Weekend Portfolio Analysis (August 30, 2015)

We started crashing on Monday only to end higher on Friday. You know, just how we all predicted. SPX opened the week at 1965.15 and closed it at 1988.87 for a +1.21% gain. The index is now down 3.40% for the year but it was below -8% for the year at one point.

This event caused some serious losses to Option Premium sellers around the world, in many cases severely damaging accounts beyond the recovery point. It also put some snake oil salesmen with total disregard for risk management (trading newsletters) out of businesses. As a result the world is a better place now for our children. Thanks Allah.

The Bear Lives On - Bought cheap Protection

Today I bought an out of the money SPY Put as protection insurance upon seeing the market close at the lows of the day, which doesn't bode well for the near future.

Bought September 145 SPY Put for 0.47 debit. Crash mode. Protection is needed. A little insurance here doesn't hurt.

— The Lazy Trader (@lazytrading) August 25, 2015

Adjusting Credit Put spreads on a Panic day (August 24, 2015)

There we go folks, see you in hell !!! It was a great life here on Earth!!

— The Lazy Trader (@lazytrading) August 24, 2015

That was my tweet today at exactly 9.30am New York time. The infamous Opening Bell.

Defending positions

Lots of blood on the Street today.

Ok, in order to not be extra annoying I'll be concise. Lately, it looks like I have become one of those daily bloggers who doesn't have a life outside of blogging. God save me.

RUT unbalanced Iron Condor adjustment

Today I had to defend the Put side of the September RUT 1120/1130/1330/1340 unbalanced Iron Condor as the RUT index fell by 2.53%. Boy what a difference a day makes.

Adjusted Put side of $RUT September 1120/1130/1330/1340 Iron Condor down to 1050/1060/1330/1340. First Loss of the year. It was a good ride.

— The Lazy Trader (@lazytrading) August 20, 2015

October 2015 SPX unbalanced Iron Condor

Today I started trading the October 2015 monthly options expiration cycle:

Sold $SPX October 1890/1895/2195/2200 unbalanced Iron Condor. 0.30 credit on Put side, 0.50 credit on Call side.

— The Lazy Trader (@lazytrading) August 18, 2015

I have to say it was a tough fill that took me about an hour. Getting filled on the whole position at once was impossible for me so I had to end up entering separate spreads. When I did this the fills were pretty easy.

Weekend Portfolio Analysis (August 16, 2015)

The last time I made a play this year was on July 27, exactly twenty days ago. Far from my personal record of thirty five but a clear proof that I am not willing to mortgage my derrière off in this market. My periods of extended inactivity in the past have always aligned with good performance. Naturally I've come to love them and to some extent I crave them, I pursue them.

Last year my portfolio was up +17.88% by the end of September, easily on my way to glory in the middle of a cataclysmic year for options sellers of the world. Then a series of absurd plays followed which made me look like I was on my period. It's not going to happen this year. By the time the curtains close this upcoming Friday the portfolio will be up almost 20% for the year. Protecting the good work done so far will become top priority and I will be that much more selective with my plays the rest of the way. The market has been trading on a very tight range since early February and eventually an explosion to one side will take place. There will be some casualties. Let's not be one of them.

Weekend Portfolio Analysis (August 9, 2015)

Doing nothing sometimes is really fun. Seriously. I love seeing the markets move in one direction, people and gurus going crazy with their recency bias while the conservative and lazy options seller waits it all out with solid positions that only need protection during extreme moves. Doing nothing is fun because it means you are "making it". It means you are doing good. It means you are trading well. You don't need to be constantly trading in order to feel that you are doing "all the effort in your hands" to grow your money. A couple positions at a time can bring some serious dough in the long run and the best part is, it can make it all low stress, not to mention "commissions effective".

Weekend Portfolio Analysis (August 2, 2015)

The SPX went up this week from 2078.19 to 2103.84 for a 1.23% gain. It was an active week for me where I took advantage of some extreme pessimism on Monday to sell an SPX Credit Put spread and just two days later I was closing the Put side of a RUT Iron Condor. The market is now looking more in no man's land than ever and it is a pleasure to say that the positions in the portfolio feel really comfortable at this point.