CHRISTMAS PROMOTION
LTOptions at a 33% discount during the Year End Holidays.
Tell me More

BookingAlpha Option Trading Advisory

Sunday, December 30, 2018

Weekend Portfolio Analysis (December 30, 2018)

Recent Trading Activity

- Closed all bullish bets that had been deployed since February. All of them at a loss. At one point there were more than ten thousand dollars in gains there. Definitely frustrating. Many mistakes were made this year, putting personal issues aside, I will go over them one by one in an upcoming article. Final record for the year here.

Reminder: As explained in the October 13 article, I will stop writing Weekend Portfolio Analyses at the end of 2018. I will keep trading and keeping a track record of the positions as usual.

So, far, I have opened two 2019 positions:
- Jan 2019 SPX Credit Put spread
- Feb 2019 RUT Credit Put spread

Sunday, December 23, 2018

Weekend Portfolio Analysis (December 23, 2018)

Recent Trading Activity

- Closed Dec RUT Credit Put spread during rally on Wednesday prior to Fed announcement. A $50 scratch.

Closed Dec SPX Elephant Put side during rally on Wednesday prior to Fed announcement. A small $350 gain.

- Let the Call side of Dex SPX Elephant expire on Friday for a $384 gain.


Reminder: As explained in the October 13 article, I will stop writing Weekend Portfolio Analyses at the end of 2018. I will keep trading and keeping a track record of the positions as usual.

So, far, I have opened two 2019 positions:
- Jan 2019 SPX Credit Put spread
- Feb 2019 RUT Credit Put spread

Monday, December 17, 2018

February 2019 RUT Credit Put spread

With the VIX above 23, RUT down 20% from its peak and all the oscillators pointing to an oversold environment, I'm going with a Credit Put spread using February options.
Trade Details:
SELL 4 February RUT 1180/1170 Credit Put spreads @0.70

Credit:          $280 (0.70 x 4 x 100)
Max Risk: $3,720 (9.30 x 4 x 100)

Friday, December 14, 2018

Weekend Portfolio Analysis (December 14, 2018)

Recent Trading Activity

- No Activity.

Reminder: As explained in the October 13 article, I will stop writing Weekend Portfolio Analyses at the end of 2018. I will keep trading and keeping a track record of the positions as usual.

Saturday, December 8, 2018

Weekend Portfolio Analysis (December 8, 2018)

Recent Trading Activity

- No Activity.

Reminder: As explained in the October 13 article, I will stop writing Weekend Portfolio Analyses at the end of 2018. I will keep trading and keeping a track record of the positions as usual.

Saturday, December 1, 2018

Weekend Portfolio Analysis (December 1, 2018)

Recent Trading Activity

- No Activity.

Reminder: As explained in the October 13 article, I will stop writing Weekend Portfolio Analyses at the end of 2018. I will keep trading and keeping a track record of the positions as usual.

Friday, November 23, 2018

Weekend Portfolio Analysis (November 23, 2018)

Recent Trading Activity

- Initiated an SPX January 2019 Credit Put spread. As announced earlier in October, the Weekend Portfolio Analysis articles will come to an end at the end of this year. I'm only mentioning this 2019 trade for the sake of completeness, but it will not be included in the remaining articles.

January 2019 SPX Credit Put spread

First trade using 2019 options. New year, fresh start!
I decided to start it off with a Credit Put spread. Even though we are not 100% extreme oversold we are almost there and with the VIX above 21 it is just an attractive proposition very far out of the money.

Trade Details:
SELL 4 January SPX 2310/2300 Credit Put spreads @0.70

Credit:          $280 (0.70 x 4 x 100)
Max Risk: $3,720 (9.30 x 4 x 100)

Friday, November 16, 2018

Monday, November 12, 2018

December SPX Elephant

Trade Details:

SELL 20 SPX December 2500/2490 Credit Put spreads @0.65 Credit
SELL   8 SPX December 2910/2920 Credit Call spreads @0.95 Credit

Long hedges:
BUY   8  SPY December 292 Calls @0.47
BUY   1  SPY December 257 Puts  @1.71

Total Net Credit: $1,513
Days to Expiration: 38

Sunday, November 11, 2018

Weekend Portfolio Analysis (November 11)

Recent Trading Activity

- No Activity. It was an extremely busy week at the office that left me with only a handful of chances to watch the markets.

Saturday, October 20, 2018

Weekend Portfolio Analysis (October 20, 2018)

This week's analysis has been published at LTOptions.com

Download Weekend Portfolio Analysis (2018-10-13).pdf

If the above link doesn't work for you, simply log in to LTOptions.com, navigate to the "Weekly Analysis" tab and download the document from there.

The Weekend Portfolio Analysis will be available on this site next week for historical reference.

All currently open positions can be seen on the 2018 Track Record page


Previous Analysis now publicly available:
Weekend Portfolio Analysis (October 6, 2018) 
Recent Trading Activity


Saturday, October 13, 2018

Weekend Portfolio Analysis (October 13)

This week's analysis has been published at LTOptions.com

Download Weekend Portfolio Analysis (2018-10-13).pdf

If the above link doesn't work for you, simply log in to LTOptions.com, navigate to the "Weekly Analysis" tab and download the document from there.

The Weekend Portfolio Analysis will be available on this site next week for historical reference.

All currently open positions can be seen on the 2018 Track Record page


Previous Analysis now publicly available:
Weekend Portfolio Analysis (October 6, 2018) 
Recent Trading Activity

- Deployed November SPX Credit Put spread on Monday for a $1200 credit.

- Took a loss on the October RUT Elephant Put side. Deployed new RUT Credit Spread using December options. The loss was $3200. The credit received from the new December Spread was $1200. The Put side of the RUT Elephant was therefore adjusted twice (October 5th and October 11th).

Monday, October 8, 2018

November SPX Credit Put spread

Trade Details

SELL 2630/2620 November SPX Credit Put spread @0.60
Total credit: $1,200
Days to expiration: 39

SPX Chart for future reference:



Trade Update (October 23)

Adjusted the spread:
CLOSED 2630/2620 November SPX Credit Put spread @2.20 DEBIT
Original credit was 0.60. Net loss 1.60 per spread. Total -$3200


Deployed new spread:
SELL 2450/2440 November SPX Credit Put spread @0.65 CREDIT




Trade Update (November 16)

Expiration:
2450/2440 November SPX Credit Put spread
Profit: $1300




Go to the bottom of this page in order to see the Legal Stuff

Saturday, October 6, 2018

Weekend Portfolio Analysis (October 6, 2018)

This week's analysis has been published at LTOptions.com

Download Weekend Portfolio Analysis (2018-10-06).pdf

If the above link doesn't work for you, simply log in to LTOptions.com, navigate to the "Weekly Analysis" tab and download the document from there.

