Sorry for the imbedded post. I wrote the following: Another thing to keep in mind is the SET. It might not be as predictable as previous SETs (with small point changes.) If you look back several years ago in a higher IV environment, the SET point changes could vary wildly. Good luck. AZD
Hello TS, Last time I looked, we did not have a BS Event. And the only way that the market moved too quickly against you was if your position was too CTM. Otherwise you should have had plenty of time to respond to a normal market movement. I know you stay on top of upcoming Economic Event Calendars like Jobs Reports, etc. So I would ask a couple of questions about your trading plan: 1) Did you have a trading plan for your existing position? 2) Since you probably cannot anticipate the contents or impact of Economic news, all you can really do is plan out how you would manage your outstanding positions in the event of" a) Slow market conditions in one direction or the other regarding your position. b) Fast market conditions in one direction or the other regarding your position. c) No market direction to speak of regarding your position. A pre-existing trading plan might have resulted in either a profit or a loss, but it also would have eliminated the emotional stress of trying to figure out what to do AFTER the event, and when it is probably already too late to do anything anyway except stand in the headlights and hope for devine intervention.
What do you think now. http://www.crowderinvestments.com/blog/index.php?s=iron+condor&paged=3 This guy is one of the few who actually get it. Iron condor positions must be managed appropriately for long-term gains. This cycle proves how important it is as I know many of you have been slammed this expiration by the one pitfall of the strategy - a sharp directional move. Don't wait until your short strikes are breached. That is why I like this guy. He understands the importance capital preservation plays in an iron condor stragegy and he acted on it this month by getting out early. Any horror stories about how others are handling their March condor positions? There should be some grueling tales out there that we acn all learn from this cycle.
He may be one of the guys who gets it, but his writing is full of misinformation. And people who don't understand the basics often have no clue what they are doing. 1) SPX is NOT a tracking stock 2) SPX options are NOT cash settled at the opening price of SPX on the third Friday of each month. Mark
My thought is that you have 11 posts and each one mentions either a service or autotrade service...don't really know if you personally have anything to contribute, oh and BTW I'm doing just fine this March exp..and 1st quarter...thank you. golly gee without any paid help
Finally closed that bear call spread I had from last summer!!! By rolling, I lost 1/3 of my account instead of taking a 100% loss. This is how I survived (kind of): I did not want to face a BS, so I did only bear call spreads (CTM) on the xeo. Well, I did great last summer, but then the market started trending. Instead of closing and taking the loss when the trend changed, I rolled and rolled and rolled. I traded ATM debit spreads on the short term trends. So, I made enough to pay for the rolls. One month, I was able to do a vertical roll for a credit. Anyway lessons learned: 1)When the trend changes- CLOSE and take the loss. Open a new spread later. 2)If you have an iron condor based on the intermediate trend, trade ATM debit spreads based on the short term trends I have now got used to the ATM debit spreads and have been doing well with them. Of course, now volatility has gone up, so I don't know if the debit spreads will still do well.......
Sorry no spam for you. Just reporting my own experience which is what I thought we did here. I have stated my trades from last month which I hope was helpful and yes I ahve touted a few services which have been helpful for me and yes I did pay for them. I was a beginner a short while ago and have learned quite a bit from the paid services. The mesage boards are great to share ideas but are not the end all especially for someone that is working through the intricacies of an advanced option strategy. That is why I pay a professional to help me. Just seems like paid services get a bad rap on this board which is a shame. It seems like a couple bad experiences have defined everyone's opinion of paid services. Beleive me I have experienced some bad ones which is why I like to report the good ones. Like I said isn't this why we have a message board to begin with. Just my two cents.
Here's why it's NOT a shame to dis paid services: Here's something you ought to consider before paying for another service: If they realy knew what they were doing; if they really had a system for selecting trades that were consistently successful; They would NEVER sell that information for a few measly dollars. They would trade that system EXCLUSIVELY and make a fortune. They are just guessing at good trades, and their guess is no better than yours. You understand the strategy, why pay someone to guess which strikes to sell? Mark