My option trades

Well my Pairs trade lost money. ( a paper trade trial )

My calendar spread also lost money ( a paper trade trial )

Only my cash long straddle, is making money. Not much, but some. I guess because it was non-directional.

The other two were in Calls and the market went down.

I closed the Call experiment. Obviously that was not going to come back this week. Cost $5 plus $6 commission. For an -$11 loss thereabouts. Good practical lesson and cheap try out.

Got some thoughts on how to improve the straddle performance. Next one will try that.
 
Quote from falconview:

Well my Pairs trade lost money. ( a paper trade trial )

My calendar spread also lost money ( a paper trade trial )

Only my cash long straddle, is making money. Not much, but some. I guess because it was non-directional.

The other two were in Calls and the market went down.

I closed the Call experiment. Obviously that was not going to come back this week. Cost $5 plus $6 commission. For an -$11 loss thereabouts. Good practical lesson and cheap try out.

Got some thoughts on how to improve the straddle performance. Next one will try that.
More...

OK, good...now you know to stop buying things and don't expect straddles to be any different.

Don
 
Ha! Ha! Ha! Talk about a dog worrying a bone. :D

I tried time spead, or calendar spread with the weekly options on the selling side and the third month out on the long side.

The weekly lost it´s THETA very fast. Went down to .5 cents.

The trouble was the whole thing was in Calls and the market tanked. So essentially it lost money. HOWEVER, it is a big HOWEVER -

I was impressed on how well it worked out selling the weekly calls.
My question is; what can I substitute for a directional play in the calendar spread, to take advantage of the weekly loss of theta? Without being directionally biased.

Could you sell a STRADDLE in the weekly and balance it with a long STRADDLE in the third month. Or some other non directional method to let you sell theta.
 
Quote from falconview:



Could you sell a STRADDLE in the weekly and balance it with a long STRADDLE in the third month. Or some other non directional method to let you sell theta.
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Yeah, but a straddled time spread is simply doubling-up. A same-strike put and call time spread are equivalent. A one-lot straddled time spread is the same risk as a two-lot call (or put) time spread.
 
Atticus I vaguely understand that.

A straddle taken on the weeklies with the intention to let it expire, to earn the theta. Means SELLING the straddle.

I am not clear on margin and stuff required to do this. So presume you have to buy a backup in an out month. Then you can sell the straddle in the weekly.

My thought was you go out to third month and this would allow you to sell the weekly straddle? Remember I´m a small retail trader.

The straddle being non directional would not therefore be effected much by any market movement. It is a slow strategy to ever earn anything, in the third month. Whatever it did, even if it did nothing, it simply in my simple amateurs mind, would be allowing me to skip any margin requirements, on SELLING the weekly straddle, in which I know in a week, would earn me THETA money to expiration. I could sit on it for a couple of weeks if necessary, the third month straddle.

Just thinking with my finger tips. I got burned with the other stuff, that turned out directional and the wrong direction. While the weekly SELLING worked, the other stuff was on the wrong direction. So thinking a non directional as the qualifier to satisfy any margin requirements would be the thing.

Comments?
 
Quote from falconview:

Atticus I vaguely understand that.

A straddle taken on the weeklies with the intention to let it expire, to earn the theta. Means SELLING the straddle.

I am not clear on margin and stuff required to do this. So presume you have to buy a backup in an out month. Then you can sell the straddle in the weekly.

My thought was you go out to third month and this would allow you to sell the weekly straddle? Remember I´m a small retail trader.

The straddle being non directional would not therefore be effected much by any market movement. It is a slow strategy to ever earn anything, in the third month. Whatever it did, even if it did nothing, it simply in my simple amateurs mind, would be allowing me to skip any margin requirements, on SELLING the weekly straddle, in which I know in a week, would earn me THETA money to expiration. I could sit on it for a couple of weeks if necessary, the third month straddle.

Just thinking with my finger tips. I got burned with the other stuff, that turned out directional and the wrong direction. While the weekly SELLING worked, the other stuff was on the wrong direction. So thinking a non directional as the qualifier to satisfy any margin requirements would be the thing.

Comments?
More...

turn this on you big dummy, maybe osmosis will work for you.

https://www.tastytrade.com/#/
 
Quote from kinggyppo:

turn this on you big dummy, maybe osmosis will work for you.

https://www.tastytrade.com/#/
More...

No need to call folks dumb here.....It may take a little longer for some to understand the context, but eventually, we all learn.....name calling goes a little to far...stick to other posts if this one's too slow for ya'll.

On the bright side, PCLN up+8, gave me a chance to add a put spread 630/625 spread for $1.70 bought 4, with the march 17 expiration. PCLN only needs a 2% move, very doable here, and I don't believe in any rallies right now.
 
Well I´m closed out of my straddle and the delta adjustment. Both items minimum 1 contract testing trades. I ended up making $14 for all the work. That delta adjusting didn´t do anything good. Lost the commissions on that play.

I think I´m going back to straight buying. Fishing should be good, now the volatility is picking up.

Just have to have the patience of Jesse Livermore and do what he recommended. The money is made by sitting on your hands. :D

Still interested in selling the weekly straddle, but I dont know anything about margin requirements to SELL. Or what amount of contracts I might be able to sell. So I guess if I want to sell a straddle, I have to buy something. But what, without much risk on that side.
Anyway, I´m out, until I get an old fashioned regular setup for my standard working method.
 
Quote from falconview:

Well I´m closed out of my straddle and the delta adjustment. Both items minimum 1 contract testing trades. I ended up making $14 for all the work. That delta adjusting didn´t do anything good. Lost the commissions on that play.

I think I´m going back to straight buying. Fishing should be good, now the volatility is picking up.

Just have to have the patience of Jesse Livermore and do what he recommended. The money is made by sitting on your hands. :D

Still interested in selling the weekly straddle, but I dont know anything about margin requirements to SELL. Or what amount of contracts I might be able to sell. So I guess if I want to sell a straddle, I have to buy something. But what, without much risk on that side.
Anyway, I´m out, until I get an old fashioned regular setup for my standard working method.
More...

$14 is better than a -$500 loss. I'd take that on all my trades lol....
 
Quote from ryanpatrick:

No need to call folks dumb here.....It may take a little longer for some to understand the context, but eventually, we all learn.....name calling goes a little to far...stick to other posts if this one's too slow for ya'll.

On the bright side, PCLN up+8, gave me a chance to add a put spread 630/625 spread for $1.70 bought 4, with the march 17 expiration. PCLN only needs a 2% move, very doable here, and I don't believe in any rallies right now.
More...

if you look at falconviews other thread I and others have been trying to help him with his trading for a looong time, he needs to master the basics still. :)
 
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