SPX options: $1122 profit in 3.5 hours

Monday 9/24/2018 (Expiration Monday)

Trade 1 (9:27:08 am, PT)  ←  SPX @ 2915.81

buy +6 Sept 24, 2018  2935 calls at $0.05 (cheap wings)

sell -6 Sept 24, 2018  2920 calls at $1.25 ← 21 delta

• net credit:  $1.20 x 6 x 100 =  $720 (max profit)
• buying power reduction:  $9,000

Trade 2 (12:24:11 pm, PT)  ←  SPX @ 2920

sell -6 Sept 24, 2018  2920 puts at $1.35  ←  50 delta
buy +6 Sept 24, 2018  2910 puts at $0.05 (cheap wings)

• net credit:  $1.30 x 6 x 100 =  $780 (max profit)
• buying power reduction:  none

After I added the vertical put spread, I ended up with the following position:
a "short straddle with wings"

long +6 Sept 24, 2018  2935 calls at $0.05
short -6 Sept 24, 2018  2920 calls at $1.25
short -6 Sept 24, 2018  2920 puts at $1.35
long +6 Sept 24, 2018  2910 puts at $0.05


At the Closing Bell .....

SPX closed at 2919.37 ("settlement value")

My entire vertical call spread was fine, but my short puts ended up in-the-money. 😶

CLICK HERE to find out what happened!

PROFIT:  $1122 (in 3.5 hours)

IWM put options

Wednesday, 9/19/2018 (12:06:49 pm, PT)

sell -5 Oct 19, 2018  $165 puts at $1.16

Why did I place this trade?

• it's a "down" day
• stochastics in oversold region
• 29 days 'til expiration
• 26 delta

Thursday, 9/20/2018 (11:10:31 am, PT)

buy back all 5 puts at $0.71 

Why did I place this trade?

• take profits (37% of max profit in ONE day)
• remove the risk (of assignment)
• free up the capital

PROFIT:  $225 (in ONE day)


Comments:

Don't be afraid to sell put options on a "down" day (especially if the stochastics are in the oversold region).

Buy back your short puts quickly when there's a big "up" day.

FREE LESSONS HERE!  LEARN TO SELL PUT OPTIONS!

SPX credit put spread (options)

Monday, 9/17/2018 (Expiration Day)

Trade 1 (11:45:23 am, PT)

sell -4 Sept 17, 2018  2890 puts at $0.40
buy +4 Sept 17, 2018  2875 puts at $0.05 (cheap wing)


Why did I place this trade?

It was late in the day and SPX appeared to stabilize around 2895.


Comments:

At 12:54 pm (PT), SPX was trading around 2886, so my short put (2890) was in-the-money (ITM) with only 4 minutes remaining.  It was time to ROLL my short puts to the next cycle (9/19/2018 expiration).  

Simply buying back the short puts without rolling or allowing them to expire ITM would have resulted in a loss of over $1000.


Trade 2 (12:54:55 pm, PT) ← ROLL

buy to close +4 Sept 17, 2018  2890 puts at $3.46
sell to open -4 Sept 19, 2018  2885 puts at $9.21

The roll gave me a new credit of $5.75

Then I had to buy (to open) 4 new wings with a Sept 19, 2018 expiration:
+4  Sept 19, 2018  2800 puts at $0.95 (debit)


Tuesday, 9/18/2018 (7:43:24 am, PT)

my preset buy-to-close order filled at $2.00

I'm going to leave open the 4 long puts ("wings") so I can use them again on 9/19/2018 (for my next vertical put spread).  Most likely they will expire worthless on 9/19/2018.


PROFIT:   $1260 (one day)

Learn to SELL PUT OPTIONS HERE!

QQQ put options

Wed. 9/12/2018 (11:00:26 am, PT) (QQQ at $182)

sell -4 Oct 19, 2018  $177 puts at $2.07

Why did I place this trade?

• stochastics in oversold region
• down day
• attractive premiums
• delta 31.54

Thu. 9/13/2018 (11:06:29 am, PT) (QQQ up $2.00)

buy back all 4 puts at $1.37

Why did I close this trade?

• I made 33.16% of max profit in one day (ahead of schedule)
• take quick profits
• remove the risk
• free up the capital

PROFIT:  $280 (in ONE day)

Learn to SELL put options here!

