Thursday, 5/5/2016 (11:18:43 am, PT)
sold -1 May 6, 2016 $205 put at $0.91
Why did I place this trade?
- earnings were announced after the close on 5/4/2016
- the stock dropped on 5/5, so implied volatility was still high
- quick, 1-day trade to take advantage of the inflated IV
- 79% probability of success
- Robyn at Tasty Trade sold the May 6 $210 put (thanks, Robyn!)
Friday, 5/6/2016 (9:36:42 am, PT)
buy back put at $0.05
PROFIT: $86 (in ONE day!)
SUCCESS!
Comments:
- My put option hit $0.04 at 6:34 am this morning (5/6), but I had forgotten to set a "buy to close order at $0.05" last night, so I missed it this morning.
- Between 6:34 am and 9:36 am, TSLA dropped, so the put price rose again.
- The market makers made me suffer for 3 hours before finally accepting my bid of $0.05.
The moral of the story:
ALWAYS have your closing orders in place!!!
Friday, 4/29/2016 (10:33:59 am, PT) (FP)
sell -10 May 2016 $70 calls at $0.51
Why did I place this trade?
- stochastics in overbought region
- 78.60% probability of success
Tuesday, 5/3/2016 (7:35:23 am, PT)
buy to close calls at $0.21
Why did I place this trade?
- take profits at 50% of max credit
PROFIT: $300 (in 3 trading days!)
SUCCESS!
Friday, 4/22/2016 (11:33:10 am, PT)
sell -4 May 2016 $144 puts at $1.13
Why did I place this trade?
- stochastics in oversold region
- 75% probability of success
Tuesday, 4/26/2016 (8:26:57 am, PT)
buy back all puts at $0.50
Why did I place this trade?
- I've collected more than 50% of the max in just 3 trading days
- take profits!
PROFIT: $252
SUCCESS!
4/21/2016 (12:50:48 pm, PT)
sell -3 April 22, 2016 $78 puts at $0.36
Why did I place this trade?
- Visa was reporting earnings after the close on 4/21
- implied volatility was relatively high
- I was more bullish than bearish
- 80% probability of success
- expected move = plus/minus $2.63
4/22/2016 (6:39:05 am, PT) [expiration]
buy back all 3 puts at $0.05
PROFIT: $93 (ONE day!)
SUCCESS!
Comments:
- I was REALLY lucky that the market makers let me buy back my short puts at $0.05 because that was lower than the "mid" price. Thank you, market makers!
- I'm REALLY happy that I closed my trade at $0.05 because exactly one hour later Visa dropped to $77.28.
- Notice that I made money even though I was wrong "directionally." This is due to post-earnings "volatility crush."
4/19/2016 (9:55:01 am, PT)
sell -2 April 22, 2016 $99.50 calls at $0.71
Why did I place this trade?
- earnings were released on 4/18
- stock dropped on 4/19
- I was bearish (short-term) on NFLX
- 76% probability of success
4/21/2016 (12:58:51 pm, PT)
buy back calls at $0.05
PROFIT: $132 (in 3 days)
Comments:
The high implied volatility of NFLX kept this call premium at $0.11 most of the day even though the stock was over $4.00 OTM with just 1 day remaining until expiration.
The call premium finally dropped to 5 cents with just 1 minute left in the trading session.
SUCCESS!
4/13/2016 (6:46:15 am, PT)
sell -10 April 22, 2016 (wk 4) $122 calls at $0.45
Why did I place this trade?
- stochastics in overbought region
- 78.50% probability of success
4/14/2016 (7:52:14 am, PT)
buy back calls at $0.16
PROFIT: $290 (in ONE day!)
SUCCESS!
4/14/2016 (9:44:14 am, PT)
sell -10 May 2016 $213 calls at $0.95
Why did I place this trade?
- stochastics in overbought region
- 77% probability of success
4/15/2016 (11:14:15 am, PT)
buy back all 10 puts at $0.71
PROFIT: $240 (in ONE day!)
SUCCESS!
4/7/2016 (9:48:08 am, PT)
sell -4 April 29, 2016 (wk 5) $29.50 puts at $0.39
Why did I place this trade?
- stochastics in oversold region
- 69% probability of success
4/18/2016 (7:48:17 am, PT)
buy to close puts at $0.14
PROFIT: $100
SUCCESS!
4/14/2016 (10:52:10 am, PT) (FP)
sell -2 April 22, 2016 (wk 4) $111 calls at $0.43
Why did I place this trade?
- stochastics in overbought region
- 83.50% probability of success
- CELG does not pay dividends (important when selling calls)
4/21/2016 (6:36:05 am, PT)
buy to close calls at $0.05
PROFIT: $76.00
SUCCESS!
COMMENTS:
Even though there's only one day left until expiration, it's always a good idea to buy back your short options at $0.05 (or less) to remove the risk.
It's a good thing I did that on 4/21 because exactly two hours later CELG jumped to $109.82. And who knows what will happen the next day, right?
3/31/2016 (10:31:47 am, PT) (FP)
sell -4 May 2016 $200 puts at $2.15
buy +4 May 2016 $190 puts at $0.83
Net credit: $1.32 x 4 x 100 = $528
4/19/2016 (11:03:14 am, PT)
buy to close the $200 puts at $0.74
sell to close the $190 puts at $0.23
Net debit: $0.51 x 4 x 100 = $204
PROFIT: $324
Return on capital: 8% (in 19 days)
SUCCESS!
Wed. 4/6/2016 (10:04:01 am, PT)
sold -2 May 2016 $115 puts at $1.83 (credit)
Why did I place this trade?
- stochastics in oversold region (check out my impeccable timing HERE)
- 60.13% probability of success
Tue. 4/12/2016 (10:21:04 am, PT)
bought back both puts at $0.84 (debit)
Why did I place this trade?
