Thursday, 4/11/2019 (12:04:22 pm, PT)
sell short -1 April 18, 2019 $285 call option at $1.40
Facts:
- TSLA was trading near $268.02
- bad news about TSLA manufacturing plant
- 15.13 delta
- 7 days 'til expiration (DTE)
- stochastics: middle
- margin: $2274.97
Friday, 4/12/2019 (11:12:19 am, PT)
buy to close at $0.90 (take profits)
PROFIT: $50 (in one day)
SEE SIMILAR TRADES ON YOUTUBE
Watch the free video here: VIDEO.
When you're trading options (puts and calls), your "opening" trade can be either a "sell" transaction or a "buy" transaction. That's right, you can SELL options first, get paid up front, and then buy back the options later. Thus, you sell high and hopefully, buy back low. The difference between your initial "sell" price and your subsequent "buy back" price is your profit.
Summary:
If your opening trade is a "sell," then just buy back the option to close your "short" position.
If your opening trade is a "buy," then just sell the option to close your "long" position.
For more details, check out THIS SHORT VIDEO.
Trade 1
Tuesday 3/5/2019 (12:13:54 pm, PT)
sell short -1 March 8, 2019 $1660 put at $2.61
Facts:
- 3 days 'til expiration
- 14 delta
Trade 2
Thursday, 3/7/2019 (12:56:53 pm, PT) [AMZN dropped $45, so I rolled down & out to April 12]
buy (to close) 1 March 8, 2019 $1660 put at $36.49
sell (to open) 1 April 12, 2019 $1590 put at $38.41
net credit: $1.92
Trade 3
Wednesday, 3/20/2019 (9:13:26 am, PT)
buy back April 12 $1590 put at $3.25
PROFIT: $128
I decided to close my trade before the FOMC announcement at 11 am (PT).
Thursday, 2/28/2019 (11:19:31 am, PT)
sell short -1 March 8, 2019 $1705 call at $2.74
Facts:
- 8 days 'til expiration
- "overbought" stochastics
- 10 delta
Friday, 3/8/2019 (8:19:34 am, PT) (Expiration Friday)
buy back March 8 $1705 call option at $0.01 (to remove the risk and take profits)
PROFIT: $273 (in one week)
Monday, 3/4/2019 (11:05:10 am, PT)
sell short -1 March 8, 2019 $1632.50 put at $2.47
Facts:
- 4 days 'til expiration
- 10.52 delta
Tuesday, 3/5/2019 (11:58:12 am, PT)
buy back put option at $0.80 (take profits)
PROFIT: $167 (in one day)
Thursday, 2/28/2019 (11:19:31 am, PT)
sell short -1 March 8, 2019 $1565 put at $2.63
Facts:
- 8 days 'til expiration (DTE)
- 10 delta
Friday, 3/1/2019 (12:54 pm, PT)
buy back put option at $0.95
Amazon rose $33, so it's time to close my trade and take profits.
PROFIT: $168 (in one day)
Tuesday 1/22/2019 (Expiration Day)
WATCH THE VIDEO HERE!
Trade 1 (10:25:33 am, PT)
buy +2 Jan 22, 2019 2665 calls at $0.05 (cheap wings)
sell -2 Jan 22, 2019 2635 calls at $2.00 (29 delta)
margin: (2665 － 2635) x 2 x 100 = $6000
credit (max potential profit): ($2.00 － $0.05) x 2 x 100 = $390
Trade 2 (11:54:09 am, PT)
buy back both short calls (2635) at $0.30
let the long calls (2665) expire worthless
PROFIT: $330 (in 90 minutes)
WATCH THE VIDEO HERE!
Friday 1/18/2019 (Expiration Friday)
WATCH THE VIDEO HERE!
Trade 1 (10:48 am, PT)
buy +2 January 18, 2019 2705 calls at $0.05 (cheap "wings")
sell -2 January 18, 2019 2675 calls at $1.80 (27 delta)
Trade 2 (11:38 am, PT)
buy back the 2 short calls (2675) at $0.60 (take profits and remove the risk)
PROFIT #1: $230 (in 45 minutes)
Trade 3 (11:55 am, PT)
sell -2 January 18, 2019 2675 calls at $0.80 (17.46 delta)
Comment: I'm selling (to open) two new calls (same strike) so I don't "waste" my two long calls ("wings") (there's still 1 hour left in the trading session)
Trade 4 (12:49 pm, PT)
buy back the 2 short calls (2675) at $0.10
Comment: The market makers were "torturing" me by making me wait until 12:49 pm. They refused to sell me the 2675 calls for $0.10 even though they were pretty far out-of-the-money
PROFIT #2: $140 (in 55 minutes)
TOTAL PROFIT: $370
Comments:
- at 12:52 pm, SPX was at 2663.37 and then staged a sharp reversal (back up)
- at 1:00 pm, SPX closed at 2670.71
- I'm VERY glad I bought back my short calls at $0.10 because that late-afternoon reversal would have completely stressed me out
WATCH THE VIDEO HERE!
