SPX Credit Spread Trader

Maverick

You should change your screenname to the OPTION BULLY! I am new to ET, but not new to option trading. I am a past member of both the CBOE and the CME (IOM), trading OEX, SPX, S&P merc options, and SPUz.

In a variety of threads you always seem to degrade and talk down to everybody else. Many different styles of trading can and do work. You have NO right to say yours is better than the rest. Options Coach is just providing his style for review and letting people make their own decision. In 200+ pages he has not made any attempts to "sell somthing". Why do you have issue that he has a fund? Why does it matter to you?

Option Bully, you seem to have all the answers! You seem willing to make decisions for the rest of the ET community as to the viability of trading from a short theta position. Some people like to make a small amount of money each month, and then give some of it back one or two times a year. Others like to loose a small amount each month waiting for a large move to make their money. I have traded both ways (front,backspread) and both work-it is just a matter of how one wants to trade. It is a matter of personallity.

Just because you have a large number of posts, don't think you know it all....:mad:
 
Quote from JET_DRIVER:

Maverick

You should change your screenname to the OPTION BULLY! I am new to ET, but not new to option trading. I am a past member of both the CBOE and the CME (IOM), trading OEX, SPX, S&P merc options, and SPUz.

In a variety of threads you always seem to degrade and talk down to everybody else. Many different styles of trading can and do work. You have NO right to say yours is better than the rest. Options Coach is just providing his style for review and letting people make their own decision. In 200+ pages he has not made any attempts to "sell somthing". Why do you have issue that he has a fund? Why does it matter to you?

Option Bully, you seem to have all the answers! You seem willing to make decisions for the rest of the ET community as to the viability of trading from a short theta position. Some people like to make a small amount of money each month, and then give some of it back one or two times a year. Others like to loose a small amount each month waiting for a large move to make their money. I have traded both ways (front,backspread) and both work-it is just a matter of how one wants to trade. It is a matter of personallity.

Just because you have a large number of posts, don't think you know it all....:mad:
More...

OK, you got me. I'll notify Baron immediately about the name change.

My rant was not about his strategy, but about him prostituting himself on ET. You can call me whatever you want. Makes no difference to me. Yeah, yeah , yeah, I've got all the answers. Blah, blah, blah. You don't find it funny it funny that a guy that has actually written a book on options doesn't even know his synthetics or his greeks? I find that downright comical.
 
Quote from Maverick74:

OK, you got me. I'll notify Baron immediately about the name change.

My rant was not about his strategy, but about him prostituting himself on ET. You can call me whatever you want. Makes no difference to me. Yeah, yeah , yeah, I've got all the answers. Blah, blah, blah. You don't find it funny it funny that a guy that has actually written a book on options doesn't even know his synthetics or his greeks? I find that downright comical.
More...

OPTION BULLY (MAV74)

If you can lighten up on the attack, you can probably hold off on the name change. This is just a friendly forum...

I have not had a chance to discuss synthetics, greeks, conversions/reversals, rolls, risk reversals, early excercise, dividend plays, ect with Option Coach so I do not know the depth of his knowledge. Most of these things are tools I used as a floor trader and continue to use from upstairs. Even if he does not have your same depth of knowledge of 'the greeks' so what? He is not on the floor making markets to get a .05 theoretical edge on a 500 lot. I know from reading many of your posts, you are very involved with using the greeks in your trading. That DOES NOT make you superior to the Options Coach.

You say your rant is about him prostituting himself? How? He is not selling anything on this site. He is acting as a teacher. If someone wants to PM him for some one on one help GREAT!

In previous post you brag about "never having mentored anyone" but let me tell you unless you were born with all those greeks in your head, some one mentored YOU. I started in this business as a runner for First Options on the CBOE floor in 1983. I worked my way up through the business. There were MANY guys like Options Coach who answered my questions and mentored me.

