here is complete T&S pls share your conclusion note: 310 volume was only CBOE combined exchange volume was 444
Thanks for that; quote.com is interesting but I got your data before I could dig out my credit card and sign up for their 14 day trial. My conclusion, probably to this entire thread, is that my conspiracy theory remains unproven. IB routed me to CBOE, but they didn't execute a single trade on this option until the afternoon. Nobody was filled in front of me at .60 or .55. I guess the action I see is people adding and cancelling offers. IB finally routed me to BOX where I sold the 2 contracts at .50. I apologize to any exchanges I may have maligned. My other conclusion is that options are generally very thinly traded. I only trade options in the top 1000 of volume (per underlying) and these comprise 95% of all options traded. NVDA was ranked 133rd in volume in January. And yet they only traded 444 of these April slightly OTM calls on the day in question. My final conclusion is: in theory, there is no difference between theory and practice; in practice, there is. All the options books talk about buying and selling these contracts as if they were as liquid as water, as if they weren't quantized into nickel/dime increments, as if there weren't large bid-ask spreads. But in practice, it seems to me the real exit strategy for an option is only when it goes ITM. At that point, valuation, and liquidity, and finding someone to take the other side of your trade, all become largely moot. Only remaining questions: 1. are there any rules about "first in, first out" and 2. any good books about the inside story of how market makers operate? Thanks again for bearing with me.