The Weekend Portfolio Analysis will be available on this site next week for historical reference.

All currently open positions can be seen on the 2018 Track Record page


Previous Analysis now publicly available:
Weekend Portfolio Analysis (September 29, 2018) 
Recent Trading Activity

- Closed SPX November Elephant on Tuesday earlier than usual. A $1,119 profit.

- Adjusted Put side of RUT October Elephant on Friday. A $3,088 loss.

- Adjusted Put side of RUT November Elephant on Friday. A $2,973 loss.

- As for the second November position, I wanted to play SPX and was giving it a chance to reach fully oversold mode. Didn't quite get there for SPX and I'm going to give it another chance on Monday. If no oversold environment is materialized on Monday, then I'll go with an Elephant.

 It was a painful week. No way to sugar-coat it (not that I ever want to). In retrospect, the mistake was closing the SPX position instead of a RUT one, given that, it was RUT the symbol where two positions existed that had the same defense point. It would have been definitely better to take October RUT off the table, for a small win, and avoid the potential double loss of Oct + Nov positions. The funny thing is, if you go back to the trade plan, it was exactly to remove one of the RUT positions. But greed took over me. I removed the SPX Elephant simply because it had made way more profit, thinking I would be able to milk more off of the October RUT Elephant, and that, markets would never correct again. In this case, just as in February, it is not the particular position, or strategy. It has been my lack of discipline that has made matters worst. It's been a tough year, both at a personal and a professional level. But, we learn, we use multiple investing strategies, and we move on. My investing/trading approach has varied a lot over the years to the point where Credit Spreads & Elephants are just a small part of my activity. Nowadays, I'm even lazier than before in that I'm more of a long term investor than an active trader. I'll talk about these things in more details as the year wraps up and I'll also make comments about changes on the website for 2019.

Saturday, September 29, 2018

Weekend Portfolio Analysis (September 29, 2018)

This week's analysis has been published at LTOptions.com

Download Weekend Portfolio Analysis (2018-09-29).pdf

If the above link doesn't work for you, simply log in to LTOptions.com, navigate to the "Weekly Analysis" tab and download the document from there.

The Weekend Portfolio Analysis will be available on this site next week for historical reference.

All currently open positions can be seen on the 2018 Track Record page


Previous Analysis now publicly available:
Weekend Portfolio Analysis (September 23, 2018) 
Recent Trading Activity

- No Activity.


Sunday, September 23, 2018

Weekend Portfolio Analysis (September 23)

This week's analysis has been published at LTOptions.com

Download Weekend Portfolio Analysis (2018-09-23).pdf

If the above link doesn't work for you, simply log in to LTOptions.com, navigate to the "Weekly Analysis" tab and download the document from there.

The Weekend Portfolio Analysis will be available on this site next week for historical reference.

All currently open positions can be seen on the 2018 Track Record page


Previous Analysis now publicly available:
Weekend Portfolio Analysis (September 15, 2018) 
Recent Trading Activity

- The September SPX Elephant Put side expired on Friday for a $1,078 profit.

- Initiated a November RUT Elephant on Friday for $1,470 credit.


Friday, September 21, 2018

November RUT Elephant

Trade Details:

SELL 20 RUT November 1580/1570 Credit Put spreads @0.60 Credit
SELL   8 RUT November 1810/1820 Credit Call spreads @0.90 Credit

Long hedges:
BUY  16 IWM November 182 Calls @0.22
BUY   1  IWM November 161 Puts @0.98

Total Net Credit: $1,470
Days to Expiration: 56

Saturday, September 15, 2018

Weekend Portfolio Analysis (September 15, 2018)

This week's analysis has been published at LTOptions.com

Download Weekend Portfolio Analysis (2018-09-15).pdf

If the above link doesn't work for you, simply log in to LTOptions.com, navigate to the "Weekly Analysis" tab and download the document from there.

The Weekend Portfolio Analysis will be available on this site next week for historical reference.

All currently open positions can be seen on the 2018 Track Record page


Previous Analysis now publicly available:
Weekend Portfolio Analysis (September 8, 2018) 
Recent Trading Activity

- No Activity.

Saturday, September 8, 2018

Weekend Portfolio Analysis (September 8)

This week's analysis has been published at LTOptions.com

Download Weekend Portfolio Analysis (2018-09-08).pdf

If the above link doesn't work for you, simply log in to LTOptions.com, navigate to the "Weekly Analysis" tab and download the document from there.

The Weekend Portfolio Analysis will be available on this site next week for historical reference.

All currently open positions can be seen on the 2018 Track Record page


Previous Analysis now publicly available:
Weekend Portfolio Analysis (September 8, 2018) 
Recent Trading Activity

Thursday, September 6, 2018

October RUT Elephant

Trade Details:

SELL 20 RUT October 1590/1600 Credit Put spreads @0.60 Credit
SELL   8 RUT October 1810/1820 Credit Call spreads @0.90 Credit

Long hedges:
BUY  18 IWM October 182 Calls @0.20
BUY   1  IWM October 161 Puts @0.97

Total Net Credit: $1,463
Days to Expiration: 43

Friday, August 31, 2018

Weekend Portfolio Analysis (August 31)

This week's analysis has been published at LTOptions.com

Download Weekend Portfolio Analysis (2018-08-31).pdf

If the above link doesn't work for you, simply log in to LTOptions.com, navigate to the "Weekly Analysis" tab and download the document from there.

The Weekend Portfolio Analysis will be available on this site next week for historical reference.

All currently open positions can be seen on the 2018 Track Record page


Previous Analysis now publicly available:
Weekend Portfolio Analysis (August 26, 2018) 
Recent Trading Activity

- Initiated an October SPX Elephant on Monday. Net credit $1,448.

- Added a new Call side to the RUT Elephant Put side on Monday. Back to a full Elephant position. The original Call side on the September RUT Elephant had been taken off for profits a couple of weeks ago. The new Call side recently deployed brought a new credit of $363.

- Closed Call side of September SPX Elephant on Monday at a $1,098 loss. The market gap up didn't help and I ended up closing it when the SPX was trading around 2,893. Way beyond the proposed defense line of 2,885.

