Posts tagged ‘option trading’

Weekly Options Credit Spread – The Foundation Of Consistent Option Income

A preferred non directional trading strategy is the Weekly Options Credit Spread. This strategy is one of the easier option spreads to comprehend for newer option traders. In addition it is simple to place and there is not much to do management wise while the trade is in play – which allows the credit spread trader to be freed from their trading chair and not have to watch every up tick and down that the market makes all day.

A core trading strategy that is found within many of the other option trading strategies like the butterfly trade which is constructed from a credit spread and a debit spread, and also the iron condor which is built from two separate credit spreads placed on either side from where the stock or index being used is trading at.

Option traders love to trade this strategy because the way these trades are constructed can allow the trader to be wrong and still make money. If the trader creates a particular credit spread position, he or she can win if the stock or index being traded winds up doing three out of four possible scenarios. If the stock goes down, the trader makes money. If the stock goes nowhere the trader makes money. If the stock goes up a little, the trader makes money. The only way the trader can lose money if the stock goes up far enough to threaten the credit spread that has been sold. And even then, there are management and adjustment techniques that can be utilized to hedge against losses.

For example let’s say our trader is bearish on the stock XYZ. XYZ is trading at a recent high and our trader believes that the stock will not move any higher over the next 30 days. So, he sells a bear call spread – a call option credit spread that benefits in a neutral to bearish scenario.

The only way this spread trade can lose money is if the stock winds up doing 1 out of 4 possible scenarios – giving our trader a three out of four likelihood of winning. If the stock moves down as our trader predicts he wins. If the stock stays stagnant and goes nowhere, he wins. In fact, even if the stock moves against our trader and heads upward he wins just so long as the underlying doesn’t move so far as to breach the spread sold. The only our trader loses is if the underlying moves far enough upwards passing the option strike price that was sold – which if it does, our trader could still salvage the position through appropriate management and adjustment methods – adding up to yet another reason why option sellers love this strategy so much which is also called the Iron Condor .

Ted ‘The Spread is an option selling loony – chiefly obsessed about trading credit spread and the weekly options . Stop by his Iron Condor Website to be taught more about his Plain Paint By The Numbers Method for trading the weeklys for consistent profits.

Iron Condor – Don’t Mess With This Bird Without Wearing Steel Gloves

For all the investors out there who can’t pick market direction to save their lives, here is a good trading strategy worth considering: it’s called the option greeks Iron Condor Option Strategy. This trade is ideally suited for non trending markets, however it can also product great results in a moving market just as long as the investor who is trading this strategy understands it thouroughly and has been properly educated on how to work the trade and most importantly how to correctly adjust.

The iron condor is a trade that benefits from the reality that options are a wasting asset – an investment vehicle that slowly drains value as time passes by. These trades will profit just as long as the strikes which have been sold remain outside the range that has been created on the iron condor profit graph when the trade was first initiated. And these trades can kick off a good and solid return on investment in quick periods of time.

When we look at how the iron condor is put together, we can see that in fact this trade is just two separate credit spread positions placed above and below where the vehicle being traded is currently trading at. Below the underlying we find a bull put spread while above we find a bear call spread. Some iron condor traders prefer to place their iron condors as one complete trade – all four legs together – while other traders prefer to leg into the position, placing each particular credit spread one at a time.

The goal of the trade is for the underlying to stay contained within the ‘range’ created by the two sold credit spreads. While the trade is on, the underlying can move around on the chart as long as it stays contained within this ‘range’. It the underyling beings moving around too much, or moves too far in either direction, the trade will become threatened and the trader will need to take some sort of action to manage and/or adjust.

This type of trading strategy provides a very high probability of success – and can be profitable most of the time. However, it is important to note that the risk to reward ratio of these trades are NOT ideal – as one losing month, if not properly managed, can wipe out an entire years worth of gains. Learning how to set correct profit targets, exit and stop loss points, as well as gaining the appropriate knowledge on how to properly manage and adjust an iron condor position that is getting into trouble is vital to long term success with this trade.

