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Bull put spread + a long underlying with a protective put =bull put spread + synthetic call. As mentioned above, in terms of delta, a bullish (positive) stance.

In the past, when I owned stocks, I would purchase high-quality companies with a decent dividend. Then I would sell LEAPS two strikes OTM (nearest strike divisable by 5). The premium received is like extra "dividend." If the stock is called away, I make a year's dividend and premium plus a...

If I understand you correctly, a long straddle makes sense (it is short theta and long/short from a directional standpoint). To avoid rapid time decay, go out 60-90 days until expiration. Couple ways to manage this: gamma scalp until about 30 days before expiration or close out once a big...

All investment instruments can be speculative. You can research and pick the best companies and still be wrong (see Nov 2007 to March 2009). Options can be used as speculative vehicles or as hedging vehicles or a combination of both. You need to read and read and read to understand all the...

Not sure what youmean by barrier.

I can save you a ton of money. Describe your system here. I am certain some of us have traded it. I have been trading ES futures and futures options for six years.

Loved their customer service, but their platform for trading globex emini 500 Futures options was prehistoric. It just couldn't be done. Otherwise I was pleased.

Basically a synthetic ratio long strangle. I assume you placed the short sale and the long call purchase at the same time. Total cost of position (not including commish) is $510.00. Break-even points: Upside 147.35; downside: 130.00. Obviously need a bigger move downward to break even...

I'm a options guy. Through the years, I have found volatility spikes coincide with down markets. When I traded stocks over 10 years ago, I typically collared the portfolio as best I could. I did not short at all. I used options--slightly OTM long puts coupled with a little further OTM short...

I'm not real crazy with selling that 44 call option. What you attempted was gamma scalping, but shortchanged yourself. I would have sold the underlying at 44 to lock in. You have no idea where the market will go, so don't beat yourself up. If the underlying drops back to 39, then buy it...

This is the best lottery option strategy. To really double your fun, make it a long strangle and hope the market touches both of the options before cashing out.

They are important if you are interested in turning a potentially losing trade into a winner or even reduce your intended loss.

I derive all of my income from trading. My main goal is preservation of capital with a return that pays my bills.

I'll take a stab at it. Buy a 100 put/call straddle with expirations 60-90 days away. This pretty much eliminates the time decay. Now, I would do the following: If the underlying, touches 105, then sell the underlying. You have locked in your profit on that side. If the underlying returns...

Been there and done that. You are better off putting your money into high quality, high div stocks--buying every time they dip. When you have accumulated 100 sh, then sell one LEAP and collect more income. This is basically how Buffet started. Put options are a poor, long term...

Options are four-dimensional--deltas are influenced by volatility, time and gamma. That said, one can reverse gamma scalp using short straddles by maintaining a delta neutral to delta bias (in the direction of the trend). I have been all over this, and let's face it, directionality cannot be...

In my experience, sitting tight is not an option. You can actually avoid that max paper loss by taking some warranted action. Yes, iron condors and butterflies rely on reversion theory--that the market always rebounds back to its starting placing before it advances or declines. Well, if that...

Lots of good decision about risk/reward recently. One question I always ask myself before placing option positions: What if the market is down 50 points overnight? What if the market is up 50 points overnight? Am I in position to benefit from either of these moves? Am I in position to...

I have to disagree. Many professional traders, per Larry McMillan, use IB's. Short and long straddle positions are really excellent strategies, for you do not care about direction (for long straddles, I actually do care about the size of the movement than the direction). By staying delta...

With a 100k account, I was basically risking 10% of the account equity; in this case 10k. I only put on enough IC's so that in the worst case scenario, I can only lose 10K. Here's the problems I encounter with IC's: 1) where to put my wings. I put the short legs at some fraction of SD...