Monday, August 27, 2018

October SPX Elephant (August 27, 2018)

Trade Details:

SELL 20 SPX October 2700/2690 Credit Put spreads @0.60 Credit
SELL   8 SPX October 3010/3020 Credit Call spreads @0.90 Credit

Long hedges:
BUY  8  SPY October 302 Calls @0.42
BUY  1  SPY October 274 Puts @1.36

Total Net Credit: $1,448
Days to Expiration: 52


Risk profile:

SPX Chart for future reference:



Trade Update (October 2, 2018)

Closed entire position:

20 SPX October 2700/2690 Credit Put spreads @0.10 Debit
Original Credit was 0.60. Net gain of 0.50 per = $1,000

8 SPX October 3010/3020 Credit Call spreads @0.30 Debit
Original Credit was 0.90. Net gain of 0.60 per = $480

8  SPY October 302 Calls @0.11 Credit
Original Debit paid was 0.42. Net loss  $248

1  SPY October 274 Puts @0.23 credit
Original Debit paid was 1.36. Net loss $113

Combining it all:  +1000 + 480 - 248 - 113 = $1119
Max potential profit was $1,448.  So, 77% of the max profit has been taken after 35 days in the position and 17 days to expiration.



Go to the bottom of this page in order to see the Legal Stuff

Sunday, August 26, 2018

Weekend Portfolio Analysis (August 26, 2018)

This week's analysis has been published at LTOptions.com

Download Weekend Portfolio Analysis (2018-08-26).pdf

If the above link doesn't work for you, simply log in to LTOptions.com, navigate to the "Weekly Analysis" tab and download the document from there.

The Weekend Portfolio Analysis will be available on this site next week for historical reference.

All currently open positions can be seen on the 2018 Track Record page


Previous Analysis now publicly available:
Weekend Portfolio Analysis (August 18, 2018) 
Recent Trading Activity

- No Activity. While working this past week at the Toronto offices it became literally impossible to do anything trading related. My reading of the market was good coming into the week with a bullish bias. All time higs were taken. The previous week's action plan should have been applied: Reopening Call side on the RUT Sept Elephant; deploying first October position. But again, between meetings and a very demanding schedule, I simply had no time to patiently enter orders, wait for fills, write blog articles about it.

Saturday, August 18, 2018

Weekend Portfolio Analysis (August 18, 2018)

This week's analysis has been published at LTOptions.com

Download Weekend Portfolio Analysis (2018-08-18).pdf

If the above link doesn't work for you, simply log in to LTOptions.com, navigate to the "Weekly Analysis" tab and download the document from there.

The Weekend Portfolio Analysis will be available on this site next week for historical reference.

All currently open positions can be seen on the 2018 Track Record page


Previous Analysis now publicly available:
Weekend Portfolio Analysis (August 12, 2018) 
Recent Trading Activity

- Initiated SPX September Elephant on Tuesday for $1,438 credit.

- Closed Call side of RUT September Elephant for a $364 profit on Wednesday. There is now a chance to redeploy it on a market rebound.

- Put side of RUT August Elephant expired for a $1,100 profit on Friday.

Tuesday, August 14, 2018

September SPX Elephant

Trade Details:

SELL 40 SPX September 2650/2645 Credit Put spreads @0.30 Credit
SELL   9 SPX September 2925/2935 Credit Call spreads @0.80 Credit

Long hedges:
BUY   9 SPY September 293 Calls @0.40
BUY   1 SPY September 269 Puts @1.22

Total Net Credit: $1,438
Days to Expiration: 38

Sunday, August 12, 2018

Weekend Portfolio Analysis (August 12, 2018)

This week's analysis has been published at LTOptions.com

Download Weekend Portfolio Analysis (2018-08-12).pdf

If the above link doesn't work for you, simply log in to LTOptions.com, navigate to the "Weekly Analysis" tab and download the document from there.

The Weekend Portfolio Analysis will be available on this site next week for historical reference.

All currently open positions can be seen on the 2018 Track Record page


Previous Analysis now publicly available:
Weekend Portfolio Analysis (August 4, 2018) 
Recent Trading Activity

- Closed the August SPX Elephant Put side on Monday for a $1,100 gain. This Elephant is now entirely closed.

- I tried to initiate a September SPX Elephant on Friday without luck. I tried a few strikes, different widths and credits to no avail. I didn't want to sacrifice a lot of credit, which was small to begin with. I will try to establish a September SPX Elephant again on Monday.

Saturday, August 4, 2018

Weekend Portfolio Analysis (August 4, 2018)

This week's analysis has been published at LTOptions.com

Download Weekend Portfolio Analysis (2018-08-04).pdf

If the above link doesn't work for you, simply log in to LTOptions.com, navigate to the "Weekly Analysis" tab and download the document from there.

The Weekend Portfolio Analysis will be available on this site next week for historical reference.

All currently open positions can be seen on the 2018 Track Record page


Previous Analysis now publicly available:
Weekend Portfolio Analysis (July 28, 2018) 
Recent Trading Activity

- No Activity.

I tried to close the September SPX 2430/2440 Credit Put spread (remainder of a former Elephant) but was not lucky trying to close it for 0.05 debit. I also intended to close the Call side of the October RUT Elephant, but had no luck either as I wanted a net +$400 gain on that side. Maybe I was a little greedy. So, summing up, I tried to close these two at different points in the week but did not get filled. I didn't sacrifice price limits on the orders as I was/am not terribly hurried to close these positions.

Monday, July 23, 2018

September RUT Elephant

Trade Details:

SELL 20 RUT September 1530/1540 Credit Put spreads @0.60 Credit
SELL   7 RUT September 1790/1780 Credit Call spreads @1.05 Credit

Long hedges:
BUY  14 IWM September 180 Calls @0.25
BUY   1  IWM September 158 Puts @1.04

Total Net Credit: $1,481
Days to Expiration: 60

Saturday, July 21, 2018

Weekend Portfolio Analysis (July 21, 2018)

This week's analysis has been published at LTOptions.com

Download Weekend Portfolio Analysis (2018-07-21).pdf

If the above link doesn't work for you, simply log in to LTOptions.com, navigate to the "Weekly Analysis" tab and download the document from there.

The Weekend Portfolio Analysis will be available on this site next week for historical reference.

All currently open positions can be seen on the 2018 Track Record page


Previous Analysis now publicly available:
Weekend Portfolio Analysis (July 15, 2018) 
Recent Trading Activity

- July RUT Elephant expired on Friday. A $1684 gain.

Sunday, July 15, 2018

Weekend Portfolio Analysis (July 15, 2018)

This week's analysis has been published at LTOptions.com

Download Weekend Portfolio Analysis (2018-07-15).pdf

If the above link doesn't work for you, simply log in to LTOptions.com, navigate to the "Weekly Analysis" tab and download the document from there.

The Weekend Portfolio Analysis will be available on this site next week for historical reference.

All currently open positions can be seen on the 2018 Track Record page
Recent Trading Activity

- Closed Call side of SPX August Elephant at a $686 loss on Tuesday. Still riding the Put side.

