Update

Haven't done much trading lately, just holding some ultra-bearish ETF LEAPS. I will get back in after the end of the month.

Today's Trades

AZO
Dec 140/160 short strangle for $2.50 credit. Taking advantage of the spike in the VIX to get a juicy premium.

New Trades

So I haven't posted any trades for some time. I haven't entered any new positions other than some long inverse ETFs options.

Currently long in:

FAZ call
SRS call spread
SDS call spread
RWM call
DXD call spread
GLD put spread
VIX call spread

Today's Trades(10/30)

MAR
Bought to close the JAN 20/32.5 strangle for 65 cents, a 53% gain. Held it for 24 days.

Today's Trades

FSLR
Sold a DEC 105/195 strangle for $3.50 credit. Stock gapped down about 20 points AH after lower than expected revenue but it's still well above the 105 strike.

Today's Trades

Satisfying the bear within;

FAZ
Long Jan 20C, $3.30 debit

SRS
APR 20/26 bull call spread, .55 debit.

Today's Trades

AZO
It dropped a bit this morning so I bought to close the 160 call for 15 cents, a 77 cent gain on that side.

Today's Trades

CAT
Sold Jan 40/65 strangle for $1.70, they report tomorrow morning.

AMZN
Sold Dec 75/115 strangle for $2.15, report Thursday amc.

Looking for a good IV crush on these.

POT
Bought to close the Dec 70/115 strangle for $2.65, for a 35 cent gain. Gapped up this morning and started to run on some good news, plus I needed to free up some bp for the AMZN trade.

Today's Trades(10/7)

10/7
FAZ
Bought a JAN 31/41 bull call spread for 90 cents, I'm expecting reality to catch up to the financial sector by then.

Got out of the VIX spread at breakeven, I got in at the top of the pivot. I'll buy back in once it reverses again at the bottom.

Bought back the MON strangle for a 6% gain, it started running just after open so I chickened out.

Today's Trades

GLD
DEC vertical bear call spread, sold 103, bought 108, credit of $1.35. Had a nice pop this morning so it juiced the calls, but I don't expect it to stay this high short-term.

MON
Sold JAN 65/85 strangle for $4.05 credit. They report this week, so the IV crush should net me a few points.

MAR
Sold JAN 20/32.5 strangle for $1.22 credit. They report this week as well.

VIX is dropping so I legged out of the bull call, sold the long side back at a 38 cent loss. I'll sell the short side later today after the VIX drops some more or tomorrow depending on what the futures are telling me.

Today's Trades

Ok, so I know I said I'd wait the rest of this week out, but I couldn't.

AZO
Sold a NOV 130/160 strangle for $2.10 credit.

Today's Trades

VIX
Bought a DEC 27.5/32.5 vertical call spread for $1.60. I expect volatility to rise as we head into the next earnings period.

Today's Trades

DRI
Sold JAN 31/41 strangle for $2.45 credit.

AZO
Bought put to close the spread at a 8% gain.

RIMM
Friday morning after earnings it gapped way down so I immediately bought the call back at a 1100% gain. Was hoping for a refill so I could at least break even but hasn't quite happened yet. If it drops below 66 I'm out, but I'll sit on it and let theta work until then.

Today's Trades

AZO
Bought call to close at 55 cents, a 52% gain.

RIMM
Sold a NOV 65/105 strangle for $2.19 credit. They report Friday morning.

Today's Trades

AZO
Sold NOV 135/165 strangle this morning for $3.10 credit, they reported last night and I was trying to catch a little IV crush, in addition to hanging out with my good friend Theta positive.

GMCR
Bought a NOV/JAN 80 call calendar for $1.60. IV typically spikes a good amount on this one pre-earnings, they report 11/11.

Today's Trades

BBBY
Sold NOV 36/43 strangle for $2.10 credit. They report tomorrow so IV should drop pretty quickly.

Today's Trades

POT
Sold DEC 70/115 short strangle for $3 credit.

