Search results

Mark

Covering is best, IMHO. Buying those call spreads, is not 'protection'. It's just another way to close out your long DITM put spread - if you choose the same strike prices. But any strike prices do buy protection. Better luck next time. Mark

One way to 'not get robbed' is to make intelligent trades. I agree that SPX MMs are not worth dealing with and I trade different products. But if trading SPX, why deal with wide markets in $20 options when you can deal with $2 optiosn and narrower markets? If you trade equivalent...

1) It was a statement not a question 2) Your mind is already made up, so no answer satisfies you. 3) I already answered in my previous reply. The bottom line is that when the markets are moving rapidly, the MMs do not stand around and study the quotes, looking for two lots. They are...

Had you understood options better, you would have looked at the call spreads instead of finding a way to fix your predicament two lots at a time. The call spreads were NOT $3 -$4 wide. They were 'reasonable' under the circumstances. And you never know if you had entered a lowball bid for...

It works on expiration day and it works when the markets are busy because - believe it or not - you are not the only person trading these options. Other individual investors see those two lots near the midpoints and are eager to take those offers. In addition some customers send market orders...

IMHO, it's not the MMs that are the problem. It's the exchange that allows markets to be that wide. In my 20+ years as a CBOE market maker, we never (never) made crappy markets like that in my pit. The problem is that you were trading expensive ITM puts. the best way out of the 1400/1385...

1) No. you could not have a 25 point credit because no one in his right mind would ever pay that much. You could have attempted to sell and determine if you were satisfied with the price available. Alternative: Buy 10 Aug 1435 calls, or 10 1435/1460 call spreads. Either would have been very...

I am virtually 100% invested in RUT. mark

Hello all, I'm interested in buying my first notebook computer. I want it just for my trading, so it must be a fast machine. Any suggestions: Vista or Windows XP? I see no need for a DVD drive. Is that a mistake? Minimum hard drive capacity? What are some 'must have' features...

Forget the MMs. Your goal is to make money. Period. The bid/ask spread is part of the cost to play the game. Mark

This is a constant dilemma for premium sellers. It's never easy to pay cash for something you feel is essentially worthless, but the bottom line is that we have seen over and over again that you just never know. I believe it is far better to close every time - and I don't usually wait until...

The more arrows in your quivver, the better. Just choose them wisely. Mark

Hello Arizona. I'm still here. I do not believe there is a single 'best' answer to your question concerning diagonal spreads. When doing diagonal spreads, I STRONGLY prefer that there be only one month between the long and short. Why? 1) I don't want to pay extra dollars for those...

Helo RE, You can do this with CALL options. When you write covered call options, you are, in effect, renting out your stock. You sell out of the money options. Then, if the stock rises, you sell at the higher (strike) price and collect your profit. If it does not rise, you keep the...

Interactive Brokers is going public. Anyone going to be interested in these shares? Mark

It's not up to the broker. Naked shorts (stock or calls) are not allowed in an IRA. SEC rule. Some brokers allow cash secured naked puts, others don't. But no leeway where calls are concerned. Mark

You are very wrong. A delay of 10 minutes is probably too long to get the trade busted. Time is of the essence. No market maker is going to bust a trade when you ask hours later. Mark

IMHO, our poster should have requested that IB bust his sale, because that sale was based on the erroneous fill. It's not IB's fault that the customer did not do that. But if IB had requested that the trade be busted (per the customr's request) and if the exchange refused to bust it, that...