- Closed Call side of RUT August Elephant at a $680 loss on Tuesday. Still riding the Put side.

Thursday, July 5, 2018

No Weekend Portfolio Analysis for July 7

Hey folks,

A personal unforeseen event has taken place that forced me to travel unexpectedly. So, there will not be a Weekend Portfolio article this weekend.

Still, I didn't want to leave without at least talking briefly about the current portfolio.


Two positions in August and one in July.
None of the existing positions is in danger.

The action plan for the upcoming week is to just baby-sit all three positions. No plan to enter anything new.

Cheers,
LT

Go to the bottom of this page in order to see the Legal Stuff

August RUT Elephant

Trade Details:

SELL 20 RUT August 1510/1500 Credit Put spreads @0.60 Credit
SELL   8 RUT August 1760/1770 Credit Call spreads @0.90 Credit

Long hedges:
BUY  20 IWM August 177 Calls @0.18
BUY   1  IWM August 154 Puts @1.00

Total Net Credit: $1,460
Days to Expiration: 43

Saturday, June 30, 2018

Enhanced Investing results halfway through the year

In 2018 I started to more regularly:

- Sell Puts on companies I'd like to own at better valuations, not intending to adjust or anything. If a Put becomes In the Money at expiration, I'm happy getting assigned the shares. If such fall doesn't take place, I'm happy locking the credit received from the Put contract and re-deploying.

- Sell Out of the Money Calls on stocks I own. This reduces maximum upside potential, but generates income every month during sideways, down and even limited upside market action.

- Collect dividends on the companies owned.

Weekend Portfolio Analysis (June 30, 2018)

This week's analysis has been published at LTOptions.com

Download Weekend Portfolio Analysis (2018-06-30).pdf

If the above link doesn't work for you, simply log in to LTOptions.com, navigate to the "Weekly Analysis" tab and download the document from there.

The Weekend Portfolio Analysis will be available on this site next week for historical reference.

All currently open positions can be seen on the 2018 Track Record page


Previous Analysis now publicly available:
Weekend Portfolio Analysis (June 23, 2018) 
Recent Trading Activity

- Initiated an August SPX Elephant position on Monday obtaining a $1,585 credit. Only added a Call hedge and no Put hedge as volatility was pretty elevated.

Monday, June 25, 2018

August SPX Elephant

Trade Details:

SELL 20 SPX August 2440/2430 Credit Put spreads @0.60 Credit
SELL   7 SPX August 2845/2855 Credit Call spreads @1.05 Credit

Upside hedge:
BUY  7 SPY August 285 Calls @0.50

Total Net Credit: $1,585
Days to Expiration: 53

Saturday, June 23, 2018

Weekend Portfolio Analysis (June 23, 2018)

This week's analysis has been published at LTOptions.com

Download Weekend Portfolio Analysis (2018-06-23).pdf

If the above link doesn't work for you, simply log in to LTOptions.com, navigate to the "Weekly Analysis" tab and download the document from there.

The Weekend Portfolio Analysis will be available on this site next week for historical reference.

All currently open positions can be seen on the 2018 Track Record page


Previous Analysis now publicly available:
Weekend Portfolio Analysis (June 15, 2018) 
Recent Trading Activity

- No Activity.

Friday, June 15, 2018

Weekend Portfolio Analysis (June 15, 2018)

This week's analysis has been published at LTOptions.com

Download Weekend Portfolio Analysis (2018-06-15).pdf

If the above link doesn't work for you, simply log in to LTOptions.com, navigate to the "Weekly Analysis" tab and download the document from there.

The Weekend Portfolio Analysis will be available on this site next week for historical reference.

All currently open positions can be seen on the 2018 Track Record page


Previous Analysis now publicly available:
Weekend Portfolio Analysis (June 10, 2018) 

Thursday, June 14, 2018

LT Trend Sniper - performance update

At almost the half year mark is as good a time as any to see how the Sniper has been doing in 2018. This is the robot I developed more than five years ago to trade the Forex markets, in particular, the EUR/USD pair and XAU/USD (spot gold vs US dollar).

Tuesday, June 12, 2018

July RUT Elephant

Trade Details:

SELL 40 RUT July 1575/1570 Credit Put spreads @0.35 Credit
SELL 16 RUT July 1745/1750 Credit Call spreads @0.45 Credit

Upside and downside hedges:
BUY  16 IWM July 175 Calls @0.18
BUY  2   IWM July 159 Puts @0.74

Total Net Credit: $1,684
Days to Expiration: 38

Sunday, June 10, 2018

Weekend Portfolio Analysis (June 10, 2018)

This week's analysis has been published at LTOptions.com

Download Weekend Portfolio Analysis (2018-06-10).pdf

If the above link doesn't work for you, simply log in to LTOptions.com, navigate to the "Weekly Analysis" tab and download the document from there.

The Weekend Portfolio Analysis will be available on this site next week for historical reference.

All currently open positions can be seen on the 2018 Track Record page


Previous Analysis now publicly available:
Weekend Portfolio Analysis (June 3, 2018) 
Recent Trading Activity
- No activity. Tried a July RUT Elephant at the end of Friday session but didn't get the fills I tried.

Sunday, June 3, 2018

Weekend Portfolio Analysis (June 3, 2018)

This week's analysis has been published at LTOptions.com

Download Weekend Portfolio Analysis (2018-06-03).pdf

If the above link doesn't work for you, simply log in to LTOptions.com, navigate to the "Weekly Analysis" tab and download the document from there.

The Weekend Portfolio Analysis will be available on this site next week for historical reference.

All currently open positions can be seen on the 2018 Track Record page


Previous Analysis now publicly available:
Weekend Portfolio Analysis (May 27, 2018) 
Recent Trading Activity
- Initiated a July SPX Elephant for $1,458 credit on Wednesday.

Wednesday, May 30, 2018

July SPX Elephant

Trade Details:

SELL 20 SPX July 2490/2500 Credit Put spreads @0.60 Credit
SELL 7   SPX July 2840/2850 Credit Call spreads @0.95 Credit

Upside and downside hedges:
BUY  8 SPY July 285 Calls @0.33
BUY  1 SPY July 255 Puts @1.43

Total Net Credit: $1,458
Days to Expiration: 51

Sunday, May 27, 2018

Weekend Portfolio Analysis (May 27, 2018)

This week's analysis has been published at LTOptions.com

Download Weekend Portfolio Analysis (2018-05-27).pdf

If the above link doesn't work for you, simply log in to LTOptions.com, navigate to the "Weekly Analysis" tab and download the document from there.

The Weekend Portfolio Analysis will be available on this site next week for historical reference.