Today's Trades

DECK
OCT 55/60, 75/80 Iron Condor for $1.25 credit.

Today's Trades

GOLD
Sold a DEC 50/80 strangle for $4.70 credit. Talk about juicy! It's been trading in a range between 55 and the low seventies since early May.
UPDATE:Got out a nickel ahead, too volatile for me.
OIH
Sold a OCT 90/120 strangle for $2.22 credit. Here again, the trading range has been well within these strikes for several months now.

Today's Trades

Actually, put this on Friday 8/28.

POT
Sold to open a OCT 75/115 strangle for $1.60.

Today's Trades

GES
Sold a DEC 25/40 strangle for $2. They report tonight, IV is at a decent premium to HV so the close options are pretty juicy.

ENER
Bought a SEP 12.5 straddle, they report earnings tomorrow morning and the risk graph showed a close break-even so any movement should give a good return.

Today's Trades

SPLS
Didn't move enough, got out at a loss of 50 cents.

MYGN
Bought a SEP 25 straddle for $3.65, they report tonight and this one's been a mover post-earnings.
UPDATE: Sold the call Wed. morning for $3.90, holding the put and waiting for a refill.

DLTR
Bought a SEP 48 straddle for $3.70, another big mover post-earnings.
UPDATE: Sold the call Wed. morning for $2.70, I'm under water slightly on this one so I'll hold the put and hope it refills the gap as well.

Today's Trades

AZO
Sold a SEP 140/165 strangle for $1.80.

OIH
Sold a SEP 95/125 strangle for $1.03.

SPLS
Bought a SEP 22.5 straddle for $2.25. They report earnings tomorrow.

MDT
Sold a AUG 36/40 strangle for $1.25, earnings come out tomorrow and IV should drop.
UPDATE:
Amazing! Strangle lost fifty cents in value at open, even though the stock price barely changed. Gotta love the IV crush!

Finally!

So the two stocks I chose as long straddle candidates turned out to be the biggest movers of the day yesterday!

CRM netted me a 200% return, but I got trigger happy on ARO and got out way too early, only a 12% return. I had to leave my pc and didn't want to miss it so I sold. ARO spiked way up the rest of the day and would've probably given me the same return as CRM had I waited.

Today's Trades

ARO
Bought a AUG 36 straddle yesterday for $1.50, just sold the call for $1.70.

Today's Trades

So my long straddles haven't really been working out too well, seems like the ones I pick don't move and the ones I sell strangles on move like crazy! Trying a couple more this week, we'll see what happens.

SHLD
Sold SEP 60/85 strangle for $2.40 yesterday, IV was pretty juiced with earnings reporting this morning. Looks like it will gap down about ten points at open today but will still be within the strikes.
UPDATE:Bought to close the 85 call for 20 cents, profit of 92 cents on the call side. The put is way up in value, I'll hold it for a day or two to see if it refills.

CRM
Bought a AUG 45 straddle for $3.45, this one is a pretty strong mover post earnings so maybe I'll get lucky this time.

Today's Trades

DVA
Bought to close the AUG 45/55 straddle for 30 cents, profit of 70 cents. Trying to free up some bp to play some earnings long straddles.

NTES
Sold to open a AUG 42/48 strangle, $1.78 credit. IV is juicy on this one.

Today's Trades

DNDN
Bought to open AUG 24 long straddle, $2.17 debit. Earnings come out tomorrow, stock has been pretty volatile since the spring when it gapped way up.

Better than Expected

All I'm sayin' is, if ETH earnings on Tuesday come in "better than expected", then someone over there in the finance department smokes crack. Who the h%ll has been refurnishing their homes over the last quarter? Besides bankers and Wall Street types, I mean.

Today's Trades

TBT
Bought to close the AUG 57 call for 35 cents. Needed to free up some bp to make TOS happy again.

Love the Theta!