When I first began trading this strategy, I found myself winning month after month – UNTIL – suddenly I hit a bad month and wound up giving everything back and then some – simply because I didn’t take the time up front to properly learn how to manage and adjust.

This is exactly what happened to me when I first started trading the option greeks iron condor strategy – and I had to learn this lesson the hard way through taking a large painful loss to my own account. Had I just taken the time to learn the risk management and hedging techniques taught at this iron condor training website, I could have avoided much of this trading pain.

To be taught more about this option greeks system, visit this Butterfly Spread Training Website for heaps of free education videos, examples, and reports on how to fittingly put on, exit, oversee and adjust Iron Condor Strategies to render a reproducible monthly source of revenue.

Calendar Spread: Playing Volatility

Even though the Calendar Spread may be used in numerous stock market environments, they operate the best in low volatility climates. While soaring volatility levels are wonderful for these trades, sinking volatility levels bring them a lot of pain.

Mainly because calendar spreads churn out profit the fastest at neutral to rising volatility levels, some calendar spread traders will wait to make a trade right up until an underlyings volatility either reach the lowest level of their average range, or until they move into the lower third area of their normal volatility range.

By waiting for these lower ranges, the calendar spread trader is increasing his or her odds that the volatility levels will either remain wherever they’re and not go much lower which could wind up hurting the trade, or will start to rise back up which could put their calendar trade into significant earnings pretty swiftly.

Normally volatility levels sink as the market moves upward and rise as the market moves down. This is why many option traders will place calendar spreads when they have a bearish view on the market.

A well-liked technique for income calendar spread traders with a bearish outlook would be to place a calendar spread slightly below where the stock is presently trading at, with the hope that as the stock does start to head down as they anticipated, it will move directly into the center of their calendar position as the volatility soars – quickly pumping a significant gains into their calendar trade.

When using this method with the double calendar spread – it’s possible for the trader to increase their odds even more, as they can set up their calendar spread with a skew that not only creates a sweet spot in the area where the trader believes the underlying will be heading, but also provide profit coverage in a wider area that includes the area where the underlying is currently trading at just in case their belief about market direction turns out to be wrong.

Ted ‘The Spread’ Nino is an option selling zombie – markedly obsessed about trading Calendar Spread . Click over to his Calendar Spread Site to discover more about his Straight forward Paint By The Numbers Method for playing the weeklys for reliable profits.

Double Calendar Trade – New-found Sport For Iron Condor Speculators

A good option trade for iron condor traders who are seeking to build up their option trading repertoire is the Option Volatility Double Calendar Spread.

What is this option trading spread?

The double calendar is simply two separate calendar spreads located on the same stock or index, usually placed on either side of wherever the underlying is presently trading at.

What is a calendar spread?

A calendar spread is the sale of a closer month option (many times the closest month option) sold at a particular strike price – and the purchase of a farther out month option (many times the next month out option). The farther out month option is purchased at the same strike price as the one that was sold.

Following is a sample of a calendar spread on an underlying we will call XYZ.

Sell 1 June 30 Call Buy 1 July 30 Call

The above spread generates profits through variations in the volatility levels of the 2 distinct options, as well as from the fact that the front month option value will decay at a much quicker pace than the deeper out month option.

A single calendar spread produces a somewhat skinny, profit tent over where the underlying is currently trading at. Nevertheless, when two calendar spreads are used on each side of where the underlying is ticking at, it creates a double calendar. The profit tent on this trade is drastically wider, protecting a larger sized range over the stock / index current trading price.

Following is an illustration of a double calendar spread with XYZ trading at 30.

Sell 1 May 15 Put Buy 1 May 15 Put Sell 1 May 25 Call Buy 1 June 25 Call

The thing that’s nice with the double calendar when compared to other option income trades such as the iron condor trade, is that the double calendar spread could be substantially more forgiving when sizeable market moves take place. If you compare the risk graph of the double calendar next to the risk graph of the iron condor, you can see that the current P&L line stays much smoother over a longer area than the risk graph of a similar iron condor trade.