All currently open positions can be seen on the 2018 Track Record page


Previous Analysis now publicly available:
Weekend Portfolio Analysis (May 20, 2018) 
Recent Trading Activity
- No Activity. I tried to initiate a July SPX Elephant on Friday but didn't not get filled on the few variations I tried. Work got in the way this time as I was very busy and with little time to look at the markets this time. I'll try to initiate the position early this week (Tuesday as markets will be closed on Monday for Memorial Day).

Sunday, May 20, 2018

Weekend Portfolio Analysis (May 20, 2018)

This week's analysis has been published at LTOptions.com

Download Weekend Portfolio Analysis (2018-05-20).pdf

If the above link doesn't work for you, simply log in to LTOptions.com, navigate to the "Weekly Analysis" tab and download the document from there.

The Weekend Portfolio Analysis will be available on this site next week for historical reference.

All currently open positions can be seen on the 2018 Track Record page


Previous Analysis now publicly available:
Weekend Portfolio Analysis (May 6, 2018) 
Recent Trading Activity

- Closed Call side of June RUT Elephant on Thursday for a $720 loss. The Put side is still in play, almost a sure winner now, and with a credit collected that is greater than the loss taken on the Call side. So, the position will end up being a small net winner in the end.

- Ditto for the Call side of the June SPX Elephant. Closed the same day. A $700 loss of . Put side still on, with a credit that is greater than the loss suffered on the Call side.

Both June Elephants lost on the Call side. Both should end up as net small winners by June expiration based on the credit that exists on the Put sides. Although small, the June cycle will be a positive one. Or at least the odds are very high for that to be the case.

Sunday, May 6, 2018

Weekend Portfolio Analysis (May 6, 2018)

This week's analysis has been published at LTOptions.com

Download Weekend Portfolio Analysis (2018-05-06).pdf

If the above link doesn't work for you, simply log in to LTOptions.com, navigate to the "Weekly Analysis" tab and download the document from there.

The Weekend Portfolio Analysis will be available on this site next week for historical reference.

All currently open positions can be seen on the 2018 Track Record page


Last Weekend Analysis now publicly available:
Weekend Portfolio Analysis (April 28, 2018) 
I'll be out of the country next Saturday with no Internet access. For this reason, there won't be a weekend article.

Recent Trading Activity

- Closed the remainder (Put) side of the May RUT/IWM Elephant on Friday for a $870 profit. This gain covers the loss suffered earlier on the Call side, and then some.

- Initiated a June SPX Elephant on Friday. Net credit $1,428.

Friday, May 4, 2018

June SPX Elephant

Trade Details:

SELL 20 SPX June 2460/2450 Credit Put spreads @0.60 Credit
SELL 7   SPX June 2780/2790 Credit Call spreads @1.00 Credit

Upside and downside hedges:
BUY  7 SPY June 279 Calls @0.47
BUY  1 SPY June 251 Puts @1.43

Total Net Credit: $1,428
Days to Expiration: 42

Saturday, April 28, 2018

Weekend Portfolio Analysis (April 28, 2018)

This week's analysis has been published at LTOptions.com

Download Weekend Portfolio Analysis (2018-04-28).pdf

If the above link doesn't work for you, simply log in to LTOptions.com, navigate to the "Weekly Analysis" tab and download the document from there.

The Weekend Portfolio Analysis will be available on this site next week for historical reference.

All currently open positions can be seen on the 2018 Track Record page


Last Weekend Analysis now publicly available:
Weekend Portfolio Analysis (April 22, 2018) 
Recent Trading Activity

- Initiated a June RUT Elephant position on Monday. Net credit $1,316. In the end I had a tough time getting filled on SPX, so I went with the Russell. Next one (this upcoming week) will be an SPX position.

Monday, April 23, 2018

June RUT Elephant

Trade Details:

SELL 20 RUT June 1410/1400 Credit Put spreads @0.60 Credit
SELL 12  RUT  June 1650/1655 Credit Call spreads @0.55 Credit

Upside and downside hedges:
BUY  12 IWM May 166 Calls @0.29
BUY    2 IWM May 144 Puts @0.98

Total Net Credit: $1,316
Days to Expiration: 53

Sunday, April 22, 2018

Weekend Portfolio Analysis (April 22, 2018)

This week's analysis has been published at LTOptions.com

Download Weekend Portfolio Analysis (2018-04-22).pdf

If the above link doesn't work for you, simply log in to LTOptions.com, navigate to the "Weekly Analysis" tab and download the document from there.

The Weekend Portfolio Analysis will be available on this site next week for historical reference.

All currently open positions can be seen on the 2018 Track Record page


Last Weekend Analysis now publicly available:
Weekend Portfolio Analysis (April 15, 2018) 
Recent Trading Activity

- Closed Call side of May RUT Elephant at a $688 loss on Wednesday. The Put side remains, now very safe, and with a total credit that is greater than this loss. So, it should be an overall winner but it just takes time now.

- The April SPX Elephant expired for max profit of $1608 on Friday.

- Also tried to get filled on a June SPX Elephant on Friday without success. I'll try to deploy this position on Monday.

Sunday, April 15, 2018

Weekend Portfolio Analysis (April 15, 2018)

This week's analysis has been published at LTOptions.com

Download Weekend Portfolio Analysis (2018-04-15).pdf

If the above link doesn't work for you, simply log in to LTOptions.com, navigate to the "Weekly Analysis" tab and download the document from there.

The Weekend Portfolio Analysis will be available on this site next week for historical reference.

All currently open positions can be seen on the 2018 Track Record page


Last Weekend Analysis now publicly available:
Weekend Portfolio Analysis (April 7, 2018) 
Recent Trading Activity

- Closed the April RUT/IWM 1365/1375/1670/1680/168 Elephant for a $1392 gain on Monday. Overall, this Elephant was a loser as the Put side had been adjusted from 1450/1440 down to 1375/1365. I'm just reflecting here the gain that was obtained this week. This move was made in order to free up some capital, as explained in the previous Weekend Analysis.

- Initiated a May RUT Elephant on Monday for a total net credit of $1,420.

- Closed the May SPX 2240/2250 Credit Put spread on Thursday for a $900 gain. This represented 75% of max profits with more than 5 weeks to expiration. I had a closing GTC order to close and it got triggered while I was away.  

Monday, April 9, 2018

May RUT Elephant

Trade Details:

SELL 20 RUT May 1385/1375 Credit Put spreads @0.57 Credit
SELL 8  RUT May 1630/1640 Credit Call spreads @0.92 Credit

Upside and downside hedges:
BUY  12 IWM May 164 Calls @0.22
BUY    2 IWM May 141 Puts @0.96

Total Net Credit: $1,420
Days to Expiration: 39

Saturday, April 7, 2018

Weekend Portfolio Analysis (April 7, 2018)

This week's analysis has been published at LTOptions.com

Download Weekend Portfolio Analysis (2018-04-07).pdf

If the above link doesn't work for you, simply log in to LTOptions.com, navigate to the "Weekly Analysis" tab and download the document from there.