Wednesday 1/16/2019 (Expiration Wednesday)
Trade 1 (9:52 am, PT)
sell -1 January 16, 2019 2630 call at $1.00 (16 delta)
Trade 2 (9:58 am, PT)
sell -1 January 16, 2019 2630 call at $1.05 (18 delta)
Trade 3
buy +2 January 16, 2019 2655 calls at $0.10 ("wings")
Trade 4 (12:46 pm, PT)
buy back both short calls (2630 strike) at $0.05 (to take profits & remove the risk)
PROFIT: $175
Monday, 1/14/2019 (Expiration Monday)
Trade 1 (10:15 am, PT)
buy +2 January 14, 2019 2625 calls at $0.05 ("wings")
sell -2 January 14, 2019 2595 calls at $1.15 (21.86 delta)
Trade 2 (11:46 am, PT)
buy back both short calls (2595 strike) at $0.30 (take profits & remove the risk)
let long calls expire "worthless"
PROFIT: $160 (in 90 minutes)
SPX closed at 2582.61
WATCH THE VIDEO HERE!
Wednesday, 1/9/2019 (Expiration Day)
WATCH THE VIDEO HERE!
Trade 1 (11:08:46 am, PT)
sell -2 Jan 9, 2019 2610 calls at $1.25 (14.62 delta)
buy +2 Jan 9, 2019 2640 calls at $0.05 ("wings")
Comments
- The Federal Reserve released its minutes at 11 am, PT
- Margin requirements: (2640 − 2610) x 2 x 100 = $6000
Trade 2 (11:30:07 am, PT)
buy back both short calls (2610 strike) at $0.20 (to remove the risk and take profits)
PROFIT #1 (short calls only): $210
Trade 3 (11:48:57 am, PT)
sell -2 new calls (2600 strike) at $1.25 (19.18 delta)
Trade 4 (12:30:18 pm, PT)
buy back second set of short calls (2600 strike) at $0.30 (to remove the risk and take profits)
PROFIT #2 (short calls only): $190
TOTAL PROFIT: $210 + $190 − $10 (cost of the two long calls) = $390 (in about 90 minutes)
Comments
- I waited until after the Fed's minutes to place my first trade (I don't like uncertainty)
- After I bought back my first set of short calls, I was able to sell another set of calls for an additional credit
- SPX closed at 2584.96, so my short calls would have been fine in the end. However, I don't like to take unnecessary risk, so I always buy back my short options before expiration if possible
WATCH THE VIDEO HERE!
Friday, 1/4/2019 (Expiration Friday)
Trade 1 (11:25:40 am, PT)
sell (to open) -1 Jan 4, 2019 2545 call option at $1.65 (delta 19.25)
Comment: The markets gapped up right at the opening bell and continued to rise. It had been a pretty strong "up" day, so I kept my trade small by selling only one contract. Selling call options is a semi-bearish strategy.
Trade 2 (12:51:07 pm, PT)
buy back call option at $0.05 (to remove the risk and take profits)
Comment: SPX closed at 2531.94 at 4 pm, ET (up 84.05).
PROFIT: $160 (in 90 minutes)
LEARN TO SELL CALL OPTIONS HERE!
Wednesday, 1/2/2019 (Expiration Wednesday)
Trade 1 (10:01:05 am, PT)
sell (to open) -2 January 2, 2019 2530 calls at $1.40 (15 delta)
Max potential profit: $280
Trade 2 (11:59:10 am, PT)
buy (to close) both calls at $0.20 (to remove the risk and take profits)
Note: SPX closed at 2510.03 at 4 pm, ET
PROFIT: $240 (in 2 hours)
Learn to SELL CALL OPTIONS here!
Friday 12/21/2018 (Expiration Friday)
Trade 1A (9:42:23 am, PT)
sell (to open) -2 Dec 21, 2018 2490 call options at $2.35 (14 delta)
Trade 1B (10:53:08 am, PT)
buy (to close) both of the 2490 call options at $0.90
PROFIT: $290
Trade 2A (11:40:11 am, PT)
sell (to open) -2 Dec 21, 2018 2460 call options at $1.85 (17 delta)
(notice that the strike price is 30 points lower than in Trade 1)
Trade 2B (12:12:22 pm, PT)
buy (to close) both of the 2460 call options at $0.65
PROFIT: $240
Trade 3 (12:34:12, pm, PT)
sell (to open) -2 Dec 21, 2018 2435 call options at $2.60 (22 delta)
(notice that the strike price is 25 points lower than in Trade 2)
Note:
I had submitted a limit order to buy back both of the 2435 calls at $0.05, but my order never filled even though my short calls were out-of-the money by $18. I had never experienced such a thing before. The "ask" remained at $0.55 all the way until the Closing Bell. Those market makers missed out on taking my $10 because they got greedy!!
SPX closed at 2416.62 (down 50.80).
TOTAL PROFIT (3 separate trades): $1050 (in 4 hours)
LEARN TO SELL CALL OPTIONS HERE!