SPX credit put spread (options day-trade)

Wed. 9/12/2018 (EXPIRATION DAY)

Trade 1 (10:18:05 am, PT)

sell −4 Sept 12, 2018  2880 puts at $0.80 ← 19.40 Delta
buy +4 Sept 12, 2018  2855 puts at $0.05 ← cheap "wing"

• SPX was trading near 2886 when I placed this trade
• buying power reduction:  ($10,000)

Trade 2 (12:27 pm, PT)

buy back all 4 short puts (2880) at $0.05 to remove the risk
let the long "wings" (2855) expire worthless

PROFIT:  $280

CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE VIDEO

SPX credit put spread (options)

Wednesday, 8/29/2018 (Expiration Wednesday)

Trade 1 (10:20:01 am, PT) ← SPX trading around 2913

sell -4 August 29, 2018  2910 puts at $1.00  ←  delta 27.30
buy +4 August 29, 2018  2895 puts at $0.05 (cheap wings)


Trade 2 (12:45:13 pm, PT)

buy back short puts (2910) at $0.05 (to remove the risk)
let long puts (2895) expire worthless

PROFIT:  $380 (in 2.5 hours)

Learn to SELL put options here!  FREE lessons!

SPX credit put spread (options)

Monday, 8/27/2018 (Expiration Day)

Trade 1 (10:33:36 am, PT)

sell -4 August 27, 2018  2890 puts at $0.70
buy +4 August 27, 2018  2870 puts at $0.05 (cheap "wing")

Stats:

• short put delta = 19.60
• SPX trading at 2895.53
• net credit (max profit) = $0.65 x 4 x 100 =  $260

Trade 2 (12:42:58 pm, PT)

buy back all short puts (2890) at $0.05

PROFIT:  $240 (in approx. 2 hours)

Note:  SPX closed at 2896.74 at 1 pm, PT

Learn to SELL PUT OPTIONS!

FREE lessons HERE!

SPX credit put spread (options)

Friday, 8/24/2018 (Expiration Friday)

Trade 1 (8:29:32 am, PT) ← SPX trading around 2872

sell -4 August 24, 2018  2865 puts at $1.05 (delta 21.75)
buy +4 August 24, 2018  2835 puts at $0.05 (cheap wings)


Trade 2 (9:04:16 am, PT)

buy back short puts (2865) at $0.50 (to take profits)


Trade 3 (9:33:09 am, PT) ← SPX trading around 2874.50)

sell again -4 August 24, 2018  2865 puts at $0.55 (delta 12.58)


Trade 4 (12:23:18 pm, PT)

buy back short puts (2865) at $0.05 (to remove the risk)

PROFIT:  $400 (in 3.5 hours)

Note:  SPX closed at 2874.69 at 1:00 pm, PT

LEARN TO SELL PUT OPTIONS HERE!

SPX credit put spread (options)

Monday, 8/20/2018 (Expiration Day)

Trade 1 (10:14:53 am, PT)

sell -4 August 20, 2018  2850 puts at $0.65
buy +4 August 20, 2018  2825 puts at $0.05

Stats:

• delta for short put (2850):  15
• net credit (max profit):  $0.60 x 4 x 100 =  $240
• SPX trading at 2857

Trade 2 (12:31:12 pm, PT)

buy back short puts (2850) at $0.05

PROFIT:  $220 (in 2.25 hours)

Learn to SELL put options!

FREE lessons here!

SPX credit put spread (options)

Wednesday, 8/15/2018 (Expiration Wednesday)

Trade 1 (9:57:12 am, PT)  ←  SPX trading around 2815

sell -4 August 15, 2018  2795 puts at $0.80  (delta 10)
buy +4 August 15, 2018  2750 puts at $0.05 (cheap wings)

max profit:  $0.75 x 4 x 100 =  $300


Trade 2 (12:30:15 pm, PT)

buy back short puts (2795) at $0.05 (to remove the risk)
let long puts (2750) expire worthless

PROFIT:  $280 (in 2.5 hours)


Note:  SPX closed at 2818.37 at 1:00 pm, PT

Learn to SELL puts here!  FREE lessons!

SPX credit call spread (options)

Wednesday, 8/15/2018 (Expiration Wednesday)

Trade 1 (10:46:21 am, PT) ← SPX trading around 2814

buy +4 August 15, 2018  2840 calls at $0.05 (cheap wings)
sell -4 August 15, 2018  2820 calls at $1.70 (delta 28)


Trade 2 (11:45:59 am, PT)

buy back short calls (2820) at $0.30 (to take profits)


Trade 3 (11:57:24 am, PT) ← SPX trading around 2810

sell again -4 August 15, 2018  2820 calls at $0.45 (delta 12)


Trade 4 (12:58:01 pm, PT)

buy back short calls (2820) at $0.40 (to remove the risk .... things got too crazy 😖😖)
let long calls (2840) expire worthless

PROFIT:  $560 (in 2 hours)

Note:  SPX closed at 2818.37 at 1:00 pm, PT

Learn to SELL calls here!  FREE lessons!