The Weekend Portfolio Analysis will be available on this site next week for historical reference.

All currently open positions can be seen on the 2018 Track Record page


Last Weekend Analysis now publicly available:
Weekend Portfolio Analysis (March 31, 2018) 
Recent Trading Activity

- Adjusted the Put side of the April RUT Elephant. This resulted in a $2,800 loss. A new credit of $1,200 was obtained. The total credit in the position at the moment is $1,621 with less than two weeks to expiration.

- I intended to close the April SPX Elephant on Friday in order to deploy the second position of the May cycle. However, the fills I wanted were not possible. For this reason, the second position of the May cycle has not been deployed yet and the April SPX Elephant remains open.

Saturday, March 31, 2018

Weekend Portfolio Analysis (March 31, 2018)

This week's analysis has been published at LTOptions.com

Download Weekend Portfolio Analysis (2018-03-31).pdf

If the above link doesn't work for you, simply log in to LTOptions.com, navigate to the "Weekly Analysis" tab and download the document from there.

The Weekend Portfolio Analysis will be available on this site next week for historical reference.

All currently open positions can be seen on the 2018 Track Record page


Last Weekend Analysis now publicly available:
Weekend Portfolio Analysis (March 23, 2018) 
Recent Trading Activity

- No Activity.

Friday, March 23, 2018

Weekend Portfolio Analysis (March 23, 2018)

This week's analysis has been published at LTOptions.com

Download Weekend Portfolio Analysis (2018-03-23).pdf

If the above link doesn't work for you, simply log in to LTOptions.com, navigate to the "Weekly Analysis" tab and download the document from there.

The Weekend Portfolio Analysis will be available on this site next week for historical reference.

All currently open positions can be seen on the 2018 Track Record page


Last Weekend Analysis now publicly available:
Weekend Portfolio Analysis (March 18, 2018) 
Recent Trading Activity

- Initiated an SPX 2250/2240 Credit Call spread in the May expiration cycle on Friday. Credit received $1,200.

May SPX Bull Put spread

SOLD 20 May SPX 2250/2240 Credit Put spread @0.60 credit
Net Credit: $1,200
Days to expiration: 56

(Click on image to enlarge)


Trade Update - April 12, 2018

Close the spread at 0.15 debit.
Original credit was 0.60 so this is a 0.45 win.
75% of the max profit was achieved in 20 days (36 days left to expiration)
$900 profit


Go to the bottom of this page in order to see the Legal Stuff

Sunday, March 18, 2018

Weekend Portfolio Analysis (March 18, 2018)

This week's analysis has been published at LTOptions.com

Download Weekend Portfolio Analysis (2018-03-18).pdf

If the above link doesn't work for you, simply log in to LTOptions.com, navigate to the "Weekly Analysis" tab and download the document from there.

The Weekend Portfolio Analysis will be available on this site next week for historical reference.

All currently open positions can be seen on the 2018 Track Record page


Last Weekend Analysis now publicly available:
Weekend Portfolio Analysis (March 10, 2018) 
Recent Trading Activity

- No Activity. Quiet week for me just baby-sitting positions.

Saturday, March 10, 2018

Weekend Portfolio Analysis (March 10, 2018)

This week's analysis has been published at LTOptions.com

Download Weekend Portfolio Analysis (2018-03-10).pdf

If the above link doesn't work for you, simply log in to LTOptions.com, navigate to the "Weekly Analysis" tab and download the document from there.

The Weekend Portfolio Analysis will be available on this site next week for historical reference.

All currently open positions can be seen on the 2018 Track Record page


Last Weekend Analysis now publicly available:
Weekend Portfolio Analysis (March 3, 2018) 
Recent Trading Activity

- Initiated April RUT Elephant on Friday for a $1,445 net credit.

Friday, March 9, 2018

April RUT Elephant

Trade Details:

SELL 20 RUT April 1450/1460 Credit Put spreads @0.60 Credit
SELL 8  RUT April 1670/1680 Credit Call spreads @0.92 Credit

Upside and downside hedges:
BUY  15 IWM April 168 Calls @0.21
BUY    2 IWM April 148 Puts @0.88

Total Net Credit: $1,445
Days to Expiration: 42

For a smaller account ($20,000), this can be played as a 4/4/2/2  and then the hedge: 4 IWM Calls. OR half all that for an even smaller ($10,000) account.

Saturday, March 3, 2018

Weekend Portfolio Analysis (March 3, 2018)

This week's analysis has been published at LTOptions.com

Download Weekend Portfolio Analysis (2018-03-03).pdf

If the above link doesn't work for you, simply log in to LTOptions.com, navigate to the "Weekly Analysis" tab and download the document from there.

The Weekend Portfolio Analysis will be available on this site next week for historical reference.

All currently open positions can be seen on the 2018 Track Record page


Last Weekend Analysis now publicly available:
Weekend Portfolio Analysis (February 25, 2018) 
Recent Trading Activity

- Closed SPX June 2050/2025 Credit Put spread on Tuesday morning for a $1000 gain.

Sunday, February 25, 2018

Weekend Portfolio Analysis (February 25, 2018)

This week's analysis has been published at LTOptions.com

Download Weekend Portfolio Analysis (2018-02-25).pdf

If the above link doesn't work for you, simply log in to LTOptions.com, navigate to the "Weekly Analysis" tab and download the document from there.

The Weekend Portfolio Analysis will be available on this site next week for historical reference.

All currently open positions can be seen on the 2018 Track Record page


Last Weekend Analysis now publicly available:
Weekend Portfolio Analysis (February 17, 2018) 
Recent Trading Activity

- Closed RUT March 1320/1330/1680/1690 Unbalanced Iron Condor on Wednesday for a $1590 profit.

- Initiated an April SPX Elephant on Wednesday. Net credit: $1608.

Wednesday, February 21, 2018

April SPX Elephant

Trade Details:

SELL 20 SPX April 2440/2450 Credit Put spreads @0.60
SELL 8  SPX April 2890/2900 Credit Call spreads @1.00
BUY  8 SPY April 290 Calls @0.49

Net Credit: $1608
Days to Expiration: 58


Saturday, February 17, 2018

Weekend Portfolio Analysis (February 17, 2018)

This week's analysis has been published at LTOptions.com

Download Weekend Portfolio Analysis (2018-02-17).pdf

If the above link doesn't work for you, simply log in to LTOptions.com, navigate to the "Weekly Analysis" tab and download the document from there.

