SPX Credit Spread Trader

rbsanders · Sep 28, 2006

Anyone here daytrade emini futures am with options express now and do my spreads and other trading thru them but they have no streaming futures charts. Any opinions on Think or Swim versus Interactive Brokers. Like to have 1,3 5, and 15 minute charts with indicators up for daytrading futures

Thanks

dagnyt · Sep 28, 2006

Quote from Heatheranderson:

Coach and others,
My idea is scalping without worrying about greeks.I intend to purchase front month calls and keep shorting SPY whenever appropriate. If i do this in retail account i have to put up 50% stock cost as well as the cost of long calls which will reduce the ROI. But with just $2000 and cost of long calls, the ROI would be lot more.
what do you think?.

Heather,

If you begin by buying 10 puts, you will have the equivalent position of long 10 calls and short 1000 SPY.

The ROI is EXACTLY THE SAME. That's why they are called equivalent positions. The P/L profile is the same, and with reduced margin, the ROI is better (in a retail account) using long puts.

You are free to buy front month calls and sell SPY per your stated intentions. Nothing will be different. There is no need to own calls ans short SPY. It's exactly the same.

One more point: The haircut on the synthetic puts is small, but you are in a retail account and the margin (Reg T) requirement is huge. Please don't do it. Use the long puts instead.

Mark

scoobie27 · Sep 28, 2006

Quote from rbsanders:

Anyone here daytrade emini futures am with options express now and do my spreads and other trading thru them but they have no streaming futures charts. Any opinions on Think or Swim versus Interactive Brokers. Like to have 1,3 5, and 15 minute charts with indicators up for daytrading futures

Thanks

Hi RB,

Just played around with my cahrt function on IB for the first time and must say Im quite impressed. Don't know enough to give you much details but it does have streaming futures charts. The one im playing around with is ES futures.

It has a good selection of 1,2,3,5,15,30 minute bars and also hourly and daily etc.

Not sure how good the indicators are though.

momoneythansens · Sep 28, 2006

Quote from rbsanders:

Anyone here daytrade emini futures am with options express now and do my spreads and other trading thru them but they have no streaming futures charts. Any opinions on Think or Swim versus Interactive Brokers. Like to have 1,3 5, and 15 minute charts with indicators up for daytrading futures

Thanks

Thought I answered this for you here:

http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&postid=1211577#post1211577

You must have me on ignore. Frankly, I don't blame you. LA LA LA LA LA LA. See, I can type whatever I want here because you won't see this message. LA LA LA LA LA.

For charting with Interactive Brokers you can certainly use their native charts but it's like looking through frosted glass.

Alternatively, you can use third party charting apps in case the indicators you require are not there e.g.

Quote Tracker or
Sierra Charts

Both work with the IB data feed etc.

If you intend to use market delta, time and sales etc. you'll need to be aware of the way that IB package their data into snapshots.

About several rainforest worths of paper has been devoted to all of the above topics here on ET in the relevant forums and software reviews (not in the journals or options forums!)

To reiterate, the ToS platform is not geared up for any kind of serious daytrading activity.

Both ToS and Interactive Brokers have demos you can try out.

Good luck.

LA LA LA LA LA LA LA

MoMoney.

rbsanders · Sep 28, 2006

Quote from momoneythansens:

Thought I answered this for you here:

http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&postid=1211577#post1211577

You must have me on ignore. Frankly, I don't blame you. LA LA LA LA LA LA. See, I can type whatever I want here because you won't see this message. LA LA LA LA LA.

For charting with Interactive Brokers you can certainly use their native charts but it's like looking through frosted glass.

Alternatively, you can use third party charting apps in case the indicators you require are not there e.g.

Quote Tracker or
Sierra Charts

Both work with the IB data feed etc.

If you intend to use market delta, time and sales etc. you'll need to be aware of the way that IB package their data into snapshots.

About several rainforest worths of paper has been devoted to all of the above topics here on ET in the relevant forums and software reviews (not in the journals or options forums!)

To reiterate, the ToS platform is not geared up for any kind of serious daytrading activity.

Both ToS and Interactive Brokers have demos you can try out.

Good luck.

LA LA LA LA LA LA LA

MoMoney.

Sorry, missed your response but appreciate the info

scoobie27 · Sep 28, 2006

Quote from momoneythansens:

You must have me on ignore. Frankly, I don't blame you. LA LA LA LA LA LA. See, I can type whatever I want here because you won't see this message. LA LA LA LA LA.

Sounds better when you go BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH

ryank · Sep 28, 2006

I say we break and hold the Dow record tomorrow. All the talking heads are blathering about it, it is the end of the quarter so fund manager will finish buying up the hot stocks of the quarter so that should push above the record and hold. Now next week I'm would love to see a selloff of some sort to help my positions (jump in volatility would be nice too

).

rsflint · Sep 28, 2006

Quote from ryank:

I say we break and hold the Dow record tomorrow. All the talking heads are blathering about it, it is the end of the quarter so fund manager will finish buying up the hot stocks of the quarter so that should push above the record and hold. Now next week I'm would love to see a selloff of some sort to help my positions (jump in volatility would be nice too ).

Ya no kidding..my 1350/1360 bear call position could use that.

kalikahuna · Sep 28, 2006

Uhh..again, how are we continuing to go even further up? It's almost like the market is so close to the top that it kinda artificially is pushing it there.

You remember how Bonds was so close to Babe Ruth's record? So, the Giants would change the rotation to give Bonds as many at bats as possible?

Our homerun record, Super Bowl winning record type society loves a winner and it seems like they're artificially trying to do that with the Dow, even tho economic news is terrible right now and we're supposed to be at the beginning of a downturn.

I'm really hoping the market comes to its senses soon, so I can turn my diag. put from breakeven to positive.

On an interesting side note, as this is my first put diagonal. I was actually making money on the move upwards as the short put lost money faster than the long put....that was of course, until the market decided to jump upwards. But, even then...when the market only moves like 2 or 3 pts against me, my position still gets better as the short put loses more money than the long.

El OchoCinco · Sep 28, 2006

Well tomorrow is expiration day for my 1340EW/1360ES diagonal on the short side. With the market at 1347.50 currently my short call is in the money. The beautiful thing about the call diagonal is that I can let the short go ITM near expiration and not worry as I have a few choices to adjust. Do not get me wrong, I do not want it be this much ITM, but it is not causing my real grief like it would if it were a vertical.

I have 2 different adjustments lined up based on tomorrow's price action. For those of you about to ask the question.. YES! this time I really checked the numbers and did it on paper to make sure lol... I will reveal the potential adjustments tomorrow as we see what the market does.

Despite the mistakes I am pretty happy with the fact that I selected 1340 as a target strike 4 weeks ago or so and here we are at EW expiration just 7 points away and the previous month I was also within 10 points. Of course do not ask me to repeat that lol..