The "3 Rules" for Consistent Monthly Return with Credit Spreads

1. NEVER EVER do a credit spread when that stock has earnings during that option cycle.

2. NEVER EVER play FDA or other government agency announcements.

3. If a credit spread has an unusually high return for a little risk - DON'T TAKE IT, Trust me there IS a reason for the increased volatility... Someone somewhere knows something, Just move on to a more "normal" return trade.

Walmart Calendar

Walmart is a great shopping alternative in the current economy. It should outperform other retailers in the coming months. So lets try a bullish calendar to capture some upward movement.

BTO 3 WMT Mar/Jun 57.5 Call for $.90

The plan is wait till March expiration to buy back the March short and then sell April and then hopefully the May.

AZO Earnings Calendar Exit

Autozone has not stayed flat like I hoped. It has trended higher and ascending triangle has formed. I looked at making adjustments to the trade but it doesn't like I can get a favorable risk to reward. So its time to get out. One of the things that went wrong was the fast moving price action that didn't allow for time decay to work in my favor.

STC 2 AZO Feb/Mar 135 Call for $4.30
for a loss of $110 or 12.8%

IWM Iron Condor Result Followup

WOW, IWM made a awesome rally this week. It's time to take the trade of the table so we can lock in on the profits.

2/6 BTC 2 Feb 39/37 put for $0.08
2/6 BTC 5 Feb 59/61 call spread credit $0.02
1/30 BTC 3 Feb 39/37 put for $0.20
1/7 STO 5 Feb 39/37 put spread credit $0.20
1/7 STO 5 Feb 59/61 call spread credit $0.21

Total profit was $119 on $795 risk for a ROI of 14.9%

IWM Iron Condor Result

I'm worried that IWM can continue to move south so I have removed some of the risk on the put side. The call side does not look threatened so I just leave it there.

BTC 3 Feb 39/37 put for $0.20

With this adjust, I can let price move to $40 before I start losing money. Also, I placed a GTC order to buy back the remaining 2 contract for $0.10.

AZO Earnings Calendar

Earnings on AutoZone is due out on March 3. Volatility will stay inflated or slightly trend higher the next few weeks, which is perfect for a calendar. My first profit target is 15% and I expect to be completely out of the short position by Feb 17. Breakeven is roughly $130 and $141. If price reaches these points, I will adjust the position.

BTO 2 AZO Feb/Mar 135 Call for $4.85

ALK followup trade

Alaska Air hit my target projection of $30 twice! The first time was last week then price reversed. Today, it moved $1.78 to close at $29.78. Unfortunately for me, I was out of my calendar on Wednesday for a profit of $.44 on $1.43 risk. If I stayed in until today then my profit could have been $1.10. But a win is a win.
One thing I noticed is the earning is due out the last week of Jan which should have increased the Feb IV. However, IV has stayed very neutral this month. One of the reasons I choose this trade was using the IV increase as a way to profit on the trade.

AAPL Trade Results

Apple did not turn out like I expected. The stock price began to move aggressively the first week of January. It actually touched my short strike and I was worried it might go further so I decide to close my put side (for a loss). The very next day, price retraced and never looked back. Overall, I still made a profit. But I would have made more if I kept the put side in place.

Trade log:
1/13 STC Jan/Feb 95/100 CALL $2.74
1/6 STC Jan/Feb 75/70 PUT $.90

12/30 BTO Jan/Feb 75/70 PUT $1.46
12/29 BTO Jan/Feb 95/100 CALL $1.65

Profit of $.53. Not too bad for a trade that went wrong.

IWM Iron Condor

On Dec 31, placed a IWM iron condor.
STO 5 Feb 39/37 put spread credit $0.20
STO 5 Feb 59/61 call spread credit $0.21
Potential 25% return on risk

With todays down action it made the iron condor centered almost perfectly. Just now have to sit back and wait for time to diminish away.

Santa Claus Rally (late)

Happy New Year!
Rally finally happened. One week late but still showed up at the party. The futures Thursday night indicate that the market will open lower. Its hard to tell if the market will continue the mini rally for January.

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.

What a year!

This year trading credit spreads has been really tough for any trader. Two years ago, the Dow hardly moved 400 points in one month. Now you see that kind of movement in one day. The short strike of any position easily is tested in matter days. With the volatile market I decided to use a low risk diagonal to hedge against any downside.

On 10/24 BTO 50/52 Nov/Dec Call Diagonal. Max risk was $7 on the downside and $207 on the upside. Right now its sitting pretty with less than two weeks to go.

TOS training

I love the TOS platform. It's a must if you trade options. Plus its free with your account. Contact me if you want a free quick demo that will get you started and learn how powerful this platform can be.

Contact info:
aroyale15@yahoo.com

GS calendar 21% gain

Closed out GS today after the stock as the stock began pulling back this morning. Had the 190 and 200 put calendar. Though its in the sweet spot now its better to get out before it makes a strong move.
The profit was not easy to get because the stock moved 20 points since I opened the trade.
Lessons learned: Be patient, roll with trend, take profits

Rocketship GS

Goldmansach has shot up quite a bit this week. It was around 180 earlier this week and then now its 192. From a candlestick aspect an anbandoned baby pattern is starting to form. Meaning that if mondays price gaps lower and stay lower its a bearish situtation. However if it continues to trend higher than I will need to adjust my position inorder to stay with this earning play. So far i'm down $94 on a $950 risk.



Existing postition




With 195 put calendar if price continues to rise

GS earnings calendar

Goldmansachs is having earnings June 2. So it a good candidate for a calendar spread. The June 2 earnings event will increase the June contracts while allowing the May contracts to decay quickly.

BTO May/June 180 Put for $4.55
Risk to reward will be 1:1
Breakeven are $170 and $191