Finding your bread and butter

Discussion in 'Options' started by Bushwacked9, Oct 20, 2019.

  1. .sigma

    .sigma

    Hey Bobby, glad to see you posting. Loved your journal.

    Anyway I wanted to ask, currently where do you reside in your journey as far as strategies go?

    Meaning since condors aren't your bread-and-butter, what is?

    I'm inclined to trade many butterflies these days. They've become my favorite strategy, the whole myriad of them (broken-wing, skip-strike, iron fly, double fly, long fly, short fly etc..)

    Wing spreads are great in general but I like positioning weekly long fly's in many products.
     
    #11     Oct 21, 2019
  2. Wheezooo

    Wheezooo

    You have a faulty premise. No strategy has an 'inherent' advantage over any other. Same holds true for buying and selling. Anyone teaching you otherwise is selling you a false bill of goods. Some positions just allow you to sleep better. Sleep is good.
     
    #12     Oct 21, 2019
  3. Well I agree and disagree at the same time ... Yes no strategy is perfect or a winner all the time ... However there could be some that just make more sense to you and you find easier to trade than others because you have a system for it and practiced it quite a bit.

    That's all I meant by that .... Not that ICs win rate would be any better than another. It all comes down to the person ... I believe
     
    Last edited: Oct 21, 2019
    #13     Oct 21, 2019
  4. .sigma

    .sigma

    While I concur, let me play that advocative devil.. YES, no "inherent" advantage.. but...

    Depending on your molecular structure and brain wits...
    One can create a synthetic advantage.

    Where... for ex: Dude is a trading wizard. He loves fading jaded lizards...
    But hates and waits to get paid in silver.
    He uses advanced GARCH models he got from his step dad who was/is also a wizard.
    Calculate the dispersion, and wallah, you are trading weekly iron-flies within implied--spaces.

    So yes theres no inherent numerical life-less f(x)=NUMB function BUT add some human witty intellect and watch him go!
     
    #14     Oct 21, 2019
    Wheezooo likes this.
  5. tommcginnis

    tommcginnis

    There are half-a-dozen fairly good graphics with basic outlines of option strategies for given market set-ups. We pick our bread&butter from something else. For me, it's losses. Show me some strategies with $1 positive expectancy, and I'll *probably* choose the one with the smallest number of losses -- not the $2 winners, but the 25¢25¢25¢25¢25¢25¢25¢25¢. I favor systematic operation; I favor base-hits over homeruns. That addresses your original query.
     
    #15     Oct 21, 2019
  6. Wheezooo

    Wheezooo

    Well done. :fistbump:
     
    #16     Oct 21, 2019
    .sigma likes this.
  7. Hello Sigma! My bread and butter trade is selling the 10 delta put in /ES at 60 DTE. I manage the put at 40% profit or close it at 21 DTE, regardless of profit or loss. So far this year, the average hold time on the trade is 7 days. Best wishes on your journey.
     
    #17     Oct 21, 2019
    Bushwacked9 and .sigma like this.
  8. taowave

    taowave

    Hey Sigma,pretty sure you know that an IC is basically a bunch of butterflys stacked together..

    may I ask which broker you trade with??

    I am trading with IB and it seems like I wind up paying about 6 bucks for 4 legged spreads(1.50 per contract)..

    TOS would charge me 2.60 for the same spreads...

    Any input appreciated





     
    #18     Oct 21, 2019
    .sigma likes this.
  9. .sigma

    .sigma

    Hey Tao, yes I am aware of the relationship between condors and flys, I love me some wing-spreads!

    I trade with tastyworks and TOS!
     
    #19     Oct 22, 2019
  10. Can you not call Ameritrade and get them to lower contracts?
     
    #20     Oct 22, 2019