- stochastics in overbought region (check out my impeccable timing HERE)
- take profits
PROFIT: $198 (in 5 trading days)
SUCCESS!
4/6/2016 (8:44:34 am, PT)
sell -10 April 2016 $111 calls at $0.61 (bearish strategy)
Why did I place this trade?
- stochastics in overbought region
- buying momentum is decreasing
- strong "up" day ( = higher call premiums)
- 70% probability of success
4/7/2016 (11:08:55 am, PT)
buy back all 10 calls at $0.26
PROFIT: $350 (in ONE day!!)
SUCCESS!
Tue. 3/22/2016 (11:16:09 am, PT)
sell -1 Apr 1, 2016 (week 1) $111 put at $1.14 (credit)
Why did I place this trade?
- stochastics in oversold region (see chart HERE)
- high implied volatility
- 70% probability of success
Wed. 3/30/2016 (10:45:41 am, PT)
buy back put at $0.43 (debit)
Why did I place this trade?
- On 3/29/2016, LNKD was downgraded
- On 3/30/2016, LNKD miraculously jumped over $3.00, so I closed my position to take PROFITS
GROSS PROFIT: $71
SUCCESS!
Thu. 3/24/2016 (12:20:55 pm, PT) FP
sell -10 Apr 2016 $112 puts at $0.41
Why did I place this trade?
- stochastics in oversold region
- 83% probability of success
Tue. 3/29/2016 (11:46:40 am, PT)
buy back all 10 puts at $0.17
Why did I place this trade?
- GLD up over $2.00
- TAKE PROFITS
GROSS PROFIT: $240 (in 4 trading days)
SUCCESS!
3/22/2016 (11:37:16 am, PT)
sell -10 Apr 1, 2016 (wk 1) $121.50 calls at $0.51
Credit received: $510
Why did I place this trade?
- stochastics in overbought region
- 75% probability of success
3/23/2016 (12:45:14 pm, PT)
buy back all 10 calls at $0.17
Why did I place this trade?
- GLD down $2.61
- take PROFITS!
PROFIT: $340 (in ONE day!)
SUCCESS!
3/22/2016 (12:35:32 pm, PT) FP
sell -10 Apr 1, 2016 (wk 1) $123 calls at $0.29
credit received: $290
Why did I place this trade?
- stochastics in overbought region
- 85% probability of success
3/23/2016 (11:58:37 pm, PT)
buy back all 10 calls at $0.12
Why did I place this trade?
- GLD down $2.29
- take profits!
PROFIT: $170 (in ONE day)
SUCCESS!
2/19/2016 (12:38:30 pm, PT)
buy +1 March 2016 $187 put at $2.58
sell -1 March 2016 $186 put at $2.31
net debit: $27 (max risk)
potential profit: $73 (max)
Why did I place this trade?
- stochastics in overbought region
- I was bearish but I didn't want to risk too much money in case I'm wrong
- trying my luck with a small debit trade
3/18/2016 (expiration)
SPY closed at $204.38, so my entire debit spread expired worthless
TOTAL LOSS: $27
COMMENTS:
- Even though SPY was in the "overbought" region on 2/19/2016, there's no guarantee that it would reverse and go back down.
- OTM debit trades are risky and have a low probability of success.
- I was just having some "fun" and decided to try my luck on this "casino play."
- I was only risking $27 which is manageable.
1/12/2016 (10:48:51 am, PT)
sell -1 Feb 2016 $105 put at $3.11
Why did I place this trade?
- stochastics in oversold region
- high implied volatility
- 47% probability of success (almost 50/50)
Comments:
- This put option was $0.16 in-the-money at the time.
- I don't normally sell puts that are ITM, but I was just having some fun plus I knew I could fix the trade if it went against me.
2/12/2016 (10:06:10 am, PT) [roll]
buy to close 1 Feb 2016 $105 put at $7.55
sell to open 1 Mar 2016 $105 put at $8.34
Net credit for roll: $0.79
Comments:
- I decided to roll on 2/12 because my put was ITM with only $0.11 of extrinsic value remaining.
- On exp. Friday (2/19), QQQ closed at $101.63.
3/11/2016 (7:21:44 am, PT)
buy back March $105 put at $0.97
Comments:
- My put was finally OTM again with 5 trading days left, so I decided to close my position and take profits.
GROSS PROFIT: $294 (in 2 months)
SUCCESS!
2/4/2016 (11:10:51 am, PT) FP
buy +1 March 2016 $181 put at $2.78
sell -2 March 2016 $180 puts at $2.55
Analysis:
- Net credit received: $2.32 x 1 x 100 = $232
- Theoretical max profit: ($2.32 + $1.00) x 1 x 100 = $332
- Stochastics in overbought region
2/11/2016 (11:28:05 am, PT)
sell (close) 1 March 2016 $181 put at $6.32
(stochastics in oversold region)
3/10/2016 (6:30:03 am, PT)
buy back remaining 2 short puts at $0.05
GROSS PROFIT: $854 (GREAT trade!!)
COMMENTS:
- My actual gross profit of $854 is much higher than the theoretical max profit because I "broke apart" my ratio spread and sold (close) my long put on 2/11/2016 when SPY was at the bottom.
- Once I sold (close) my long put, I ended up with an extra "naked" put.
SUCCESS!
2/10/2016 (12:36:38 pm, PT)
sold -1 March 2016 $177 put at $3.11
Why did I place this trade?
- stochastics in oversold region
- high implied volatility
- 70% probability of success
3/8/2016 (11:14:52 am, PT)
buy back my put at $0.05 to remove the risk and take profits
PROFIT: $306
SUCCESS!
