A diagonal or calendar perhaps? I don't think I have ever seen IV's this low. Right now Dec 1405 is showing 8.18 IV :eek: Is something wrong with my computer? Do I need to give it a shake????
Just for grins, I restricted the original 200 months to only those months that started with a VIX < 12. Again... FWIW
I did do a Nov/Mar 1350 put calendar and never rolled it so will be looking at a diagonal for Dec/Mar. Might open a Dec/Mar 1375 P calendar as well....depending on the spreads (SPX)
With VIX this low, I'm not doing any credit spreads -- just not a good deal -- instead buying calls/puts or debit spread.
I like to re-read Market Wizards I and II from time to time, and thought I'd post the top 5 takeaways in case anyone might benefit from a refresher: 1) Don't trade without a trading plan. 2) Cut your losses, let your profits run. Managing risk is critical (and you can't manage risk without a trading plan a la 1)). Many folks take profits quickly and gamble with their losses... which is cutting your profits and letting your losses run! 3) If you have a fear of losing (and can't take small losses) you will eventually have a big loss and miss great opportunities. 4) You must have an edge. If you don't know what your edge is, you don't have one. 5) If you feel the need to get someone's opinion on a postion you're in, it's a sign that you should get out of that position.
...one more that Schwager mentioned repeatedly: the best traders patiently wait for a high-odds trade to really step on the gas. This is probably slightly at odds with many of the iron condor strategies that promise some sort of "monthly income" approach...
If anyone on this thread is interested in learning more about riskbased haircuts or prop trading in general, Don Bright and I will be holding a live chat in a few weeks for ET. Details are here: http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showthread.php?threadid=80880 For those of you in Chicago, Charles Cottle will be coming out to speak to my options group in Chicago Monday night. Our group is similar to Murray's in Grand Rapids, an educational group that meets once a month.
John, How did you get Cottle to speak? I would love to attend. Feel free to fill us in on the details. thanks, M~