Monday 12/17/2018 (Expiration Monday)
Trade 1 (9:04:09 am, PT)
sell (to open) -1 Dec 17, 2018 2620 call option at $1.45 (15 delta)
Trade 2 (9:25:29 am, PT)
buy (to close) +1 above call option at $0.45
PROFIT: $100 (in 21 minutes)
Trade 3 (10:30:59 am, PT)
sell (to open) -1 Dec 17, 2018 2590 call option at $2.25 (18 delta)
Trade 4 (11:52:46 am, PT)
buy (to close) +1 above call option at $0.20
PROFIT: $205 (in 1 hour, 22 minutes)
Trade 5 (12:36:43 pm, PT)
sell (to open) -1 Dec 17, 2018 2545 call option at $1.95 (30 delta)
Trade 6 (12:49:05 pm, PT)
buy (to close) +1 above call option at $0.40
PROFIT: $155 (in 13 minutes)
TOTAL PROFIT (selling call options 3 times): $460
COMMENTS:
- As SPX started dropping, I would buy back my short calls and sell (to open) new ones that were closer "to the money"
- Notice that my "deltas" started rising with each subsequent trade (once SPX started dropping, I felt pretty confident that the downward trend would continue at least until 12:50 pm or so)
- Quite often, after a whole day of selling, the buyers come back in towards the end of the day and push the SPX back up (at 12:49 pm, PT, SPX hit an intraday low of 2530.54 and then reversed back up to close at 2545.94)
- It's a GOOD thing I bought back my short call (2545 strike) at 12:49 pm because it would have ended up "in-the-money" at the close!
Oct 23, 2018
buy +1 Nov 30, 2018 $114 put option
sell -2 Nov 30, 2018 $113.50 put options
net credit: $1.05 x 1 x 100 = $105
maximum potential profit: $155
Nov 27, 2018
close the trade
PROFIT: $106
WATCH ALL 4 VIDEOS HERE!
Monday, 11/26/2018 (Expiration Monday)
Trade 1 (9:11:23 am, PT)
sell (to open) -1 Nov 26, 2018 2670 call option at $3.40 ← 38.67 delta (a bit high)
Trade 2 (9:25:18 am, PT)
buy back short call option at $1.50
Note: I decided to close it at around 50% of max profit
PROFIT: $190 (in 14 minutes)
COMMENTS:
It was very tempting to leave this trade open (until expiration) to get the remaining $150, but it's only 9:25 am and a lot can happen in the next 3.5 hours.
I got 55% of max profit in only 14 minutes, so I'm happy about that. "Don't get greedy," right? 😉
Learn to SELL OPTIONS HERE.
Monday, 11/12/2018 (Expiration Monday)
12:22:03 pm, PT
buy +1 Nov 12, 2018 2770 call at $0.05 ← "wing"
sell -1 Nov 12, 2018 2750 call at $1.30 ← 22 delta
margin: $2,000
net credit: $1.25 x 1 x 100 = $125 (max profit)
1:00 pm, PT
SPX closed at 2726.22
all call options expired "worthless"
PROFIT: $125 (in 38 minutes)
Learn to SELL call options HERE!
Thu. 10/25/2018
Trade 1 (9:38:02 am, PT) ← SPX around 2698
sell short -6 Oct 26, 2018 2715 calls at $11.30 (very nice premium!)
delta: 35.80
Trade 2 (1:01:11 pm, PT)
buy back calls at $10.40 (for a quick profit)
PROFIT: $540
Comments:
- SPX continued to rise after I sold (to open) my short call options (bad!)
- At 11:49 am (2 hours later), SPX hit a high of 2722.33 and my calls were trading at $20.20 (I had a temporary "paper loss" of $5340!) 😖😨
- At 1:01 pm, PT, I decided to buy back my calls at $10.40 and take a quick profit because I wasn't sure if Amazon's earnings and Alphabet's (Google) earnings were going to be good or bad
- Amazon's earnings and Google's earnings turned out to be bad, so SPX dropped in the after-hours market
- By 1:15 pm, PT, my call options were trading between $5.40 and $6.50 😩
- The greedy side of my brain wants to say, "I wish I had held my calls longer!"
- The conservative side of my brain says, "It's a good thing I took my profits because things could have gone the other way."
What would YOU have done in this situation??
Learn to SELL CALL OPTIONS HERE!
Monday 10/8/2018 (Expiration Monday)
Trade 1 (10:21:22 am, PT) ← SPX around 2865
sell -6 Oct 8, 2018 2845 puts at $1.00
buy +6 Oct 8, 2018 2815 puts at $0.10
- net credit: $0.90 x 6 x 100 = $540 (max profit)
- margin: $18,000
Trade 2 (10:44:15 am, PT)
buy back all 6 short puts (2845) at $0.20 to take profits and remove the risk
PROFIT: $420 (in 23 minutes!)
WATCH FREE OPTIONS VIDEOS HERE!
