I Done Bought Me a SSF!

Great sites as resources! Thanks

(Although the first one's name makes me think that they will help me with my "drinking problem", and the other one looks like an online casino with its flashing ads)
 
Quote from hii a_ooiioo_a:

Well, ok, the QLGC is down 35 cents from where I sold it 3½ hours ago, so I'm $70 ahead for having sold. Of course, I'd be $100 ahead of where I am if I had sold two more contracts 3 hours ago.

In other news, CVS and AVP (Avon) were both up today after positive earnings reports.
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was going to suggest you keep it until it tested the open gap near 35. Think we see 35 on qlgc. I have multiple positions in qlgc, and expected it to trade back near 35... very near term. I have now sold some front month calls adding to my overall options strategies.

g'luck and let us know if you buy another ssf, as I'm looking into incorporating them into my trading.
 
I sold one QLGC contract at 10:00 am at $34.44

Could have bought it back 20 minutes later at $34.14, but didn't.
Went to $34.90 at 10:45 am. I sold another at $34.85 It's back to $34.60 now, so I'm about broken even on my two contracts which are short positions.
 
Lots of short term scalping opportunity throughout the day. In spite of the 8¢ bid/ask spread, they move so quickly that you can learn to get filled at the prices you want, with practice.

What I intend to do is place a lot of simultaneous buy and sell orders on the same contract within a certain range. For instance submit an order to buy 5 contracts at $34.40 while I have an order to sell 5 contracts at $34.80. This for short term trading, like within an hour or less.

But in case things start moving against me, like dropping to $34.10 after I'm in with 5 contracts at $34.40, I want to have a hedge in place. To do this, I can use a different expiration month to be short longer term, and yet another expiration month to be long longterm. Each longterm short and longterm long contract will balance each other out for margin purposes. The margin on each one of a balanced pair is 40:1. (Total 20:1 for the pair combined)

I had thought yesterday of perhaps using otm options for this hedging, but this way seems a better idea. Not only because of the options' time-decay (hate that), but also because the options detract from account's margin value, which could bring me below $2,000 and ruin my ability to trade SSF at all. Using this long and short SSF hedging won't do that, I'll stay over $2,000, and be able to continue.
 
Quote from hii a_ooiioo_a:

Lots of short term scalping opportunity throughout the day. In spite of the 8¢ bid/ask spread, they move so quickly that you can learn to get filled at the prices you want, with practice.

What I intend to do is place a lot of simultaneous buy and sell orders on the same contract within a certain range. For instance submit an order to buy 5 contracts at $34.40 while I have an order to sell 5 contracts at $34.80. This for short term trading, like within an hour or less.

But in case things start moving against me, like dropping to $34.10 after I'm in with 5 contracts at $34.40, I want to have a hedge in place. To do this, I can use a different expiration month to be short longer term, and yet another expiration month to be long longterm. Each longterm short and longterm long contract will balance each other out for margin purposes. The margin on each one of a balanced pair is 40:1. (Total 20:1 for the pair combined)

I had thought yesterday of perhaps using otm options for this hedging, but this way seems a better idea. Not only because of the options' time-decay (hate that), but also because the options detract from account's margin value, which could bring me below $2,000 and ruin my ability to trade SSF at all. Using this long and short SSF hedging won't do that, I'll stay over $2,000, and be able to continue.
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in this market when it slows the above sounds great. Let everybody know how you are doing. Getting that hedge on though if the volatility picks up might be difficult

Robert
 
It is interesting that you can increase your available margin by taking on more positions. As long as you enter a position that is opposite another position, if it's a different expiration month, you will be lowering your maintenance margin, and allowing yourself more ability to take on some other position, like for instance a different stock.

Eventually, when you can trade SSF's through securities accounts instead of commodities, I think this cross-margining will allow you to reduce the maintenance margin of stock positions too by selling a SSF on that stock, or buying a SSF on a stock you have sold short. But then, the SSF will be subject to the PDT rules, if there's less than $25,000 in the account.
 
Quote from hii a_ooiioo_a:

I sold one QLGC contract at 10:00 am at $34.44

Could have bought it back 20 minutes later at $34.14, but didn't.
Went to $34.90 at 10:45 am. I sold another at $34.85 It's back to $34.60 now, so I'm about broken even on my two contracts which are short positions.
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Bought them both back at 3:00 for $34.15. Could have bought them 10 minutes later at $33.85.

Profit today after commissions: $95.

Up about 7% since monday

If 15% a month makes you HUGE, then I guess I am rather large at this point.

Bring me your Vegetables and Breads!
 
hii,

How's your incursion in the SSF realm? I watched QLGC and QQQ today, but refrained from trading. Some wide swings in OLGC.

Cheers,
vorzo
 
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