The Weekend Portfolio Analysis will be available on this site next week for historical reference.

All currently open positions can be seen on the 2018 Track Record page


Last Weekend Analysis now publicly available:
Weekend Portfolio Analysis (February 10, 2018) 
Recent Trading Activity

- No Activity

Saturday, February 10, 2018

Weekend Portfolio Analysis (February 10, 2018)

This week's analysis has been published at LTOptions.com

Download Weekend Portfolio Analysis (2018-02-10).pdf

If the above link doesn't work for you, simply log in to LTOptions.com, navigate to the "Weekly Analysis" tab and download the document from there.

The Weekend Portfolio Analysis will be available on this site next week for historical reference.

All currently open positions can be seen on the 2018 Track Record page


Last Weekend Analysis now publicly available:
Weekend Portfolio Analysis (February 3, 2018) 
Without a doubt, this was the worst week (Credit Spreads trading wise) since I started writing on this site seven years ago. So far in 2018, not a single Iron Condor or Elephant has worked. They have been either hurt on the Call side, or on the Put side, or both.

Despite inevitable bad streaks in the past, I was never down more than 15%. Well, this time I am. 27% to be precise. And it is important to make a pause an analyze why this happened.

- Aggressiveness on the Call side. I started the year finding myself on a couple of 2:1 Iron Condors. Thinking we were too overextended to the upside, I became aggressive using 2:1 ratios instead of the 4:1. Well, I was right that the markets had gone too far up, but not right on the timing. The 4:1's were the variation to play, and not only looking at it in retrospective. No. That was the variation to play, simply because that is the one. The one profoundly learned after years experiencing how uncomfortable an inefficient it is to defend the Call side. Playing aggressive Call sides led to taking unnecessary additional losses, which, later led me to try to make up by selling more Credit Put spreads than usual, and that causes to the second problem.

- Risk Concentration. On Monday there was a point where I was riding five different Credit Put spreads. This is sacrilegious in the original LTOptions materials, where riding three spreads on the same direction was deemed the max healthy limit. Talking about concentration. In the previous weekend analysis, I mentioned that one of two RUT Credit Put spreads needed to be closed due to similarities in the projected adjustment point. I could have done it early on at a small loss or a scratch on Monday, and not taken two losses as it eventually happened.

Not being aggressive on the Call side on the way up would have made my losses smaller. Consequently the desire to make up for them quickly (by selling more Puts) would have been smaller, leading to less risk concentration on the Put side and eventually smaller losses on that side of the spectrum too. Losses would have existed. No doubt about that, but the draw-down I'm seeing today would have been way smaller (around 10% instead of 27%).

I could mention other mistakes, like thinking that markets don't crash from all-time highs. Another confirmation that markets can do anything at any time including breaking any previous record of whatever stat you are looking at. Finally complacency. Years of relentless bullish action that lead to overconfidence on the Put side.

The original principles of the system are fine, and I'm going back to them. It is rarely the strategy who fails when it has been designed with risk calculation in mind. It is usually leverage that kills you. And this is a case of that.

It is at times like this one when most just want to throw the towel. And I get it.....
I had a conversation on the phone this week with someone who wanted to end his life due to recent losses in the market. I tried to somehow talk him out of that. This is a tough game. The market is serious stuff with real lives and destinies being affected. Anyone who says otherwise is full of it.

...For me, throwing the towel, walking away and never writing again would have been the easy way out. I won't. I never will. Even if I finish the year down 100% and end up totally ridiculed. At least, that would leave more value on one corner of the Internet. A legacy about  "what one must absolutely not do when trading Credit Spreads".


Recent Trading Activity

Monday
Closed Feb. RUT/IWM - 1455/1460 - 147 Elephant Put side $5500
Opened Feb. RUT - 1340/1335 Credit Put spread ($1400 credit)

Closed Mar. RUT - 1450/1440 Iron Condor Put side $3940
Opened Mar. RUT - 1330/1320 Credit Put spread ($1400 credit)

Closed Mar. SPX/SPY 2940/2950 - 295 Elephant Call side for gains $379
Closed Mar. SPX 2615/2625 Elephant Put side $2980  
Opened Mar. SPX 2400/2390 Credit Put spread ($1280 credit)

Opened Apr. RUT - 1330/1320 Credit Put spread ($610 credit)   

Bought 2 December SPY  295 Calls @5.28 debit
Bought 1 January 2019 SVXY, 120 Call @18.50 debit
===============================================================

Tuesday
On Tuesday morning, I basically woke up with the decision to liquidate the excessive Put side exposure, without waiting for 30 deltas or anything like that. I only left the two safest positions on.

Closed Apr RUT - 1330/1320 Credit Put spread (which had been initiated the previous day) $540

Closed Mar SPX - 2400/2390 Credit Put spread (which had been initiated the previous day) $1320

Closed Feb RUT - 1340/1335 Credit Put spread (which had been initiated the previous day) $1200

Closed Feb SPX - 2625/2620 Credit Put spread $1200
Closed Feb SPX 2520/2525 Credit Put spreads $0

Opened SPX June 2050/2025 Credit Put spread ($1320 credit)

Bought SPY - December31 Long 287 Calls  @7.24 debit 
Bought SVXY - January 2019 Long 17.5 Calls  @4.75 debit  
Bought SPY - Dec Synthethic stock (long 264 Call/Short 264 Put) same as being long 200 shares

===============================================================

Wednesday
Bought SVXY January 2017 Long 13 Calls @4.85 debit

Tuesday, February 6, 2018

June SPX Credit Put spread

Trade Details:
SELL TO OPEN 8 June SPX 2050/2025 Credit Put spreads
Credit: 1.65 ($1,320)

Trade Update (Feb 27, 2018)
 
CLOSED 8 June SPX 2050/2025 Credit Put spreads @0.40 debit

Net gain 1.25 per spread. $1000 in dollar terms for 8 spreads.


Go to the bottom of this page in order to see the Legal Stuff

Long Synthetic SPY Stock

Trade Details:

BUY  2 SPY 264 December31 Calls @19.65
SELL 2 SPY 264 December31 Puts  @17.86

Net: 1.79 debit ($358)
Margin consumed on entry ($13,800)

This is equivalent to being Long 200 SPY Shares but investing much less money. Of course, without the benefit of holding indefinitely and without the dividends.


Go to the bottom of this page in order to see the Legal Stuff

Long SVXY January 2019 Calls

Trade Details (February 5):
BOUGHT 1 January 2019, 120 Call @18.50 debit

This was at 2:51 pm
SVXY Was trading at around 86 at the time I opened this position.

Now, after hours, SVXY is trading near 15. Talk about a move.