So I sold a GLD AUG 95 call on July 20 for $1.39. GLD was at $93.
Today GLD closed at $94.78, and the call is worth $1.35. (I'm long a Jan10 100 call)

Today's Trades

WFMI
Got my a&% handed to me on this one, bought back the call at open for $2.35, loss of $1.64 on the call side. The put credit softened the blow slightly to a total loss of $1.17.

Today's Trades

WFMI
Sold Sep 20/28 strangle this morning for $1.28 credit, IV was a little high yesterday since earnings are reported AMC today.
UPDATE:
Closed at 24.83. Gapped up almost 4 points after earnings were reported to just over 28, so it looks like a rapid exit on the put tomorrow morning. I may stay in the call for a day or two to see if it refills.

AIZ
Sold to close the JAN10 30 call that I've been sitting on since I was still at TK. Tired of looking at another dead option.

Today's Trades

DIN
Bought back the Aug 25 put for $1.45, to close the Aug 25/40 strangle at a loss of 22 cents. It dropped for three straight days following earnings, and I stayed in the put too long. Was hoping for it to follow the rest of the market back up but no such luck.

TBT
Sold to close, Sep 55 call I've owned since I transferred it to TOS from OX in the spring. I was hoping the inflationary actions of all this new money would kick it up but it's back just above where it was when I bought it. Basically I was tired of looking at the same losing position for so long so I got rid of it, at a $1.80 loss. Would have been worse had I not sold front month calls against it for the last four months.

Today's Trades

FSLR
Sold AUG 135 put for $1.6 credit.

ANDS
Bought Aug 2.5 call yesterday afternoon for .26, gapped up this morning, currently at .75.
UPDATE:Sold to close at .70, for a .44 profit.

Today's Trades

UNG
Bought a Jan10 14/18 bull call spread for $1 debit.

DVA
Sold an AUG 45/55 strangle for $1 credit.

WMT
Bought back the short strikes (AUG 47.5/50) of the condor for $1.19. Total profit of .47 cents.

CMG
Bought back the AUG 75 put for 14 cents to close the original strangle, loss of 18 cents. Wanted to free up bp to get into a FSLR strangle but I didn't get to it in time today. Hopefully can get in tomorrow morning, IV is still pretty hot.

Today's Trades

Delta got a little high on the CMG Aug 100 call so I bought it back at $2.29 this morning. Guess I should have waited until later today, it closed well down from the high. Still in the 75 put.

Today's Trades

GMCR
Sep 45/55, 80/90 Iron Condor, $3 credit
I wanted to do a short strangle but didn't have enough bp so the IC reduced the margin enough to get me in.
IV is up near 80, 10 points up from a week ago and 20 up from a month ago. Needless to say, even the August options are juiced.

WAG
Bought back the Aug 27 put for a dime, .50 profit.

PALM
Bull Call Spread-BOT November 16 call, STO Aug 17.5 call, $1.65 debit

DIN
Bought back the Aug 40 call for .07, still in the 25 put

WHR
Bought back the Dec 35 put for $1, total trade profit was $2.05.

Could this be a topping day? We'll see soon enough.

My new theme song

Great book

Just picked up a new book, "The volatility edge in options trading", by Jeff Augen. Drills down on exactly what we're learning in the trading lab-selling options during IV spikes for max credits.

No new trades to post yet, just watching the ones I'm in-I should have several more tomorrow.

WOW!
Dow closes above 9k, first time since 1/6/09
S & P closes above 975, first time since 11/4/08
Nasdaq closes above 1950, first time since 10/2/08
Dow Trans closes above 3500, first time since 1/8/09
Russell closes above 540, first time since 11/4/08

And the list goes on-how much more juice does this thing have before it takes a break? I want to get long and score big but I think it's a little late to get on the ride this time around.

Today's trade

And another:
SPY Aug 98 Long Put, $2.49 debit-looking for the inevitable retrace, hopefully soon.

Today's Trades

Several more for today:
BLUD Aug 15 long straddle, earnings tonight, 2.2 debit
JNPR Sep 21/30 short strangle, earnings tonight, IV has been building and is above a 10 point premium to HV, .95 credit.

