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As I mentioned earlier, it's for earnings plays. That means inflated IV and generally, a one day hold... so time decay isn't an issue. Exactly. You want an IV expansion, low $ cost near month options and horizontal skew for your set up (which take a lot of sifting to find). Post EA you want...

Interesting article in May issue of SFO magazine suggesting that there's an IV pattern on expiration day for stocks over $50 with large open interest. Barring major news, IV tends to increase until 11 AM, drops toward noon, levels off for 2+ hours and then drops sharply into the close. So if...

I don't know what jonnysharp is doing nor am I familiar with the software but AFAIK, the success of pairs trading is finding a good correlation. If you achieve that, it provides a tremendous reduction in risk and there's no time decay involved in the protection, as with options. And because of...

Buy more of the wings unless it's the last week before near term expiration then flip it and do reverse ratio double calendars (buy near month guts and sell more wings). Horizontal skew is essential for a good set up and you have to have a handle on an expected post EA IV. It's possible that...

I don't know what they offer or what they charge but CSI Market Data has been around for a long time.

Hmmm, now where else have I seen a perfectly fluent poster suddenly talk like a poor factory worker? Doos this ring a bell to anyone? :)

LOL. Some people just have a knack for cutting right through this sh*t and getting right to the point. :)

Look at some calendar combos, eg. one of each either ATM or a strike away. As an example, short the 40 straddle and long the next month's 35p/45c strangle *or* short the 35p/40c strangle and long the 30p/45c strangle. Both are a pair of calendars combined. Then see what happens to the P&L...

It can't be quantified because there are multiple variables (initial IV, subsequent IV, time decay, B/A slippage, narrow vs wide B/A spreads, price movement). It will vary from position to position so you need to model some positions in order to have a better idea. If it were only that easy :)

I'm not really an IC kinda guy. My experience is more with ratioed double diagonals and ratioed calendar strangles for earnings. AFAIK, they're similar to IC's but a bit more complex. After the EA, the price may move and IV will contract, sometimes quickly right after the EA, sometimes...

JohnGreen Fine explanation of the possibilities

Some here rail against adjustments because they view positions statically and think that every adjustment is an attempt to stem losses. In reality, adjustments can also be made to take profits from a leg, a side, etc. Some believe that when you make an adjustment, you're making a new...

When EEM was around 150 a year ago, it was a great underlying for gamma scalping because of that volatility. Sometimes, you could get 2-3 trades intraday. I've lost track of it but if it's still as volatile, I'd be hesitant to get involved in its covered calls unless you had a really strong...

The borrow rate for GM stock has been over 100% during the past few weeks... and even if you're willing to pay that, it's a tough borrow.

As Mr. Beb Pasco suggested, look at unbalanced calendars & diagonals (I assume he meant doubles) so that you can control the draw down if the underlying heads toward a short strike. In addition to having confidence in your projected IV numbers and your ability to execute at reasonable prices...

1) Is there a relatively painless way to trade options? Yes, trade on a simulator. 2) If you have a view on at least one item from 1-6 below, please let me know. Many thanks!!!! Read what MTE said, again.

Teaching options to absolute beginners is a real challenge. They often come from developing nations far from the financial centers of New York City (Otumwah Ohio, Hokie Oklahoma, etc.). Basic terminology must be used, often starting at the very beginning since there's often no common...

Mark gave you a good answer and I should probably leave well enough alone. But I can't :) As he suggested, this is way more complixated than you think. First, OTM strikes as suggested in your example will not have a high delta. But I s'pose that's not really very important since you...

Suppose you want a 40/45/55/60 condor. Cost is -2.25 at the natural. You could place an order to buy it for say -2.00 (25 cts better) or you could set it up as combos: Two strangles: 45p/55c is -4.00 40p/60c is +1.75 Net is -2.25 Two verticals: 40/45p is -1.15 55/60c is -1.10...

No offense meant but those issues are a reflection of your emotional makeup rather than the corrupting influence of trading. Trading just might not be for you, eh?