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Like the OP, I day trade a pool of stocks very frequently (pairs trading where one side usually incurs a loss) and I'm having trouble with details of the wash sale rule. I understand that although mark-to-market would avoid this, it's too late to file the request for this year. I could...

For a reverse calendar to work, you need some combination of move away from from the strike and IV contraction. Without one, you need more of the other to become profitable. If IV expands, you got trouble.

When they the reverse split occurred, the contract adjustment resulted in 14 point something shares being required for delivery (14.??). The $7.99 represents the cash in lieu of the fractional shares not in lieu of 14 shares. IOW, this adjusted contract now represents 14 shares plus $7.99...

I've been using Excel via IB's DDE connection for a year or so. Excel does my calcs and I use a grid on my 2nd monitor to display the symbol if the stock meets the criteria and a blank cell if not. The problem with this approach is that I have to keep peaking at the 2nd monitor to see if...

Jjacks, It wasn't about short options. What I was referring to was your comment that calls can go up many fold compared to puts. IMHO, stocks go down much faster than they go up so I'd rather be playing the downside with long puts (or short stock) than trying to catch an increase to the...

Hey Jjacks. It's a minor point but John Q Public has been spooked by brokers, authors, etc. into believing that shorting is bad because of potential unlimited losses. Ergo, shorting has more risk than errrrr, longing. Kinda like thier advice that covered calls is a safe strategy for newbies...

I'm going to assume that we're talking about the outriight buying puts and calls - no complex strategies. It's not much of an idea to buy extremely far OTM options. However, you'd buy OTM calls for the same reason that you'd buy OTM puts ---> LEVERAGE. Going up? Buy calls. Going down? Buy...

I'm looking for a power back up for my computer system. Tech catalog has dozens of choices. Any advice as to how to choose an appropriate unit? Are generics units as good as APC? TIA...

Well, there's a perfect example of why I always try to pull gains out of positions. If a significant reversal occurs, not only have you given up your profit but you now have "X" days of time decay lost in the long positions. Stay tuned for my next decent suggestion. I get about one a month :)

Thanks for chronicling your saga of short interest fees by IB (I read your link). As a former member of the "free lunch" crowd, I always wondered why those can't miss arbs never worked out as well as advertised. In my new life, I carry a lot of short stock and have struggled to figure out...

If your option trading is fairly simpe, chances are, you have little or no need to understand synthetics. But if your positions get a bit more complex, it's helpful to understand equivalents because it can save you extra commissions and slippage if you can execute a position with fewer legs...

Jjacks, FWIW, OptionsXpress averages the B & A for IV calculation. If you're attempting anything clever like IV plays on earnings announcements, you have to BS it yourself. But for a quick down and dirty look at IV (for example, skew), it's good as a starting pont.

Your concern isn't what happens to the put side but how much you over/under pay for the calendar. The higher the IV (implied volatility), the more the calendar costs. If IV contracts, you will incur a loss just from that.. OTOH, if you are doing a reverse calendar, that is exactly what...

JJacks, With a $1.35 gain in the $4 calls, I'd be looking at rolling them up a strike in order to book the gain - pulling out some of that hypothetical intrinsic value thst you've accumulated. Assuming that today's closing quotes are accurate, you could roll up to the 5's for an 80 ct...

[Like all option strategies, this one works under certain circumstances and not under others. If IV increases, you make more (lose less) money. If IV decreases, you make less (lose more). If price moves away from the strike, you make less/lose more. The ATM calendar spread has a neutral...

JJacksET4, Anything is possible. What has made pairs trading do so well for me (the financials) has been an extended bout of corporate and government incompetence. Who knows? Maybe they could run out of stupid pills and a huge recovery could occur. (snark) Either way, your position is...

Jacks, Regarding your SKY/UYG spread, IV could play a large factor in the result. With the spread, to a large degree, what you make on one side will be lost on the other. But with the long UYG calls, there's no offset. If IV contracts prior to expiration, you're going to lose a chunk of...

For absolutely no charge, I can tell him where to go :D

JJacksET4 Uh huh, that's what I need... competition for illiquid stocks :) Do a web search on pairs trading. There are a lot of approaches. I'll post a link or two for entertainment. They're not what I do but they give some ideas of possibilities. Your inability to trade intraday is a...

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Quote from spindr0: There are better ways to speculate with options than CC's and NP's. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I disagree. There are different ways...