yes, odds do favor a strong fed and not be taken lightly...data this week should be telling

    I think people are believing

    Posted by matt on 12th of Sep 2022 at 11:06 am

    I think people are believing what they want to believe - kind of like a scientist who goes into testing his thesis with a strong bias and then favors the data from his experiments that support his bias - too many people want the Fed to be done or nearing the end and continually look for reasons and justifications for it

    A famous trader once said

    Posted by steverobin on 12th of Sep 2022 at 12:48 pm

    A famous trader once said that I would rather lose my opinion than my money. 

    Yes and I can vouch

    Posted by retirefire on 12th of Sep 2022 at 01:19 pm

    Yes and I can vouch that it an expensive  lesson

    Never heard this quote but

    Posted by DigiNomad on 12th of Sep 2022 at 01:03 pm

    Never heard this quote but agreeing with it somewhat explains why I sell credit spreads on both sides of the market as my primary strategy. If I was more confident in market direction and timing, I would logically be buying debit spreads instead for the larger potential returns. Selling credit spreads allows me to win on 3 out of 4 outcomes. Buying debit spreads means I only win on 1 out of 4 possible outcomes...and I'm essentially admitting to myself that my base case has a high likelihood of not playing out the way I imagine. 

    I do the same thing

    Posted by mirhamedali on 12th of Sep 2022 at 03:10 pm

    I do the same thing DigiNomad: use TA to lean in one direction while opening spreads.

    I like to open credit spreads just because my downside risk is capped, plus I think the margin requirement is lower since I am taking on the credit.  I agree, its good to have a system where you can win in 3 of 4 scenarios, 80% of the time.

    I open 2-3 month long spreads and usually close them out in about a month ... depending on where we are in the elliott wave counts.  I find its not worth holding all the way 

    You can make more with spreads than with the indexes themselves 

    Have you guys looked at

    Posted by mirhamedali on 12th of Sep 2022 at 03:14 pm

    Have you guys looked at Ladder credit spreads?  You are basically adding on one far OTM option to cover the possibility of a surprise move in the wrong direction.
    By doing a ladder you can win no matter which direction the market moves ... all you need to bank on is the market moving at least 3 % up or down - a flat market is no good.

    Can you give and example

    Posted by tmbrook1 on 12th of Sep 2022 at 06:32 pm

    Can you give and example of how you would set one of these up.  How far out is the additional option.

    @tmbrook1, here is the example

    Posted by mirhamedali on 12th of Sep 2022 at 11:52 pm

    @tmbrook1, here is the example you requested

    This is on QQQ.  First image is a normal Bear Put Spread, 2nd one adds a  385 Call which is just $0.21, so its dirt cheap insurance in case the market moves against me.  Even if the market goes up 10% my loss is almost zero.

    But as you can see the insurance starts losing some juice after about a month, but its best practice to exit spreads early (at around 50% of max profit).

    As an advanced tactic, if the market moves against you then you can sell that OTM call if you feel the market will come back in your favor thus banking some profit in the interim.

    Plus seems like the big

    Posted by bpozdoll1717 on 13th of Sep 2022 at 08:11 am

    Plus seems like the big boys have advance knowledge of a good CPI. No way they run it up to a key announcement without some info leaked.  Expect a lower CPI. 

    The SPX formed a clear

    Posted by steve on 13th of Sep 2022 at 08:18 am

    The SPX formed a clear triangle yesterday (posted here) which suggested a push higher 

    Ladder happens naturally if you're

    Posted by DigiNomad on 12th of Sep 2022 at 03:52 pm

    Ladder happens naturally if you're watching the market daily and doing credit spreads on both sides of the market (selling calls spreads wehn overbought and put spreads when oversold).
    I tend to sell options with around 45 days to epiration and they are always out of the money (no more than 20 delta when sold). Given these parameters, I'm not sure what you mean by "flat market is no good."  I would LOVE a flat market right now. Although, you want the vol to be high when you enter the trade, you WANT it to collapse after you're in (with credit spreads) 

    I dont want the market

    Posted by mirhamedali on 12th of Sep 2022 at 04:50 pm

    I dont want the market to be flat so that I can exit the trade early.  I rarely hold to expiration.  I normally exit halfway through.  I end up making more on a per day basis that way.

    You are right the ladder can happen naturally if you are opening trades on both sides, that's a cool approach.  But then one trade may be a loser.  However with an actual ladder each of the trades can be winners. 

    I  only trade SPX options

    Posted by DigiNomad on 12th of Sep 2022 at 09:43 pm

    I  only trade SPX options in taxable account and SPY options in retirement accounts (better liquidity but I have to use more contracts).  Since I've focused my efforts on what amounts to a single product / index, my results have been outstanding and predictable.  Unfortunately, I know that someday I'll likely have to transition over to more volatill e products again. But with the VIX where it's been at recently, I can stick with a single index for my option set ups and do just fine. I'll cross the lower volatility bridge when we come to it. 

    I refer to you guys

    Posted by matt on 12th of Sep 2022 at 03:26 pm

    I refer to you guys as the options expert, of which I am not. Appreciate when you post various complex strategies involving spreads and ladders vs just buying or selling a Call or Put option -especially when it relates to the SPY and ES system trades

    I place spreads myself. Both

    Posted by brophy on 12th of Sep 2022 at 01:11 pm

    I place spreads myself. Both Bull and Bear Put spreads. But with all the great info here and so many T.A. tools at your exposure not sure why you cannot pick a direction. But to each his own.

    The TA from the site

    Posted by DigiNomad on 12th of Sep 2022 at 02:22 pm

    The TA from the site is critical to my credit spread selling strategy. I use it to pick the levels / strikes that I sell and when to sell them (overbought = start selling call spreads, oversold = start selling put spreads). 

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