Finally, rising volatility is a good thing for calendar trades, because it will push more profits into the trade. Where an Iron Condor can be hurt by rising volatility levels – and even wind up creating a trading disaster – because of how calendar trades work – the same type of move can create a profit windfall in a Iron Condor Adjustments double calendar trade.

Ted Nino is an option selling zombie – addicted exceedingly with trading Iron Condor Adjustments . Visit his Option Volatility website to check out his super simple way of trading the weeklys for steady gains – and further wonderful option income ‘stuff’.

Trading Weekly Option – Riding The Butterflies To Produce Weekly Options Returns

A swell method for Option Volatility income market players who reckon the stock or index they’re trading will most likely stay contained within a range for the short term is the butterfly option strategy.

This theta positive derivative trading position generates profits when the stock or index that is getting traded remains within a contained region on the graph or ends up on weekly options expiration day at or near the sold strikes of this trade.

Here is a trade illustration of this weekly options trading technique:

Buy ten contracts of SPY 100 calls. Sell 10 contracts of QQQQ 46 put. Purchase 10 contracts of SPY 110 calls.

These trades can generate fast returns for the option investor as a result of the fact how the short strikes of the spread (the strikes which are sold) produce so much premium into the investors account because of the reason that they’re being sold ATM or ‘at the money’. Strikes that reside ‘at the money’ regularly hold the greatest quantity of time premium in them.

While you will observe lots of variations of the butterfly strategy, the 2 most frequent are the regular butterfly spread which is set on for a debit, as well as the iron butterfly, which is put on for a credit. While these are two dissimilar variations of the butterfly spread, when you compare them next to each other on a a risk graph, they come across the same. While the position is in progress, they perform identical too. With both mutations of this system, it will be the short strikes, or the strikes that are sold at the money, that award the trader with winnings.

The weekly options butterfly scheme is a ‘delta neutral’ strategy, meaning that investors who employ this method do not have an stance on market direction or think that the underlying stock or index being traded will stay in its general spot on the chart for the period of the trade.

When utilized acceptably, Iron Condor Adjustments can be an very profit making, low stress, and fairly enjoyable trade that needs very little time and energy having to oversee.

To learn a much ‘superior’ technique to trade Iron Condor Adjustments for ongoing income, go to this Option Volatility site for easy step-by-step details on how to properly enter, handle, and ADJUST these trades.

Iron Condor – Novice Traders Beware

Let’s go over the pros and cons of the iron condor as it is becoming a popular option trading strategy. Before going out and trading this strategy, it is really important to take the time to fully understand this trade from top to bottom.

While the iron condor strategy sounds like an exotic trade – in fact it is really quite simple. It is comprised of two separate credit spreads – a put credit spread and a call credit spread – on the same stock or index.

When asked if the iron condor is a suggested trade for beginning options traders to be putting on, the answer is both ‘yes and no’ – however the strategy really is not recommend if the rookie option trader hasn’t had good, basic training in how options work and how to correctly and effectively manage risk with these types of trades.

An example of one of these potential risks has to do the ratio of the risk to reward of the iron condor. Risk to reward ratios on these types of trades are just plain awful – with the amount of dollars that is potentially at risk is far greater than what can be made from the trade. For example, lets say we place an iron condor trade where the maximum possible gain is $5,000. With this trade, it is entirely possible that our maximum possible loss could be around $25,000 – or more.

And while the above example may really open the eyes of newer iron condor traders to the real risks that is involved with this trade – it is IMPORTANT to understand that while the risk might be there – with the proper training, tools, and use of risk management techniques and adjustment methods – this risk doesn’t necessarily need to be such a frightening issue as it can be very much controlled.

