Time stop for long option

Discussion in 'Options' started by a529612, Jul 17, 2006.

  1. What time stop rule do you follow for front month long option (4 weeks till expiration) if the position is not working in your favor, e.g. moving sideways or slightly against you? Do you just go flat at week 2 before time decay starts to accelerate at week 3?
     
  2. I don't buy straight long options with less than 60 days to expiry. I exit my straight long option 30 days prior to expiry because of the negative theta. If I've got a vertical debit spread then that gets closed also 30 days prior to expiry or earlier for the same reason. If I have a vertical credit spread (theta positive) I use a loss stop when I get to 100% loss (i.e. if credit is $300 then I'll close if I hit $300 loss or support/resistance broken, whichever happens first).
    daddy's boy