Search results

Hi Win... I appreciate the info that you've taken the time to share. And I'm sure many others are appreciative as well. Nonetheless, where else can one find the leverage that you get from a prop firm? I can trade with my own money, but that's with a retail broker. Trading with IB typically...

Why not gamma scalp with otm strangles? Although the bid/ask spread for the options and the underlying is quite expensive, the extreme moves and the price decay works in favor of a long strangle with gamma scalps. The big risk with this approach is Implied Volatility... However, as was...

I like your idea about the ratio wings far otm; the issue with that is this... they are good for extreme calamities (i.e. the crash of 1987), but otherwise they wouldn't help in most market swings, such as a 300 pt move in the market (dow). Nonetheless, I'll model it to see how well it would...

Most folks, in this forum and on various web sites, warn against short straddles/strangles. It's obvious why their advise is "Don't Do It". Many would recommend long wings to protect against UNLIMITED losses. In effect, this is the iron condor. They would also typically suggest that the...

Blackjack, your point is virtually aligned with Nassim Taleb in his book, Fooled by Randomness. This is a man with a Phd in mathematical finance and worked several years as a pit trader. Nonetheless, he states that for the most part, it's all "luck"... skill can help you to earning excellent...

Establishing this would cost about $4.5k per long & short contract on the e-mini. B/E would be a nine point move. The weekly range is typically between 30 - 50 pts. Assuming it would take two weeks to caputure a 40 pt move, it appears that this would yield at least 15% per month return on...

I'm considering a prop firm because of leverage. Even if I were to trade futures & futures options, I would still get more leverage with a prop firm. The prop firm I considering is willing to offer 3:1 leverage on options, up to 50:1 leverage on stocks, hold positions overnight if they are...

A series 7 will be needed for most prop firms... btw, what typ of strategy do you trade? It seems to be s delta neutral gamma scalping type strategy. Is that correct? Walt

Excellent suggestion by PocketChange... Averaging down should NOT be done without hedging. The best way to hedge is with a long option position. I would use a delta neutral positioning. The strike price, whether atm or otm, will depend on the IV and my perceived direction of IV in the...

Mark, Considering your conservatve risk mgmt approach, what's your annual return on assets, and what percentage of your account do you risk on a monthly basis, if you don't mind me asking? Thanks, Walt

I would simply open up with a 1-3-2 butterfly+credit spread, once the credit spread is profitable, then close it out, which converts it into a 1-2-1 fly having a net credit instead of a net debit for the transaction, with the hope of even more gains if the market settles at the "sweet spot"...

Hi John, Thanks for the thought provoking comments. Indeed, I did execute a Broken Wing Butterfly, call & put, on RUT... The more I test variations on the butterfly strategy, the more intrigued I become. I like the notion of a credit position in the event that the price Does Not go to the...

Here's the rub, the real beauty of such a strategy... initiate a call combo and a put combo... if the stock at expiry fall anywhere between the breakeven point for the put and call combos, you're o.k. You still have the potential of a major win if the price of the stock is at the short stike...

Butterflys are typically a low risk/low probability trade, having a small debit when established. However, why not create a more worthwhile tradeoff? If one were to implement a mixture other than 1-2-1, such as 1-3-2, then you can create a net credit fly... Some may consder this to be a fly...

Congrats Mark... you seem to be a genuine guy who's really interested in helping a lot of traders navigate the options game... Kudos to you for that... Walt

The B/A spread is tight on some options, such as the SPYs; however, point taken, as most volatile options will have a wide b/a spread. Perhaps a good "middle ground compromise" is both... In other words, enter a traditional straddle (call & put at the same strike price). After the 1st move...

Is it really better to gamma scalp with options as opposed to using the underlying stock for gamma scalping. The commission cost and the bid/ask spread would favor using the stock instead of an option to lock-in profits as a delta neutral play... Walt

My positions are tighter than John Green's recommendation; although I believe his structure is safer. Put: +1 580 -2 570 +1 550 Call: +1 650 -2 660 +1 680 My probability calc for at least a small profit was about 80%

I'm currently trying it out with the the Russell, as it's an European Style Index...

What type of strategies are yielding such results (long gamma scalping, short gamma scalping, broken wing butterflys, ??) Btw... what type of leverage does VTrader offer for swing positions? Is it the 15% overnight haircut? Walt