Today's trade

DECK Aug 85 naked call, .85 credit.

Today's trade

CMG Aug 75/100 short strangle for $2.25 credit.

WHR Strangle

Looks like this one is working out so far, I'm in the Aug 35/70 short strangle,(2.97 credit) they reported this morning and the stock is still at $53, smack in the middle of my range. The options were juiced pre-earnings so they should drop a good amount over the next week or so. Even though they beat by a whopping 53 cents, revenue was "in-line" so it looks like no gapping.

So many earnings, so little BP! I'm stuck paper trading more than I want this week since my account is already margined to the max.

I will do my best to post my new trades here as I make them. Here is a brief synopsis of my closed-out trades since April, and the profit/loss on each:
(L/S)
(S)XLE May 40P, +.87
(S)OIH May 70P, +.66
(S)OXY Jun 45P, +.85
(S)JEC Jun 30P, +.54
(L)SQNM May 5C, -.75
(S)PNRA May 50P, +.30
(S)BBBB Jun 25P, +.55
(S)BBBB Jul 25P, +.58
(S)OIH Jun 80P, +.55
(S)AZO Jun 145P, +1.8
(S)PLCE Jun 30P, -.40
(S)AMSC Jul 20P, +.35
(S)VRSN Jul 17.5P, +.48
(S)XME Jul 32P, +.05
(S)AZO Jul 145P, +1.3
(S)GS Aug 130P, +1.34
(S)FDO Aug 25/30 strangle, -.44
(S)CSX Aug 27/35 strangle, -3.63(yes, it's true)




Trades I'm currently in, and the credit received:
(S)WAG Aug 27P, $.60
(IC)WMT Aug (S)47.5/50, (L)42.5/55, $1.66
(S)JEC Jul 35P, $.25
(S)DIN Aug 25/40 strangle, $1.3
(S)WHR Dec 35/70 strangle, $3.05
(S)AZO Aug 140P, $.85


As you can see from the first list, I had a bunch of modest credits that got nearly wiped out by a big loss in one of my first short strangles. CSX gapped up the day after earnings so I legged out of the put for a .50 gain, then I figured I'd hold out for a couple days until it filled the gap. Well, the meteoric rally last week cleaned my clock, and I stayed in way too long, expecting a pullback that has yet to materialize. I got out of the call this morning at a $4.13 loss.

It's been awhile

Sorry, I haven't been on here in quite some time, I need to make a point to post my trades here for myself as well as others who are interested.
I've been going naked and short pretty much 100% for the last several months, I'm really getting into being theta positive. We all know the market makers are out to pick our pockets as often as possible, so why not put as many factors in our favor as possible? Time is the first factor we can get on our side. Time decay alone is our single greatest ally when selling options, since it can't move against us and can't be controlled by the market makers. The next factor the market makers can't control is implied volatility, which is really a measure of market sentiment or bias. Historically, volatility ramps up as earnings season approaches and falls after earnings are reported. We can easily use this common behavior to our advantage, since the higher the volatility, the bigger the option premium.
I have been putting on naked puts and short strangles exclusively, and slowly building my account back up after some bad decisions early on. It's such a temptation to go "all in" long calls and puts and hope for that huge move that will triple our account, but I've learned the hard way that I'd be better off in a casino, since I would at least be getting some "free" drinks while I lose my shirt.

Naked Puts

So I've been getting into some naked puts, here's where I am so far.

Sold OIH May 70 put for .53 credit on 4/22.
Sold XLE May 40 put for .76 credit on 4/20.
Sold OXY June 45 put for .95 credit on 4/27.

Gotta take it easy with these, could go overboard.

Surprise Surprise! Looks like I was on the wrong side of BBBY, gapped up and kept going this morning after positive earnings news. I'll hold it until early next week, hopefully it will refill at some point. I sold the put side of MOS for a 20% gain, holding the call until it reaches breakeven or close to it. Sold FDO for a 35% gain.