I even worked as a floor clerk for a trader that RiskArb has mentioned in earlier posts (JS, Jon Silberman or his badge:JIZ). He was an incredible premium seller and probably my biggest mentor. He now lives in Aspen after making a very nice amount in the OEX!

Why hack a guy who is taking his own time to discuss a stratagy and answer some questions? If he has a book so what?
 
Jet, you've hit the nail on the head. There is quite a difference in the way a floor trader trades and how a retail trader must trade to be successful. I believe the notion of "edge" is non-existent for the retail trader. I just shake my head when fools like Maverick spout off... and it makes a hill of beans difference for the average retail trader.

Quote from JET_DRIVER:

OPTION BULLY (MAV74)

If you can lighten up on the attack, you can probably hold off on the name change. This is just a friendly forum...

I have not had a chance to discuss synthetics, greeks, conversions/reversals, rolls, risk reversals, early excercise, dividend plays, ect with Option Coach so I do not know the depth of his knowledge. Most of these things are tools I used as a floor trader and continue to use from upstairs. Even if he does not have your same depth of knowledge of 'the greeks' so what? He is not on the floor making markets to get a .05 theoretical edge on a 500 lot. I know from reading many of your posts, you are very involved with using the greeks in your trading. That DOES NOT make you superior to the Options Coach.

You say your rant is about him prostituting himself? How? He is not selling anything on this site. He is acting as a teacher. If someone wants to PM him for some one on one help GREAT!

In previous post you brag about "never having mentored anyone" but let me tell you unless you were born with all those greeks in your head, some one mentored YOU. I started in this business as a runner for First Options on the CBOE floor in 1983. I worked my way up through the business. There were MANY guys like Options Coach who answered my questions and mentored me.

I even worked as a floor clerk for a trader that RiskArb has mentioned in earlier posts (JS, Jon Silberman or his badge:JIZ). He was an incredible premium seller and probably my biggest mentor. He now lives in Aspen after making a very nice amount in the OEX!

Why hack a guy who is taking his own time to discuss a stratagy and answer some questions? If he has a book so what?
More...
 
Quote from andysmith:

Jet, you've hit the nail on the head. There is quite a difference in the way a floor trader trades and how a retail trader must trade to be successful. I believe the notion of "edge" is non-existent for the retail trader. I just shake my head when fools like Maverick spout off... and it makes a hill of beans difference for the average retail trader.
More...

Well come on now....The Options Bully is not a fool, he just enjoys his greeks. We all need to enjoy what works for us! He just needs to lighten up on his agressive tone towards others.

I was a floor trader for nearly 6 years (CBOE and CME) before moving upstairs. I still use all my floor trading knowledge (greeks, skew knowledge, ect), but to a lesser extent. Trading upstairs is a different type of trading. Many guys have a hard time making the transition.

As far as the term "edge" that refers to theoretical edge and this is something for floor traders. Some upstairs traders can trade the same way, but they are usually trading in 250 lots or greater.

Heres how it works: Each floor trader has option value sheets and everybodys sheets can vary based on the IV they use. Say my sheets value an option worth 2.00. I make a bid of 1.80 and an offer of 2.20. I will buy the bid or sell the offer. By using futures (or stock) I will try to remain delta neutral while managing gamma, theta, and vega risks. If I can do this effectively I will hopefully capture this edge when I unwind the trade. The whole key to making money on the floor is volume and execution. Get that edge on 750 contract a day and you can make a living. As a floor trader you manage your whole position and use each trade as a building block to the entire position-like a mathimatical puzzle. On the floor I tried to move my positions into b-flys. That seemed to work well for me......
 
As a regular poster on this forum, I missed today's action because I was traveling.

Wow, 8 or 9 pages of mostly useless posting from Maverick and JackByrd.

What I don't understand is why these guys care. If you don't like the strategy, don't read the thread. Those of us who follow Phil have probably been sold the option equivalent of "snake oil" in the past. That's one of the reasons why we are here in this thread, because Phil doesn't do any of that.