The bottom line is that the iron condor options strategy is a great way to trade the market for consistent profits – however, like everything else, before running out and just getting started – make sure that you get good training and understand the real ‘key’ or ‘secret’ to making this strategy work – which is to have a full grasp and understanding on how to properly control the risk with this trade – and how to properly manage and adjust the position when things start to go wrong with your position.

Ted ‘The Spread is an option selling wild man – particularly fervent with the playing the iron condor . Click over to his iron condors development site to view more about his first-rate smooth way to maneuver this option income strategy for steady-going gains.

Iron Condor Liars and Thieves

The iron condor strategy. This is a trade that makes profit when the underlying market being used is range bound. Of course options traders try to utilize strategies that can take advantage of movements in the market. Many times – and maybe most of the times – there is not a lot of movement and the underlying just trades in a range, leaving the options being traded to expire with no value on expiration day. With the iron condor options strategy (which is actually recognized and defined by the SEC), non-movement can be turned into a profit by the savvy trader.

A way to think of the iron condor strategy is to consider it as trading a short strangle combined with the purchase of a long strangle. When you buy a put option below where the underlying is trading and then buy a call option above where the underlying is trading at, it is called a ‘strangle’. Since the options that are being bought or sold in a strangle are some distance away from where the underlying is trading at – these options can be bought or sold for less than closer ‘to the money’ options are going for. Another way you can look at the iron condor strategy is to think of it as two credit spreads placed at the same time – a put credit spread and a call credit spread. The trade has purchased calls and put options above and below the short options to protect from a large unforeseen movement in the underlying.

Pretend that you purchase the 1280 SPX and you buy the august call at the level for a credit of two hundred – and right at the same time you buy the august put options for about $4.65. Assuming that you’ve selected an options-friendly broker, all that you’ll need for your required maintenance margin is an amount of assets or cash to cover the strike prices’ difference less the premium credit. In this example you would need around thirteen hundred dollars or so for this spread trade.

The calculation would be:

1370 @ 2.50

1355 @ 4.50

That means that the premium that has been brought in is right around 2 dollars.

That’s fifteen dollars take away two dollars wich equals thirteen dollars – times one spread of 100 contracts equals about thirteen hundred dollars.

Now, if the stock being used in this example closes below where the short options were sold – a great return can be made as the trader can keep the entire premium credit that was brought in at the start of the trade.

This example described is one of the wings of the iron condor spread trade – and it is the call spread side of the trade. To create the full fledged bird and your full iron condor options strategy, you would simply add a put spread in the same way.

This trading strategy can work wonderfully if you know what you are doing and the market conditions are right – and there are some option traders who use it as their primary trading strategy. But it’s not without its potential pitfalls and dangers.

Some important things to consider when trading the iron condor is knowing which underlying to utilize – along with understanding when and how to properly place, adjust and exit the position. Especially the proper management and adjusting. It is possible that this trade can produce big time losses if you don’t take the time to completely learn and understand this trade and if you don’t create a trading plan that you are willing to follow. Try to guess how I know.

Ted ‘The Spread is an option selling junkie – passionate mainly with trading the iron condor . Visit iron condor site to see his stupid uncomplicated system of riding this option strategy for reliable gains – and additional groovy option income ‘stuff’.

Trading Iron Condors – Befriending The Iron Condor Spread Trades To Cash In Option Cashflow

In order to properly trade the iron condor, you need to have a game plan in place first regarding adjustments. Before you even think about what strikes you will use you should have this management plan already in place. The worst thing for you is to be wiped out by an unexpected large move in the index or underlying asset. Just a couple of these can annihilate your account.

This trade can also be looked upon as a strangle trade that has been sold only with added wings for protection. The strangle trade is an option trade where the one who is putting the trade either buys or sells an out of the money put and call on either side where the stock being used is trading at. The amount of credit that is brought in from strangle trades are considerably less than those of straddles since the options that are being sold are further out of the money. This is basically just a call option spread up above where the stock is trading at, and a put option spread position down below where the underlying is trading at. Your paired positions are the condor’s wings.

