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I suspect there are a healthy number but some options writers around here are very aggressive and shoot down anyone hinting that they go long on options so they keep a low profile... (I have no preference for myself, I go as I see the market...)

In practice if you were assigned you would end up long stock on the TSX and short stock of the US side. Legally it poses no problem, but you need to check with IB customer support to check how they handle/settle a case like this. I know that for the online broker I used to work for, they would...

this market seems to have started a down-trend. We are past due for a little bit of a correction. When that happens I like to go on a bunch of reverse conversions... My targets yesterday: INTC, MSFT, SLV

It really depends what you are looking for... Right now you are looking at a 60% prob of a 200% payoff. That is not the strategy I use but in theory -assuming your prob is correct- you would come out on top if you repeat that trade over and over... To answer your basic question, yes one can...

I used to be an option broker for a large bank's discount broker and I can tell you that I didn't know half of what I know now (which is still not that much in my opinion). Even then though, there were no client calls that I considered challenging... I guess the level of service we get -that...

Well i'm not an etrade client but does someone knows what impact the BNS buyout had on it? That should give an indication. One thing is for certain, generally less competition is not in client's favor...

I realize they are cheaper, still that shouldn't be a problem as I pay hundreds of dollars a week in comm to my thief major bank online broker :S

Unless I understand wrong, TOS commissions seem considerably higher for options compared to IB... Am I right?

In that case Keops, would you say IB or TOS is better?

Well from the brokers I contacted, Anything that has 2 legs or more would be considered complex. These morons can't even offer that apparently

Do you guys know any broker that allows complex orders for options on the web? Also, as you guys may know, us Canucks are getting murdered on commissions on options. Any broker offers acceptable prices? (comparable to the U.S) Thanks

I think that is a very dangerous assumption. If you go out writing options left and right thinking you are playing against average joe, well at some point you will get third degree burns all over. I don't know about you guys but whether I go long or short I always assume the guy against me...

Well then it means that you believe the option priced in such a way that it may be so. Someone might disagree and if no-one does, well the option price will go down until someone does that's as simple as that. I think there could be a price where even you think it might be better to "switch...

I do not find that surprising, like I said earlier, there is always a price that can be reached between intelligent buyers and sellers that will make any hedge impossible. Only a poor pricing will lead to a statistical hedge but again it is not inherent...

That is no argument. Obviously if a trade occurs, the buyer and the seller have different view on market direction. Since neither of them is reading into the future, it is only an estimation. That does not give either of them an inherent hedge. Now you are right, if one has a time machine then...

I disagree, it doesn't matter how many time you are right or wrong, the only thing that matters is the bottom-line. Its a given that a seller will win much more often but small amounts everytime but the buyer on the other hand... I still think there are no inherent hedge, only a poorly...

Yes I think it is possible under certain circonstances. I only trade options (successfully) and I rarely look at the greeks because: 1) Either when I buy or I sell an option, I do it in the full expectation to keep it until maturity so variations in the meantime or not that important. 2) I...

I'm not too sure about whether there is an intrinsic hedge either way. Heck much smarter people than us have spent time on this and the fact that there is no consensus among people here is a testament to that. Obviously no-one can predict in advance what is going to happen to any given stock...