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Here's why it's NOT a shame to dis paid services: Here's something you ought to consider before paying for another service: If they realy knew what they were doing; if they really had a system for selecting trades that were consistently successful; They would NEVER sell that...

He may be one of the guys who gets it, but his writing is full of misinformation. And people who don't understand the basics often have no clue what they are doing. 1) SPX is NOT a tracking stock 2) SPX options are NOT cash settled at the opening price of SPX on the third Friday of each...

Here. my unsolicited take: The argument on CTM vs OTM is not going to end. I'm convinced the evidence is overwhelming that CTM is the better statistical play. But, psychology counts and each trader has to be in a comfort zone to trade successfully. Right now, I am unable to get myself to...

That's just silly. Loving it at 50 cents has absolutely zero to do with one's opinion of the spread when it's $5. It's a separate investment decision to sell more, cover, or do nothing. Mark

I'm, sure it did. But, IMHO, anyone who was not well-hedged and held through the drop, hoping for the best may have come out a winner. But, the lack of discipline will come back top haunt them. I chose not to wait/pray for a miracle. I locked in my reasonably-sized losses and did not risk...

I just saw Max Ansbacher on TV. He is a very poor spokesperson for 'options.' When I write or speak, my goal is to get the average investor interested in options. So many people fear options because too many professionals (brokers and financial writers) consider options to be 'dangerous. '...

Not owning extra puts, it didn't work well at all. Sure call spreads (with extras) are profitable, but big deal. Puts only thing that count here. RUT 900s and 950 cannot be expected to help. High IV lets you sell them for something when closing the position, an that's not all bad. Mark

Hi YIP, That's extremely shortsighted. Anyone who buys debit spreads came out a winner. Also backspreaders and their cousins, the straddle/strangle buyers. And that includes premium sellers who own positive curvature. Perhaps the only strategies you consider worthwhile are money losers...

There is much more to it than that. By closing early, you free up risk capital for new, better positions. Positions that can earn much more than the dime (or quarter) that remains in the first posiiton. And, the new posiiton can be entered just as far OTM as you want to be - no need to be...

Hi, Good question. I would rather own the position I want to own, if I can get an acceptable price, and worry about closing that position another time. I don't want to trade more active options just to help me get a better fill. Not worth it. Besides, to get that better fill, it may...

Would you please send this meassage one more time. His apology made me think he understood the first time around. Perhaps another tap on the noggin would prove useful. Much thanks, Mark

That sounds like your cup of tea, Murray. Certainly hope so. Mark

That means these options have very low volume. No individual investors (the public) trading. "Paper" refers to orders that are printed on paper and carried into the trading pits by runners and handed to floor brokers for execution. No public paper means that if I want to trade these...

True, but some of us (that's me) trade very options with almost zero public paper. Mark

Regarding collars: We all already play them. Selling a put spread is the synthetic equivalent of a collar. Regarding strangles: Risk seems out of line with reward. But, as I am sure you know, selling a strangle and buying a further OTM strangle for protection, is an iron condor. High...

Eric, 1) The first 300 point drop was good for me. My puts were very far OTM and my remaining calls were much CTM. Was considerably ahead. 2) I sold more put spreads during the day 3) The subsequent decline wiped out those gains and I lost a little on the day However, I now have a...

When you sell a debit spread, it is a credit spread. Surely you already knew that. Or are you referring to a diagonal put spread for a debit? Mark

Don't let it bother you. Enter the order at your price. Either they fill you or they don't. And you can always cancel if market moves. Mark

I would think that most folks who trade combos of stocks, options and futures would figure out quickly what the different reporting req's are related to the different instruments (but maybe not since an experienced trader brought up this topic to begin with). I was confused because my...

Question: This may seem silly, but: When I report my trades from Section 1256 Contracts on Form 6781, I assume that I do NOT report those trades on Schedule D. Is that correct? My broker (IB) gave me a completed schedue D, but it includes all trades, including those that should appear on...