Since the iron condor strategy can deliver losses that far exceed the possible gains (due to the iron condors terrible risk to reward ratio) – it is vital that iron condor traders have a rock solid plan they can follow for when the unplanned move in the market occurs. By finding a way to put the probability factor of this option trading strategy in our favor we can use that to help us be much more successful with this trade. A big move either way – or even just a move in the underlying that is larger than you were expecting – can have disastrous results on your trade and your profits.

Important Iron Condor Keys To Winning.

- Know that there are different ways for adjusting iron condors. You do not need to follow any certain ‘way’ or methodology either. 


- Protecting your profits and your account should always come first. 


- The last thing you want to do is let a small loss grow into a big loss. 


- Don’t get bored with taking small consistent wins.

Your key to success in trading this strategy is consistency in gaining profits. Keep in mind how important it is not to put at risk your gains and your trading account balance. Be ready to adjust your iron condor positions to hedge, stop losses, or in anticipation of trouble when there is the real possibility of damage to your iron condor option position.

When I first started trading this strategy, I would find myself making great returns month after month – only to then wind up giving back most of those returns during the 1 or 2 bad months that can occur throughout a normal year. However, when I learned this ridiculously easy technique for trading the iron condor all that changed. After discovering the methods taught at this iron condor website, I now know exactly what to do when a problem month comes along to keep from losing the rest of my iron condor profits I’ve accumulated throughout the year.

Although iron condor Trading can be a good means to create passive income, of course like any trading technique there are to be expected dangers one should be cognizant of before getting started. To discover more about how to appropriately trade this method, click over to this iron condor website now.

Iron Condor – How To Fix An Ulcer

When I first began trading the Iron Condor , my game plan was to leave the trade on all the way to the bitter end.

After I placed the trade, I would just leave it be until expiration day where the options would expire worthless and disappear into option heaven.

I figured this was the smartest way to go, since I would bank the ENTIRE credit received – and I wouldn’t have to pay any broker commissions to close out the trade.

But I don’t think this way anymore.

After spending far too many nights worrying and not being able to fall asleep – along with a lot of expiration day close calls – painful ulcers – and a near hernia or two – I’ve altered the way I manage my iron condor trades.

I now place contingent orders to close each credit spread on either side of my iron condor as soon as the majority of profits are realized.

As an example – if I received a credit of a dollar (let’s say about fifty cents each side) when I put an iron condor trade on – I would immediately ask my broker to set up an order to buy the vertical spreads on each side back when the price on them has been reduced to about ten cents or so.

Then I would set up a contingent order to buy back the put spread of my iron condor for.05 or.10 (or at the very most.20).

Now perhaps some of you out there might be scratching your head wondering why I’d do something this. I know when I first started trading these – if someone told me this was their game plan, I’d be scratching my head. Seems like a futile and even sort of dumb thing to do.

But personally – I completely disagree.

Sure I might make less than if I tried to milk them all the way through to the very end.

But as you will see – that’s not necessarily correct.

Let’s take a second look at the amount of money we are talking about here. Ten cents per side – or twenty cents total. Okay – sure – it’s nothing to sneeze at – but when you step back, get a broader look, and start to take a few other things into consideration – it can actually start to look quite miniscule.

What is significant – at least to me – is that by taking off those positions, I’ve LOCKED IN the lions share of the profit available in the trade.

I have also lessened my exposure.

I have also given myself the opportunity to generate ADDED gains from my overall position – without adding any extra risk.

Here’s an example:

A lot of times, the value in options will evaporate really quickly during a trade. I’ve actually seen options lose most of their value in just a few days.

Say I put an Iron Condor on XYZ – 40 days from expiration – for a credit of $1.00 – or.50 each side.

The day after I place the trade, our stock – XYZ – all of a sudden turns south – and proceeds to move down over the next 3 or 4 days.

Four days after I initiated the trade, I discover that I can now purchase the call credit spread of the position for just ten cents.

