Trading Long Straddles

Rate structure for OH (options)

Options... $5 per contract up to 5 then an additional $1 per
Or a fee of $8.50 per transaction plus $.15 per contract.

Spreads are $10.00 for up to 10 contracts and $1.00 per contract over 01.
Or a fee of $12.50 plus $.15 per contract.


Hope this help...

I am happy with their customer service....

Still learning how aggressive I can be on going after the mid-point
 
Well it is kind of confusing with my BLOG. THE SEREPENDITY TRADING. They re-did the BLOG format and now the entries I used to put in a column by number, no longer line up neatly for reading. They all run one after the other in a continuous line. Doesn't seem anything I can do about it? A flaw in the system I think.

I started my Ebb and Flow Tradeoponics method I'm trying to build, with a starting account balance of $7058. So far, I've got 3 straddles in two weeks past, until now. The first STRADDLE completed today, for a gain of +$86 net profit. The second LONG STRADDLE is still half unfinished, but have taken a profit out of it, of $114 net profit, so far. $17 of that was a single CALL trade I did by mistake. It worked, but I can't take credit for it. But I still have half the STRADDLE to complete yet, another week away, I imagine? The THIRD LONG STRADDLE IS open and no progress yet.

My personal calculated BALANCE for my account is now $7273. However, TOS running balance is only showing $7151. I'm guessing that is because I have two trades still open that have not yet been completed? For the difference! We shall see down the line here, I guess.

Experimental Learning:
Will be completing 3 'paper trades' this week. Two CONDORS and 1 LONG STRADDLE, as experiments, to see what happens? These were WEEKLY type trades. Not that anybody is particularly interested I suppose? :mad:
 
Quote from webicknell:

Rate structure for OH (options)

Options... $5 per contract up to 5 then an additional $1 per
Or a fee of $8.50 per transaction plus $.15 per contract.

Spreads are $10.00 for up to 10 contracts and $1.00 per contract over 01.
Or a fee of $12.50 plus $.15 per contract.


Hope this help...

I am happy with their customer service....

Still learning how aggressive I can be on going after the mid-point
More...

Ok, that's really poor. I sound like a shill for IB, but I would transfer there. I've been with them since ~1998.
 
Falcon, I suggest you get a hold of Hull and Taleb. Reading those books will save you years of years of experimenting and they would answer 99% of the questions you ask in the thread
 
Quote from TskTsk:

Falcon, I suggest you get a hold of Hull and Taleb. Reading those books will save you years of years of experimenting and they would answer 99% of the questions you ask in the thread
More...

:p
 
Tsk Tsk

Hull and Taleb??? Will look it up. Thanks!


Bought 1 Aug. 60 PUT at $1.60, to bring down my breakeven to $2.27 including commissions on an open leg of a straddle I have. The 1 contract STRADDLE already made +$114. Now I'm like the mafia. Just want to get rid of the loose end. :cool:

Interesting my STD condor is right on target and collecting Time Decay. Who knows, do this a couple more times, and might change from a paper trade to real money on that CONDOR WEEKLY?
 
The biggest misconception about the long straddle is that you are playing price. YOU ARE PLAYING VOLATILITY. The expected move is already built into the trade so you need a bigger than expected move to make money, not just a move up or down.

Its just like the over/under bet in sports. The Lakers and spurs are expected to score 200 points which is the line. If you bet the over and they score over 200 pts. you win. Under than you lose.

A short straddle is playing the under. It's not about price but about volatility. So the key is buying low volatility and selling high. Easier said than done.


Quote from falconview:

Having failed at credit spread trading, Gap trading and straight buying of options. I´m now trying LONG STRADDLES in options. Got one week in it now, but probably run through the month. Any body got any advice on making money with lONG STRADDLES?
:D
More...
 
Tsk Tsk

I downloaded a pdf file from Taleb on lots of different egghead subjects. Now I know you and ATTICUS are poking fun at me. It wasn't like there were a half dozen words with over 8 letters. Over half of 8 mgbytes were big elongated words. Couldn't get my tongue around them even if I tried. I counted, many of them had eleven or more letters in a single word. There were not just a dozen or two, there were hundreds, if not thousands of such words. Do people actually speak like that?
It read like a politician's speech, running for office.:p

If he was selling used cars, I could kind of pick up on it. It sounded more complicated than the stuff a friend of mine says, trying to build a plasma, tiny 5 hp fusion operating generator. I was hoping he could get it working strong enough to stick in a flying saucer, to use for a round the moon trip. I'd love to go to an Experimental Aircraft Convention, flying a saucer with space capabilities, using a small compact plasma fusion motor. But TALEB on options trading? Yeesh!

If there was anything useful in those articles covering 8 mgbytes, I didn't find it. I'll look up Hull shortly, see what that has? If you and Atticus got anything out of that stuff, you are certainly better men than me.:D
 
Ha! Ha! Okay TSK TSk. Thanks for the clarification. And the reference. I will maybe get to this weekend to look up.

I was just having a bit of fun with you guys. Playing my country, boy, ignorant, grass chewing straw in the mouth routine. :p Aw shucks and all that !

Curious to see how my two condors will come out this morning. One on a stock that looks to be a winning selection trade method? One on the QQQ which is looking hairy before the OPEN, but actually might fall between QQQ 60 and 61 this morning. Though doubt it. Both paper trades are teaching me lessons of a sort.

The expiration Friday, LONG STRADDLE, paper trade, haven't a clue how that is going to turn out this morning yet? Another learning experience.

The sample three trades is still too small to draw conclusions for the 'Ebb and Flow trading method'. But looking good indeed. Another month if it stays successful, will double up the contracts. This one is CASH MONEY. The nuances and tricks, particularly the ADJUSTMENT section needs to be worked on a bit and fine tuned. I'm feeling cheerful this morning. My wife and I were chatting and I casually put in as a feeler, that things were starting to go well, and if I actually made my $10,000 by XMAS. I might throw another $20,000 in the pot so to speak. She was not outright laughing, or complaining, so that speaks well.
:)
 
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