Got into some straddles and puts/calls ahead of earnings this week:
BBBY Apr 25 Put
MOS Apr 45 Straddle
FDO Apr 32.5 Call

Wednesday morning we'll see how it goes.

Did a RIMM April 60 put on Friday morning at market open expecting the gap up to refill, sold 40 minutes later for a 30% gain.

As the CEO of this organization, I have
>> resigned myself to
>> the fact that Barrack Obama is our
>> President and that our taxes and
>> government fees will increase in a BIG
>> way. To compensate for these increases,
>> our prices would have to increase by
>> about 10%.
>>
>> But since we cannot increase our prices
>> right now due to
>> the dismal state of the economy, we
>> will have to lay off six of our
>> employees instead. This has really been
>> bothering me, since I believe we are family
>> here and I didn't know how to choose
>> who would have to go.
>>
>> So, this is what I did. I walked
>> through our parking lot
>> and found six Obama bumper stickers on
>> our employees' cars and have
>> decided these folks will be the ones to
>> let go. I can't think of a more
>> fair way to approach this problem. They
>> voted for change; I gave it to them.
>>
>> I will see the rest of you at the
>> annual company picnic.

WooHoo, stem cell research news!

I've been long GERN, SCLL, STEM and ACTC for some time now, just waiting for this news. I'll be watching Monday morning to either take profits or enter some stop-loss orders.

Another day bites the dust! How low can we go here folks? I want to get into some puts but I'm afraid we may have hit an actual bottom here. Then again, maybe not. Classic TA seems to not apply here lately.

I let some options expire last night, TK called them "worthless", I call them &^#%$#^$&# worthless.....

XLF 10 call-c/b .72
CAB 7.5 put-c/b 1.56
SPWRA 40 call-c/b 6.16

Live and learn.

Been entering some puts as spec plays, here's some of my latest results.
Bought GIL Feb 10 put on 2/11, sold on 2/12 for a 203% gain, earnings were horrible as expected so the down gap did it's thing.
Bought MAS Feb 7.5 put on 2/2, sold today for a 147% gain, bad earnings again.
Bought SPG Mar 40 put on 2/2, sold today for a 34% gain.


Still in some spreads that aren't doing so great, will post those results as I close them.

Closed the MAS put today for a 148% gain
Closed the SPG put today for a 34% gain
Closed the GIL put on 2/12 for a 203% gain

Got stopped out of my JCP Feb 17.5P today for a nice 70% gain. Still considering the BIIB bull put credit spread. We'll see what happens next week.

My Current Positions

My current positions: Long (Short)

F Mar09 3C
IACI Feb09 15C
UYG Jan10 3C
(UYG Jun09 9C)
GFI Jan10 10C
SPG Mar09 40P
MAS Feb09 7.5P
AIZ Jan10 30C
(AIZ Feb09 35C)
AKNS May09 2.5C
GERN Mar09 7.5C
JCP Feb09 17.5P
DRYS Mar09 20C
SPWRA Feb09 40C
(SPWRA Feb09 45C)
S May09 3C
TAN Jul09 7.5C
TBT Jun09 42C
(TBT Feb09 50C)
XLF Feb09 10C
GLD Jun09 82C
WSM May09 10P

Stock

ISCO
PSTI
AAAE
ACTC
CPTC
EMKR
GETG
NCEN
SCLL
STEM

Closed my POT spread at 3:30 today, after twenty minutes of self-debate on whether to hold it for more potential gains. Decided against it due to the jobs report tomorrow possibly being a killer, and they expired this month anyway so decay was an issue.

Feb 70C, cost $966, sold for $1680=$714
Feb 90C, sold for $114, bought back at $275=-$161
Total gain=$553

I bought the 70 on Jan 22, and sold the 90 on the 27th to create the spread.

I think watching a stock run after I sell it is almost as painful as watching it drop after I buy it.