SPX Credit Spread Trader
- Thread starter El OchoCinco
- Start date
I'm so bored I'm re-reading the thread
are you still experimenting with this idea? how is/did it pan out tia donna
are you still experimenting with this idea? how is/did it pan out tia donna
I had not gotten too deep into it but quick glances did not yield enough credit to make it worth it so far. Better to do the regular put ratio spreads but as I said, the margin requirement is quite high. ALways fun to experiment though.
Quote from DonnaV:
I'm so bored I'm re-reading the thread
Looks like you can buy back this spread for .10 this afternoon, a good play at expiration!
I was thinking about your Dec 1225 put for protection. I'm not sure it really offers protection given that the SPX is European settled. Let's say the market tanked right before expiration and the SET tomorrow results in a large loss for you. Then the market rises after that. I guess you would have to sell the Dec 1225 put quickly for a profit to offset your loss on the put spread in Nov. Really it comes down to what you paid for the put and the size of the positions to determine what protection it would give you.
ryan
It's very quiet in here today, is everybody sweating out their November short call positions 
? I got out this morning, lost $40 for the month when commissions are figured in. I am proud of my risk management though. I got too nervous about the market taking off and wanted to make sure I could play another day. Like Phil, I've made money for the last several months and would rather lose a little to protect myself and not get too greedy and try to squeeze out a nickel or two at this point. I'm focusing on December positions now, just have to wait for my margin to be released after the SET. Only 28 days until Dec expiration!
ryan
? I got out this morning, lost $40 for the month when commissions are figured in. I am proud of my risk management though. I got too nervous about the market taking off and wanted to make sure I could play another day. Like Phil, I've made money for the last several months and would rather lose a little to protect myself and not get too greedy and try to squeeze out a nickel or two at this point. I'm focusing on December positions now, just have to wait for my margin to be released after the SET. Only 28 days until Dec expiration!ryan
Okay, Ryan here's something interesting that happened to me today.
I placed the following trade this morning:
DEC SPX 1285/1300 bear call spread at $0.60
The mid was about $0.40 when I placed the trade.
When the SPX was up about 8 to 9 points my trade still wasn't filled. I called ToS and they said I was close but there wasn't much action on these strikes. They called down. Nothing happened.
I called ToS again and spoke with a different guy. He looked at it and said I was real close and then felt very strongly that if he tried to leg the trade for me that he could probably get the $0.60 credit. He wouldn't guarantee it, but I gave my permission to let him try.
Within 5 minutes (and with the SPX going down to around 7.5, the trade was filled.
I know we've talked about legging trades before and the general consensus is that it doesn't seem to work well. Well, maybe not for retail traders, but in this case with a former professional floor trader executing the leg trade for me, it worked.
I'm going to be moving my other account from OX to ToS. These guys are great!
EDIT P.S. I think he was able to leg in the trade in a way that we can't, but I'm not sure. He mentioned something about executing the trade on his monitor, but we didn't have time to talk as the SPX was heading down. So I'm not at all sure about the details on how he actually accomplished the trade.
I placed the following trade this morning:
DEC SPX 1285/1300 bear call spread at $0.60
The mid was about $0.40 when I placed the trade.
When the SPX was up about 8 to 9 points my trade still wasn't filled. I called ToS and they said I was close but there wasn't much action on these strikes. They called down. Nothing happened.
I called ToS again and spoke with a different guy. He looked at it and said I was real close and then felt very strongly that if he tried to leg the trade for me that he could probably get the $0.60 credit. He wouldn't guarantee it, but I gave my permission to let him try.
Within 5 minutes (and with the SPX going down to around 7.5, the trade was filled.
I know we've talked about legging trades before and the general consensus is that it doesn't seem to work well. Well, maybe not for retail traders, but in this case with a former professional floor trader executing the leg trade for me, it worked.
I'm going to be moving my other account from OX to ToS. These guys are great!
EDIT P.S. I think he was able to leg in the trade in a way that we can't, but I'm not sure. He mentioned something about executing the trade on his monitor, but we didn't have time to talk as the SPX was heading down. So I'm not at all sure about the details on how he actually accomplished the trade.
Quote from ryank:
It's very quiet in here today, is everybody sweating out their November short call positions
ryan
Ryan,
Good to hear you didn't make a large loss. Just curious how you didn't come out better. It's been a pretty quiet month hasn't it? lol, what do I know? Seemed like a perfect month for put spreads given the residual IV inflation from last month's shenanigans.
Momoney.
Good to hear you didn't make a large loss. Just curious how you didn't come out better. It's been a pretty quiet month hasn't it? lol, what do I know? Seemed like a perfect month for put spreads given the residual IV inflation from last month's shenanigans.
Momoney.
Quote from ryank:
It's very quiet in here today, is everybody sweating out their November short call positions
ryan
I told you when we were discussing 1240 I did not feel comfortable with it given the potential for a nice surge in NOV. I am glad I avoided calls for NOV. Even though I feel good technically with my 1275/1280 call spread for DEC I am still nervous about what post-Thanksgiving rally could do if we stay high like this. Good news is that my 127 SPY hedge is up about $2,000 lol.
I only used $150K for margin for DEC positions and I think that once we hit the first week of DEC I will use remaining portions for JAN positions and try and end the year nice.
The SPX and ES ar eboth above resistance lines so that price target I mentioned of 1260 is starting to look viable for December. Keep your DEC call spreads at 1275 or higher. The more cushion the better.
I only used $150K for margin for DEC positions and I think that once we hit the first week of DEC I will use remaining portions for JAN positions and try and end the year nice
. The SPX and ES ar eboth above resistance lines so that price target I mentioned of 1260 is starting to look viable for December. Keep your DEC call spreads at 1275 or higher. The more cushion the better.
Quote from ryank:
It's very quiet in here today, is everybody sweating out their November short call positions
ryan
I got spooked at the beginning of the month and took a good sized loss on the calls. I hesitated to roll up at the time, waited a few days and then opened call spreads again. I only rolled my puts up one time, guess I should have done it again to help make some more money in Nov but hindsight is 20/20. Looking back at my trades, I initially put my call spread on too close to the market (not per my trading plan
). In my trading journal I made a note 2 days after putting the position on that I will probably regret doing it and sure enough I was right! My adjustment was for risk management and that worked out well, getting me to positive for the month before commissions.Note to self: stick to the plan, stick to the plan, stick to the plan! The plan is the plan because it is the plan!
ryan