Selling covered calls - Margin required for no reason

Quote from CashProfits:

Thanks for all the input.

What broker should I go to then so I can avoid the bs that Options House has pulled on me? Options House does not state anywhere in the open about needing margin to sell spreads or especially to short calls and puts. As soon as I open the account thinking I can do so I get shut down. It may be in the fine print but I doubt that too. They just hide that info from you, hope you use other strategies and call it a day.

Like I said before when you place your order it doesn't matter in which order you place the legs... the Options House order form knows if your trying to put in a spread, covered, naked, put or call. They simply stated in order to short anything at all I need a margin account in which they refuse to grant me with. They will not grant me with margin because I can take part in risky transactions which is true.

What they lack is the ability to lock my account on only allowing certain types of trades (ie: covereds and spreads). If you ask me that is a poor platform. In the year 2009 with all the technology available that should not be a difficult task to fullfil by an online platform.

If I am selling a call spread I don't have the risk of "lossing it all" if my risk is $200 and my max gain is $40 that is a 1/5 - win/risk ratio and some short call spreads have such a rediculously high probability of staying below certain strikes that it's really not a risk at all... and ontop of that I can protect it. Someone before said I could be assigned and lose all the equity I tied up within the trade... how is that true if the trade is a spread... it's a protected trade, is it not?
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CashProfits,

You need a margin account to sell spreads, period. Your b*tching about won't change anything, so get over it. Besides, it's not like you are required to use leverage when trading in a margin account!

If you don't like Optionhouse go with another broker. Thinkorswim comes to mind, they don't have restrictions on the type of strategies customers can trade as long as you have...(you guessed it)...a margin account. :)
 
Quote from blackjack007:

lol you don't have a clue what you're talking about. first off, the SEC not FRB governs reg-t rules.

secondly, you can sell spreads in a cash account, subject to some restrictions. reg-t does not prohibit it. it's obviously his broker.
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Now that's about as deep as your previous suggestion that the problem is due to trying to sell a call spread using options that are american style and that using euro style options is the answer.

LOLOL. Go read what Reg T is about.
 
Quote from MTE:

If you don't like Optionhouse go with another broker. Thinkorswim comes to mind, they don't have restrictions on the type of strategies customers can trade as long as you have...(you guessed it)...a margin account. :)
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Hmmm... what was the name of the children's book where the tiger takes his own tail in his mouth and runs in circles around and around the tree?

(scratching head)
 
Ok, I guess I meant what broker won't give me a hard time establishing a margin account? Is think or swim going to put me through a loop to establish margin? I'm not going to bother making accounts with 5 more brokers just to figure out who will cause an inconvenience and who will not.

If people are perceiving my repeat post's as b*tching, sorry. It's because I have to keep repeating my post because people are responding with answers that show how little of my post they are actually reading. For those with good solid replies, thanks. I don't use those faces on posts so if you get emotional over internet postings, sorry about that.
 
Quote from CashProfits:

Ok, I guess I meant what broker won't give me a hard time establishing a margin account? .
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If you make the minimum deposit, IB will give you a margin account

Mark
 
i think i posted this earlier, but TOS [thinkorswim] will help you out.

Easy to open an account, you don't have to fund with an insane amount and the customer support is great.

you guys have it better in the US though, we don't have much choice, so this is gold.
 
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