AAPL Earnings Double Diagonal

It's earnings season for Apple once again. Normally the options volatility will increase in the option chain that coincides with the earnings date. Earnings is set to be released on Jan 22.
I decided to place a double diagonal to capture the increase in volatility. The chart looks like I will make only a few dollars at expiration but I have a 9 vega. Meaning that for every point increase in IV, I should see a $9 profit. I expect to see about ~10 point increase in IV by Jan expiration.

Trade
STO JAN 95 CALL
BTO FEB 100 CALL
$1.65

STO JAN 75 PUT
BTO FEB 70 PUT
$1.46

ALK ascending triangle

ALK(Alaska Air) is showing ascending triangle. The stock has been forming a triangle for almost 2 months. It recent broke out of the triangle and heading upwards. I decided to place a bullish calender to capture any movement.



Placed Jan/Feb 30 Put calendar for $1.43. This trade is mostly speculative trade because it may never reach above $30. $27 was the upper band before the breakout. I may look to remove the trade once it reaches 25% profit.

OIH result

OIH did not breakdown much but time decay did work in my favor. I was able to collect all the credit. 7.75% for a one month trade.

Options Trading Rules

Here is a list of some rules to follow when getting started with options.

Rule 1
Get educated.
Options behavior differently then stock and have several factors that cause options price changes.

Rule 2
Open a brokerage account that can handle options.
Thinkorswim is best brokerage that specialize in options with risk and reward graph.

Rule 3
Use option simulator software
Optionvue is good but pricey software. Thinkorswim has a integrated simulator with each trading account.

Rule 4
Paper trade first.
This is the best way to learn with fake money before you put real money to work. Practice makes perfect.

Rule 5
Set your profit and loss target.
Have an idea of when to exit the trade is very important. Never get into a trade just to get in. Have a stop loss or adjustment plan ready at all times.

Rule 6
Trade small, trade often.
Don't put all your eggs in one basket. Keep each trade small and spread it around among different options/ strategies.

Rule 7
Understand a strategy inside and out.
Learn a strategy and dissect piece by piece to understand what factors go into making the strategy work. Only then will you know when and how to apply the strategy and make it generate a consistent return.

Nice Descending Triangle on OIH

I saw a nice descending triangle forming on OIH and placed a bear call spread on the Nov 17.

STO DEC 115 Call
BTO DEC 120 Call
for $0.36 credit.
Projected ROI of 7.75%

I could have gone close to the money but I wanted it to have some wiggle room incase it trended upwards.

As it stands now, it going to expire worthless but I'll mostly likely close it for a few cent to free up some capital.