Stanford: could you please look at previous posts, and if you see that I did not answer a question you may have posed to please point it out? All: I have looked at some of my posts, and there are a lot of typos/wrong words, etc. I am short of time, I decided to write something rather than delay due to typos/edits. The forum has a feature which does not allow one to edit their posts after 30 minutes. I think it is counter productive. Stanford: I am wondering how are your short calls doing? Also, with a decline in volty, I would expect that your strategy would make you per month. Any related observations?
Trading Journal That is an interesting comment about the QQQQ's. I'm not familiar with them. From your comment, they are a calendar monthly? From what the 1st to end of month? Or am I just confused? Do they expire third Friday, but you are talking trading the last week in September, then going for October? Bit confused there as I'm not familiar with them.
Trading Journal The comment that a horizontal time spread can act like a straddle makes me nervous indeed. So looking at the chart, I'm thinking THURSDAY might be a possible correction start day? The thing to do then, is get out tomorrow afternoon I suppose? I'll double check that tomorrow. The BULL CALL DEBIT SPREAD can sit through a correction I would think, as it is not a weekly trade, but an October monthly trade, as over the longer term I believe the trend will follow through. I should probably cash in the CALLS tomorrow also?
Well guys doesn't look like much happening today? Think I'll close down the trading room and take 5 or 6 hours to go get some needed construction materials as the crew comes to work tomorrow.
TJ, thanks for asking, but dont even think about any previous questions, as there are always so many more all the time! Will have to read and reread your debit spread information to flaconview before I have a clue about what that is. When the market started to rise, I put on a call spread just to watch what happens. If it was real money, would be close to making an adjustment, and might do that just for practice. The calls were NDX 2050/2075 so I am still far enough OTM. Just did the adjustment, cost $2200 for 20 contracts to go to 2075/2100. Michael
Dr Gonzo, I must be missing something, when I go to the xtrenders site, I dont see anything about Mitch and his positins, where do I find that? Thanks Michael
Stanford and Traders Journal Well Tuesday. Market has closed. I came up stairs just before closing to my trading room and tried to figure what was happening. Bottom line, all the OEX long CALLS, the Bull Debit Call Spread, the Horizontal Time Spread, are losing. These are all scratch paper trades. Strangely enough the OEX is DOWN for the day, but on comparison, the NDX is UP for the day. Anyway, all the scratch paper trades are losing. Some quite significantly, over half the premiums for moves of just a couple of index points. Which is a lesson of itself, the magnitude of the swing in premiums that is. Once sometime while I was out, the index actually went profitable in the OEX up to 509. Essentially I have to rely not on the whipsawing action of intra-day index movement and the wild effect on the trades, but just have FAITH that my mid term, longer projection for OEX index projection is still price is going up some more. So we hold and can sleep tonight. The longer term indicator still says this index has room to go UP. I looked at the only trade that counts, as that is in my web based paper money account with TOS, put on Monday and it did not get touched for the weekly trade. Still collecting the miracle of TIME DECAY. That is the NDX credit spread in the NDX weekly that I sold for .30 cents in PUTS at NDX 1825/1800. It is showing a gain of + $325 in TIME DECAY for two days. Plan to put the next upper leg, in Bear Calls, making an Iron Condor on Thursday morning. Though if I had to CLOSE it out, it would lose .5 cents right now. Still it is doing it's job. Will my BULL TREND indicator forecast continue true? Shall stick with it and HOLD on everything and forget the whipsawing.
What I have is too many learning trades going, that are confusing the heck out of me. My TOS account credit spread trade though is behaving well. I lack the experience yet, to absorb the conflicting information on so many simultaneous learning trades, as a beginner, at the same time. However, time and practice will sort that out. I still think I'm good yet in this BULL TREND which is ongoing, even if it (index) is sideways a bit and down a little today. If it was real money one could get scared into taking losses. I think we are on track yet.
Stanford, u have to look under the comments on xtrenders. I see he has dan zanger following him now on twitter. http://twitter.com/mitch_martin22 http://www.xtrenders.com/2010/09/sold-sp-at-1104.html#disqus_thread
Stanford The website recommended by Dr. Gonzo with the best of intentions is a forecasting system. This is a system enjoyed by long term buy and hold stock traders. Such a system would be useless to you as a highly leveraged option trader. Your viewpoint is short term. Anywhere from a day to maybe 15 days at the most. Amateur retail traders in stocks, get enamoured with all the hype of forecasting the market. Good way to lose your money. Option traders trade in the PRESENT, what the market is DOING right now. And are always poised to close out, if the market does not obey the future expectations. When you have an OPINION on what the market is doing, sometimes you will be right and sometimes you will be wrong. In the end the wrong opinions will wipe out your account. Just go with what is, right now in the present if you are trading options.