I do well with the CTM's as long as I don't forget not to chase pennies. If I'm correct on a directional forecast, and the underlying moves quickly in my favor, the potential reward for staying in the position is drastically reduced. At that point I must decide whether or not to take profits.
Some traders pay bills with their gains. I don't, so 100% of the gains are left in the account. Thus, I'm more interested in frequent compounding than reaching the max potential profit for each position. Unfortunately, it is never cut and dry. Forecasting and re-evaluation are key to this game. That is why I'm always telling people to form an opinion. It's difficult to make money by sitting on the fence.
It seems that many people view certain strategies as though they don't have to forecast accurately. This is not the case. My biggest problem with GF's "Optionetics" program is that it frequently implies that DN traders don't have to forecast.
I've heard similar things from advisories specializing in OTM credit spreads. (I'm NOT talking about OC's thread) With OTM the forecast is that the underlying will be relatively still and vols will be stagnant or decrease with the lack of price movement. They buy themselves a little more cushion to be wrong in that forecast by accepting more risk.
We'll see what tomorrow brings.