SPX iron condor options trade

Friday 7/20/2018 (Expiration Friday)

Trade 1 (10:03:01 am, PT)

sell -4 July 20, 2018  2800 puts at $0.95 (credit) ←  20 delta (acceptable)
buy +4 July 20, 2018  2775 puts at $0.05 (debit)

net credit:  $0.90 x 4 x 100 =  $360 (max profit)
this is a semi-bullish trade


Trade 2 (10:45:47 am, PT)

buy +2 July 20, 2018  2820 calls at $0.05 (debit)
sell -2 July 20, 2018  2805 calls at $2.15 (credit) ← 51 delta (high!)

net credit:  $2.10 x 2 x 100 =  $420 (max profit)
this is a semi-bearish trade


Trade 3 (10:57:07 am, PT)

buy back the 4 short puts (2800 strike) at $0.65 to remove the risk (I got scared!!)


Trade 4 (12:22:11 pm, PT)

buy back the 2 short calls (2805 strike) at $0.35 to remove the risk (I got scared again!!)


COMMENTS:

• at 11:05 am, PT (just 20 minutes after I sold my call spread) SPX hit a high of 2806.90 which meant that my short calls (2805 strike) were in-the-money 😨

• at 11:38 am, PT, SPX hit a low of 2800.36 and I could have bought back my short calls (2805 strike) at $0.35 and closed the trade ..... but did I do it?  No!  Because I was greedy ..... 😨

• at 11:49 am, PT, SPX rose all the way back up to 2804.16, only $0.84 from my short call strike of 2805  😨 ..... now I was stuck ..... 😨

• finally, at 12:22 pm, SPX came back down and I was able to buy back my short calls (2805 strike) at $0.35 and close the trade (I didn't want to mess around anymore!)

July 20 was quite the roller coaster ride, but I did make some money, so I'm thankful!

TOTAL PROFIT:  $450

SPX credit call spread (options)

Monday, 7/16/2018 (Expiration Day)

Trade 1 (9:56:41 am, PT)

buy +4 July 16, 2018  2825 calls at $0.03 ("wings")
sell -4 July 16, 2018  2805 calls at $1.08 ← 27.48 delta

• net credit:  $1.05 x 4 x 100 =  $420 (max profit)
• margin:  $7560

Trade 2 (12:15:34 pm, PT)

• buy back the short calls (2805 strike) at $0.05 to take profits and remove the risk
• let the long "wings" (2825 strike) expire at 1:00 pm, PT

TOTAL PROFIT:  $400 (in 2¼ hours)  😃

LEARN TO SELL CALL OPTIONS HERE!

SPX credit call spread (options)

Friday, 7/13/2018 (EXPIRATION DAY)

Trade 1 (9:58:34 am, PT) 

buy +4 July 13, 2018  2825 calls at $0.06 ("wings")
sell −4 July 13, 2018  2805 calls at $2.36 ← 44.78 delta

• net credit:  $2.30 x 4 x 100 = $920 (max profit)
• margin:  $7429

Trade 2 (10:49:26 am, PT)

buy back the short calls (2805 strike) at $1.00 to take profits


Trade 3 (10:55:18 am, PT)

SPX went back up, so I sold (to open) the same calls (2805 strike) again at $1.20 (this time the delta was 31)


Trade 4 (12:47:20 pm, PT)

• buy back the short calls (2805 strike) at $0.10 to take profits and remove the risk
• let the 4 long calls (2825 strike) expire at 1:00 pm, PT

TOTAL PROFIT:  $960 (in 3 hours) ← this is more than the initial "max profit" of $920

😃
LEARN TO SELL CALL OPTIONS HERE!

SPX Iron Condor (options)

Friday, 7/6/2018 (EXPIRATION DAY)

Trade 1 (10:29:07 am, PT)

sell -4 July 6, 2018  2755 puts at $1.30 (delta 24.22)
buy +4 July 6, 2018  2720 puts at $0.05 ("wings")

• net credit: $1.25 x 4 x 100 = $500 (max profit)
• margin:  $13,559
• this is a semi-bullish trade

Trade 2 (12:25:29 pm, PT)

buy +4 July 6, 2018  2775 calls at $0.05 ("wings")
sell -4 July 6, 2018  2765 calls at $1.00 (delta 37.41)

• net credit:  $0.95 x 4 x 100 = $380 (max profit)
• this is a semi-bearish trade

Trade 3 (12:41:43 pm, PT)

• buy back 2765 calls at $0.10 to remove the risk
• let long calls (2775 strike) expire worthless

