll have a shot. I certainly don't expect the pace of returns to maintain their current level. We've had some VERY...

Well, if the last quarter of 2009 is any indication...2010 should be a very good year. The volatility suck that has been pulling premium out of my positions has made recent trades longer holds than usual. However, thanks to the sell-off going into the close today, I was able to exit the $SPY...

I wouldn't be too worried about most of the major players out there. But I wouldn't touch a retail FOREX trading firm with a 10-foot pole. These are the 21st Century Bucketshops.