Noregrets' "Double or Nothing" Volatility Trading Journal

[noregrets]

Adding some additional short index exposure with SPY 13Sep 170 put from 3.74, 2-lot.

 

[noregrets]

Quote from noregrets:

Long the SPX Sep13/19 1655 put calendar from 5.55.

Out for a scratch at a strike touch. Don't want to be long deltas on Monday morning after we dropped so hard over the last hour.

 

[drownpruf]

Quote from noregrets:

Out for a scratch at a strike touch. Don't want to be long deltas on Monday morning after we dropped so hard over the last hour.

True, but those SPY puts hedged a third of that ES calendar.

 

[noregrets]

Quote from drownpruf:

True, but those SPY puts hedged a third of that ES calendar.

Thanks DP, you make a good point and I might have been too conservative here. My thinking was that since I was bearish going into the calendar and it was turning into a bullish one, along with not wanting to be short vol with the Syria uncertainty, I should take the opportunity to close the trade for a scratch. On the other hand, this trade was partially hedged by my puts, and in case we open higher Monday this was a partial hedge for those as well. No right answer but it highlights the need to always be aware of and actively managing one's portfolio exposure and not become focused on a single position. I appreciate the feedback.

 

[drownpruf]

Quote from noregrets:

Thanks DP, you make a good point and I might have been too conservative here. My thinking was that since I was bearish going into the calendar and it was turning into a bullish one, along with not wanting to be short vol with the Syria uncertainty, I should take the opportunity to close the trade for a scratch. On the other hand, this trade was partially hedged by my puts, and in case we open higher Monday this was a partial hedge for those as well. No right answer but it highlights the need to always be aware of and actively managing one's portfolio exposure and not become focused on a single position. I appreciate the feedback.

Short vol?

 

[noregrets]

Quote from drownpruf:

Short vol?

Careless word choice. I was referring to the desire for the spot price to remain fairly stable with a long ATM calendar. Obviously it's helped by a vol increase all other things being equal. Basically I wanted to position myself for a sizable drop next week.

 

[premtrader]

Quote from noregrets:

When I first started trading full-time last fall, I thought that becoming consistently profitable would be the equivalent of a one-mile nature walk. Instead it seems more akin to a 50-mile forced march through a mangrove swamp with a hundred pound pack.

Looking back I can’t believe how clueless I was. The worst thing that ever happened to my trading was making a 50% return within six weeks after I started, taking what was in retrospect an utterly obscene amount of risk. I knew that I had cracked the secret of the trading game, and wasn’t sure what everyone found so hard about it. Needless to say within another six weeks I had not only lost all my winnings but was down nearly 50% from where I started. Thankfully it was an extremely small account, and I was able to start over a little wiser.

I feel now like the boy in Isaac Newton’s story: playing along the seashore, occasionally finding a pebble smoother or rounder than another, while the great ocean of trading “truth” lies undiscovered before me.

To say the least, I have a lot to learn. And I don’t know whether I’m at mile 5, or mile 49, of the march. The only thing I can do is focus on the prize and keep putting one foot in front of the other.

Forgive the late night musings before NFP. It feels good to share with folks who can relate to the journey.

Oh ya... I can relate to that. Those fearless beginners luck/curse that every trader experiences and keeps them coming back for more. Little did I know that trading is 10% strategy 90% self discovery. I only know its the right fit when i will place the same trade all over again with no regrets

 

[drownpruf]

Quote from noregrets:

Careless word choice. I was referring to the desire for the spot price to remain fairly stable with a long ATM calendar. Obviously it's helped by a vol increase all other things being equal. Basically I wanted to position myself for a sizable drop next week.

I can understand not wanting to be short gamma into the macro situation.

 

[drownpruf]

Quote from noregrets:

Careless word choice. I was referring to the desire for the spot price to remain fairly stable with a long ATM calendar. Obviously it's helped by a vol increase all other things being equal. Basically I wanted to position myself for a sizable drop next week.

I can understand not wanting to be short gamma into the Syria situation.

 

[Pipflow]

This strategy sounds very good that double or nothing, but $6000 is a lot of money to bet into this kind of strategy, hope you will be able to manage well. All the best for your trading strategy.