At this point, I have two choices. I can do nothing and just let my positions play – or – I can buy back that call credit spread for .10 and entirely remove the upper half of the trade. If I decide to do nothing – I have chosen to retain my upper side risk in the trade just to try and eventually capture that tiny remaining .10 potential profit.

But – if I instead just spend the ten measly bucks to pull off that upper credit spread – I will LOCK IN the majority of the profit that was available in that spread – and earn a great return on investment in just four days.

Another thing to consider, is if the stock or index we are using abruptly changes direction and heads back up (which of course DOES happen all the time) we really have nothing to be alarmed about since we’ve removed those upper options and eliminated all upside risk.

In fact, if XYZ bounces back up high enough, I could RESELL the same CALL spread that I originally sold – for the same original credit – or maybe even more – increasing my total ROI for the same amount of RISK that I began with.

And even if I don’t resell any spreads – but just buy them back at.10 to close out the entire trade – it reduces my risk, frees up my capital sooner, increases my ROI over number of days, and gets me out of the trade MUCH more quickly than if I were to try and hold on all the way until expiration.

See, I really love the idea of being able to tad a ‘trading vacation’ – or what I mean by that is a ‘break’ away from trading – of having to one way or another ‘engaged’ in the stock market every day. I love being able to be in a trade for a week or so – and then take a week or so off – away from my trading computer screen. I love being able to get out and do other things without having that little worrisome ‘trading nag’ in the back of my head – always wondering what’s going on in the stock market and wondering if my position is doing okay.

Getting this ‘trading break’ away from the iron condor – this freedom to go out and do things without always feeling the need to check quotes on my phone – not having to worry about always being ‘on game’ and strategizing in my head about what adjustments I might have to make – just being able to sleep in mornings for as long as I please without stressing out about whether the market is going to make an opening gap…

That’s priceless.

Or – at the very least, it’s DEFINITELY worth the.20 or so it costs me to exit early out of the trade…for what is STILL a remarkable monthly profit.

Ted is an option selling crazy person – mainly enthusiastic about trading the iron condor . Visit iron condor Website to find out more about his plain paint by the numbers design for riding this strategy for consistent gains.

Gamma Trading With Weekly Options – Taking Advantage of Rising Volatility

A reliable option strategy to cashflow the market during volatile times using weekly options is a special version of gamma trading . When the market / underlying instrument is making huge moves and swinging around wildly, this is a strategy that thrives – unlike the traditional monthly income strategies such as iron condors, calendars, credit spreads, etc.

Gamma scalping allows a trader to set up a trade that can profit if the market moves either way – and then immediately lock in those profits and ‘re set’ the position to once again profit if the stock moves in either direction. Think of gamma scalping as a way to day trade without having to pick direction – taking away most of the risks that are normally associated with day trading.

When gamma scalping – the trader doesn’t care which way the market will be heading. We just want it to move. Up or down – its all good. And the bigger the moves, the better.

Then, when a move has occurred and a profit has been realized in the position, using an easy to follow set of rules, the trader can perform an adjustment that immediately lock in that profit while setting up the position to profit again no matter what the underlying winds up doing. The best part is that this simple technique can be used over and over again on the same trade – constantly chipping out cash from the same position.

How many times have you purchased a stock or option and wound up actually being right and seeing some profits – only to have the underlying immediately turn around and retreat back to it’s starting position wiping out all the profits?

Gamma Scalping eliminates this. And once again, using the method used to lock that profit in, positions the trade back to it’s starting point – where if the underlying continues moving in the same direction – or stops and returns back to where it came from – MORE profits can continue. This way of trading allows one to not have to be right about direction and still have the ability to be very profitable.

For option income traders who are struggling in these especially volatile times trying to use the standard income trades like condors, credit spreads, and calendars, Gamma Trading is a good method to learn and consider using and adding to their collection of other option strategies.

And along with being stress free and profitable – using weekly options in this way is fun too.

To learn more about the iron condor option strategy, go to see Ted Nino’s site on how to properly place, get out of, negotiate and adjust the Weekly Options for reproducible gains.