Trade 4 (12:56:58 pm, PT)

• buy back 2755 puts at $0.10 to remove the risk
• let long puts (2720 strike) expire worthless

Comments:

• at 12:27 pm (PT), when SPX was at 2764.41, I could have bought back my short puts (2755 strike) at $0.15 and be done, but I got greedy and didn't want to pay $0.15 ($60 for 4 contracts) ..... 
• BAD DECISION!  😱😱

• suddenly SPX started dropping and hit a low of 2755.16 at 12:50 pm (PT) ..... that's only 0.16 from my short strike of 2755  😖😰😲

• at this point, the premium for the 2755 put jumped to $1.20 and my lovely profit of $440 (at 12:27 pm) suddenly turned into a profit of only $20 😭😭😭

• STRESS!  STRESS!  STRESS!

• I was VERY lucky that SPX reversed back up after hitting the low of 2755.16 and I was able to buy back those short puts (2755 strike) at $0.10 😅😅

TOTAL PROFITS:  $800  😁

IWM put options

Tuesday, 6/26/2018 (11:11:37 am, PT)

sell -2 July 20, 2018  $160 puts at $1.02

Stats:

• delta:  22.57
• stochastics in oversold region
• 24 days 'til expiration

Thursday, 7/5/2018 (12:50:17 pm, PT)

buy back puts at $0.50 (50% of max profit)

PROFIT:  $104

Learn to SELL put options HERE!  FREE lessons!

SPX credit call spread (options)

Wed. 6/20/2018 (9:42:13 am, PT)

sell -2 June 20, 2018  2775 calls at $1.95

• probability ITM:  37% (a bit high, but acceptable)
• I already had two long calls ("wings") (June 22  2845 calls) that were purchased for $0.30 on June 15 
• margin:  $14,000
• expiration:  1:00 pm (PT), June 20 (same day)

Wed. 6/20/2018 (11:57:19 am, PT)

buy back both short calls (2775 strike) at $0.10 to remove the risk

PROFIT:  $370 (in 2.25 hours)

Learn to SELL call options HERE

SPX credit put spread (options)

Mon. 6/11/2018 (9:35:09 am, PT)

sell -2  June 11, 2018  2785 puts at $1.20 (29 delta)
buy +2 June 11, 2018  2760 puts at $0.05

• net credit (max profit):  $1.15 x 2 x 100 =  $230
• margin:  $5000
• options expire at 1:00 pm (PT)

Mon. 6/11/2018 (12:06:40 pm, PT)

buy back both short puts (2785 strike) at $0.50
let long puts (2760 strike) expire worthless ($10 "sacrifice" to create spread)

PROFIT:  $130

COMMENT:  
It's a GOOD thing I bought back my short puts at $0.50 because SPX closed at 2782 and my short puts would have ended up in-the-money!!  😨

LEARN TO SELL PUT OPTIONS HERE!

SPX credit put spread (options)

Wed. 5/30/2018 (9:42:23 am, PT)

sell -2  May 30, 2018  2710 puts at $0.85
buy +2  May 30, 2018  2690 puts at $0.10

• intraday stochastics:  oversold
• margin:  $4,000
• net credit (max profit):  $0.75 x 2 x 100 =  $150
• short put (2710) delta:  14.50
• expiration:  1 pm (PT)

Wed. 5/30/2018 [12:07 pm (PT) and 12:17:53 pm (PT)]

• bought back short puts at $0.05 to remove the risk
• let long puts (2690) expire at 1 pm (PT)
• SPX closed at 2724.01

PROFIT:  $140 (in about 2.5 hours)
ROC:  3.40% (in about 2.5 hours)

Learn to SELL puts HERE!

SPX short call option

Fri. 5/25/2018 (expiration)

sold -1 May 25, 2018  2720 call at $1.10

 W A R N I N G 

SPX closed at 2721.33 at 1 pm (PT) today (5/25), so my short call was only $1.33 in-the-money.  However, right before the closing bell, the "bid" was $1.85 and the "ask" was a whopping $2.90!!!!  UNBELIEVABLE!!!

So .... instead of taking a larger-than-necessary loss by buying back my ITM short call, I simply let the option expire in-the-money (pretty unnerving, I must admit).

Since I collected $1.10 when I sold (to open) the call and it ended up $1.33 ITM, my loss will be around $23 rather than $180 (if I had bought back the call).


The trading rules for "index" options (SPX, RUT, VIX, etc) and the trading rules for "equity" options (SPY, IWM, etc.) are VERY DIFFERENT.  Please make sure you thoroughly understand these rules before trading with real money.