=============================================

Trade Details (February 6):
BOUGHT 3 January 2019, 17.5 Call @4.75 debit


=============================================

Trade Details (February 7):
BOUGHT 2 January 2019, 13 Call @4.85 debit





Go to the bottom of this page in order to see the Legal Stuff

Long SPY December Calls

Trade Details (February 5):
BOUGHT 2 December31, 295 Call @5.28 debit


==========================================
Trade Details (February 6):
BOUGHT 2 December31, 287 Call @7.24 debit



Go to the bottom of this page in order to see the Legal Stuff

Monday, February 5, 2018

April RUT Credit Put spread

Trade Details:

SELL 10 April RUT April 1330 Put @9.16
BUY  10 April RUT April 1320 Put @8.55

Net Credit: 0.61  ($610)
Days to expiration: 73

Only half position due to excessive portfolio exposure.
RUT still in the 1500's. I think these are good odds.



Trade Update - Feb 6, 2018

I closed the 1330/1320 spreads for 1.15 debit.
Original credit 0.61.
Net loss: 0.54 per spread ($540)

Check out 2018 Track record


Go to the bottom of this page in order to see the Legal Stuff

Saturday, February 3, 2018

Weekend Portfolio Analysis (February 3, 2018)

This week's analysis has been published at LTOptions.com

Download Weekend Portfolio Analysis (2018-02-03).pdf

If the above link doesn't work for you, simply log in to LTOptions.com, navigate to the "Weekly Analysis" tab and download the document from there.

The Weekend Portfolio Analysis will be available on this site next week for historical reference.

All currently open positions can be seen on the 2018 Track Record page


Last Weekend Analysis now publicly available:
Weekend Portfolio Analysis (January 27, 2018) 
Important Note 1: New material has been added to the LTOptions's library. Elephants vs Iron Condors (Full Comparison) is an eBook that details among other things: key differences between the two strategies; pros and cons; which one performs better according to the environment; evolution of the T+0 line over time, etc. This new eBook is visible on the page that comes right after logging in: 


Important Note 2: Some modifications have recently been made to the 2018 Options Trading Plan. The changes are focused on efficiency and simplicity when defending Credit Call spreads. Log in to LTOptions.com and consult the 2018 Options Trading Plan ebook.


Recent Trading Activity

- Closed the Mar. SPX 2900/2905 Credit Call spread partially hedged with Long SPY 290 Calls
on Monday at a $1770 loss. Pretty bad timing here. Had I followed the original plan of holding until SPX 2895, well, I wouldn't have taken this loss. Psychology, psychology, psychology.

- Initiated a March SPX Unbalanced Elephant on Thursday for $1,527 credit. Also, awful timing here. Had I opened a position on Friday instead of Thursday, it would have been just Credit Put spread much lower down thanks to the oversold condition reached. Perhaps a good lesson that when we are so close to overbought, it is better to not rush an entry on Thursday and instead wait until Friday to see if the oversold condition materializes.

Thursday, February 1, 2018

March 2018 SPX Unbalanced Elephant

Trade Details:

20 SPX 2615/2625 Credit Put  spreads 0.55 Credit ($1100)
  8 SPX 2940/2950 Credit Call spreads 0.95 Credit ($760)

plus

9 SPY Long 295 Calls @0.37 (-$333)
I didn't add the Long Puts in this case

Net Credit: $1527
Days to Expiration: 43

This is for a $100,000 model portfolio.
For a $20,000 portfolio, some tweaks can be made and play 4/4/2/2 + 2 instead  ($336 credit overall)
For a $10,000 portfolio, it could be 2/2/1/1  + 1 ($168 credit overall)

How to set up sound alerts on your email box

If you follow a trading newsletter and you want to be alerted about new incoming emails as soon as they are received, you can set up sound alerts (and visual alerts too). This is a useful tool not only for following a day trading newsletter. Really you can configure it to receive alerts from a particular sender, whoever that person or business is, and whatever your reasons are that require immediacy.

The below procedure works for Gmail and you need to have the Google Chrome web browser installed in your computer.

Saturday, January 27, 2018

Weekend Portfolio Analysis (January 27, 2018)

This week's analysis has been published at LTOptions.com

Download Weekend Portfolio Analysis (2018-01-27).pdf

If the above link doesn't work for you, simply log in to LTOptions.com, navigate to the "Weekly Analysis" tab and download the document from there.

The Weekend Portfolio Analysis will be available on this site next week for historical reference.

All currently open positions can be seen on the 2018 Track Record page


Last Weekend Analysis now publicly available:
Weekend Portfolio Analysis (January 20, 2018) 
Important Note 1: New material has been added to the LTOptions's library. Elephants vs Iron Condors (Full Comparison) is an eBook that details among other things: key differences between the two strategies; pros and cons; which one performs better according to the environment; evolution of the T+0 line over time, etc. This new eBook is visible on the page that comes right after logging in: 


Important Note 2: Some modifications have recently been made to the 2018 Options Trading Plan. The changes are focused on efficiency and simplicity when defending Credit Call spreads. Log in to LTOptions.com and consult the 2018 Options Trading Plan ebook.


Recent Trading Activity

- On Monday I closed the Feb SPX 2825/2830 Credit Call spreads along with the partial hedges that had been added: Feb SPY 282 Long Calls. A loss on the Credit Calls plus a gain on the long Call hedge. Net net it was a $3300 loss.

- Purchased SPY March 290 Calls as an upside hedge for the 2900/2905 Credit Call spreads on Tuesday.


There's no denying that we are off to a bad start. The bleeding however, is over. Or almost over, as those March SPX Credit Call spreads are suffering losses and they are still in play. Combining all the losses that are direct result of this historic rally, the portfolio will be down by about 9% (2.8% with January positions, about 4.2% with February positions, and about 2% more with March positions - See Track record page).

Usually, Iron Condor / Credit spread traders are down 25% to 30% after a rally of these proportions. Countless of them have sadly disappeared in recent years due to rallies that are nothing compared to this one. This is the worst possible environment for index premium sellers (unless all you do is sell Puts of course). Prior to 2013 the Credit spreads selling business looked almost too easy. It wasn't hard to find several websites discussing Iron Condors, Bear Call Spreads and Bull Put spreads showing impressive returns. Especially after 12 cruel years (1999 - 2011) where the market went nowhere and pundits were saying things like "Buy and Hold is dead" or "The 60/40 portfolio doesn't work anymore". How times change!

Back to our current situation. It has become clear to me that overcoming this draw-down will be a challenge if we intend to do it purely based on Credit Spreads. It is doable, but to achieve it using only that tool takes some months. Consequently, part of our recovery will be based on adopting new tactics, which will be explained below in the Action Plan section.