This forum seems to cater mostly to retail traders, but we also benefit from a few professionals who post here and share there experience and knowledge with us. In the past, we've had a some professionals come here and start off with a negative attitude towards the forum. But some have changed their minds and now contribute to the forum in a positive way --> with useful information. And by the way, that useful information doesn't always agree with Phil. It often presents alternatives and experience that Phil, himself, doesn't have. We all benefit and it assists us retail traders with understanding the big picture and very importantly the risks associated with trading credit spreads.

I think what really ticks Maverick and JackByrd off is that those of us with day jobs are supplementing our incomes handsomely trading these option spreads.
 
Jet:

I hope you will be a regular contributor to this forum on credit spreads. Your experience and knowledge would be an asset to us all.

For example, we have a lot of posts on trying to negotiate better fills on our SPX spreads. Any advice on how we might do that? Is it even possible? One trader told me to place trades after the MMs have their "liquid lunch" because they might be in a more giving mood. I didn't believe him, but I'll take any "edge" I can get. LOL

Quote from JET_DRIVER:

Well come on now....The Options Bully is not a fool, he just enjoys his greeks. We all need to enjoy what works for us! He just needs to lighten up on his agressive tone towards others.

I was a floor trader for nearly 6 years (CBOE and CME) before moving upstairs. I still use all my floor trading knowledge (greeks, skew knowledge, ect), but to a lesser extent. Trading upstairs is a different type of trading. Many guys have a hard time making the transition.

As far as the term "edge" that refers to theoretical edge and this is something for floor traders. Some upstairs traders can trade the same way, but they are usually trading in 250 lots or greater.

Heres how it works: Each floor trader has option value sheets and everybodys sheets can vary based on the IV they use. Say my sheets value an option worth 2.00. I make a bid of 1.80 and an offer of 2.20. I will buy the bid or sell the offer. By using futures (or stock) I will try to remain delta neutral while managing gamma, theta, and vega risks. If I can do this effectively I will hopefully capture this edge when I unwind the trade. The whole key to making money on the floor is volume and execution. Get that edge on 750 contract a day and you can make a living. As a floor trader you manage your whole position and use each trade as a building block to the entire position-like a mathimatical puzzle. On the floor I tried to move my positions into b-flys. That seemed to work well for me......
More...
 
Quote from rdemyan:

Jet:

I hope you will be a regular contributor to this forum on credit spreads. Your experience and knowledge would be an asset to us all.

For example, we have a lot of posts on trying to negotiate better fills on our SPX spreads. Any advice on how we might do that? Is it even possible? One trader told me to place trades after the MMs have their "liquid lunch" because they might be in a more giving mood. I didn't believe him, but I'll take any "edge" I can get. LOL
More...

I'd be happy to share regular posts and share some of my floor knowledge. As far as the liquid lunch, most guys DO NOT drink at lunch. Many skip lunch or have their clerks sneek a turkey club on the floor (no food allowed on the trading floor!).

Better fills are possibile. As far as execution, the best time is probably the open or in the early morning. If the market slows down midday, traders leave the pit. Sometimes activity can pick-up at the end of the day. As the population thins, the bids/offers usually widen.

As a rule of thumb, the more traders, the more competition, the tighter the markets. It is easier to sell puts in a declining market, the IV is generally increasing. Oddly enough, a rising market can actually make it harder to sell calls because the IV generally declines.

Some brokers will take a DRT (disregard tape) or discressionary order. Lets say the market is 1.5 to 2. You can place a sell order at 1.75 with .15 DRT. This allows the filling broker to start with a 1.75 offer. If that is not filled, he can go as low as 1.60. It gives him some flexability and very often you can get a better price. The downside is that if he waits too long he may miss the trade. Every advantage has some disadvantage......
 
BTO Nov put 1150/1135...credit 2.10

most indicators show mkt is bouncing along the bottem and though we may drift south... trend will begin to turn. Will wait until oscillator shows overbought to do call side. (if it ever gets there)

Still undecided on whether to close 1170/1155 Oct PS:confused:
 
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