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Jim Lindor
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Your drive is probably set to go into sleep mode after a certain period of time. You can either extend that period or just not have it go into sleep mode at all.
How you adjust that will depend on what OS you are using and what the drive make is.
OT: Brief Question for the IT Brain Trust
...Is there such a thing as a high-quality, reliable external hard drive that spins up quickly? I probably sit here forty times a day drumming my fingers waiting for the darn hard drive to spin up. Each time isn't so bad, but in the aggregate it sure wastes a lot of time. Any opinions? Thanks in...
Hi Mark,
I signed up for Twitter in order to follow your comments. I'm finding that almost all your tweets are meant for specific individuals. I find it kind of strange and am not sure if there is any point in my following what appears to be answers to questions when I don't know what the questions are.
Jim
Q and A. Comparing Spread Risk
Mark: I thought I would share a sort of activity in which I was engaging for a while (but find no opportunities of late). I have seen related discussions recently in online forums. The basic idea is that given an equity one finds quite attractive at a price only somewhat below its current pr...
Hi Mark,
I'm curious about the strategy involved in close to the money condors. I assume the idea is to hold them for less time than a far out of the money condor.
Credit Spreads: Choosing The Strike Price; How Far OTM?
In response to a reader (rluser) who raised an important question about The Rookie's Guide to Options, here's the question and reply. When you discuss covered calls and collars, you indicate that ATM is a most conservative stance... After explaining the equivalence [of a collar and the sale of...
Thanks Mark.
It is difficult for me to pick an exit point when I don't have any basis for picking one point over another. But I do understand that picking a point is necessary and I will come up with something.
In your book you mention close to the money condors. What range of deltas would be used in a CTM condor?
More Discussion: Adjustment Point
From Jim; Hi Mark, If I'm short the 630/640 put spread and the index is trading at 645 then I agree it does not matter what I collected and I should just get out. But I don't know if that is actually a good point at which to adjust though or if earlier would be better. I know that if I constantl...
Hi Mark,
6) If I'm short the 630/640 put spread and the index is trading at 645 then I agree it does not matter what I collected and I should just get out. But I don't know if that is actually a good point at which to adjust though or if earlier would be better.
I know that if I constantly close out positions that have a small loss then I won't make any money. I know that if I don't close out my positions at all, then one day I'll have a large loss. But there is a large gray area in between those two extremes where I don't know how to evaluate the position.
Does Entry Price Affect Decision To Adjust?
Jim made this comment: "I sold an IC as one unit. Now I realize that I don't know how much credit I received for each leg which will make it more difficult to make adjustment decisions." Jim, Your simple lament offers much food for thought. Let's start with the initial iron condor trade. 1)...
>>You do know the prices of the trades.
Thanks. I found the prices.
I'm very interested in seeing your post tomorrow about why the price paid for a spread is not a factor when considering whether to adjust.
Thanks for your very helpful blog.
I guess I should go now and read the adjustment section of your Rookies book again. :)
Implied Volatility. Is The IV Crush Going To Continue?
The market's been higher for a few consecutive days, and as I write this, futures for today's trading are higher. As a result, implied volatility has come tumbling down. And that offers opportunities that have been scarce lately. I don't know if that IV decline will continue, but if you own p...
I sold an IC as one unit. Now I realize that I don't know how
much credit I received for each leg which will make it more
difficult to make adjustment decisions.
Implied Volatility. Is The IV Crush Going To Continue?
The market's been higher for a few consecutive days, and as I write this, futures for today's trading are higher. As a result, implied volatility has come tumbling down. And that offers opportunities that have been scarce lately. I don't know if that IV decline will continue, but if you own p...
Mark,
Yes, there is a lot of bad advice out there.
I subscribe to your blog using RSS. Is there any way to get notified when there are new comments?
You used to have a feature where you could subscribe to an RSS feed for each blog post's comments. That was a nuisance to have to subscribe for each post but it was better than nothing.
It's A Dangerous World. Revisited
I believe this post from 7/8/2008 is worth repeating: I stress the importance of getting a solid options education before you begin trading. But it’s not that easy. The world is filled with bad advice. Each of you must decide if the statements made by an author make sense. The following is a bri...
Thanks Mark.
In a Twitter yesterday you wrote "IV (RVX) down 3 points today,
but there are no sellers of put spreads".
What did you see that led you to say there were no sellers of put
spreads? Was it because you could not get a good fill?
Implied Volatility. Is The IV Crush Going To Continue?
The market's been higher for a few consecutive days, and as I write this, futures for today's trading are higher. As a result, implied volatility has come tumbling down. And that offers opportunities that have been scarce lately. I don't know if that IV decline will continue, but if you own p...
Hi Mark,
Can you get better fills by entering an IC as two vertical spreads? I'm not referring to legging in. Just wondering if two legs are easier than four legs for getting good fills.
Thanks,
Jim
Implied Volatility. Is The IV Crush Going To Continue?
The market's been higher for a few consecutive days, and as I write this, futures for today's trading are higher. As a result, implied volatility has come tumbling down. And that offers opportunities that have been scarce lately. I don't know if that IV decline will continue, but if you own p...
Hi Mark,
I want to let you know that I'm already finding your Twitter posts helpful. Seeing how you approach trading is making the theory in your book more concrete. It is also expanding my mind on how to deal with different market conditions.
I'm looking forward to more of these.
Thank you.
Jim
More Twitter
Just a quick update: Although I'm not using this blog to publish my personal trades, I have posted some trades on Twitter. My Twitter name is MarkWolfinger (no spaces). My iron condor positions have left me a bit short at these levels, and although I cannot understand why the markets are doing...
Hi Mark,
I get the impression that most option traders don't use stop loss orders. If a person is not able to monitor the markets closely during the day, does it not make sense to use a stop loss order to protect against large adverse moves? I'm referring to ICs and credit spreads.
The Merits of Buying Iron Condors
Condor Options, as you may suspect from its name, is a web site that stresses the use of iron condors. In fact, they go so far as to offer a list of 'the top 5 reasons every investor or trader should use iron condors.' I agree with them, to a point. I believe that anyone who understands how to...
Hi Mark,
I've been thinking about this post for several days. I don't understand why the high volatility is not pumping up premium enough to offset the extra risk.
Is There Such a Thing a A Relatively 'Safe' Iron Condor Position?
We all recognize that this market's been volatile, but yesterday morning I read a blog that provided some eye-opening statistics. In discussing the frequency with which the stock market moves 5% or more in a single day, Barbara notes that such moves occurred: 27 times during the 50 years from...
I can see how my terminology is misleading. I was referring to the loss on the puts in the same way you did earlier - a 100% loss on the credit.
Your reply has given me a lot to think about.
Iron Condor Adjustments
Traders who understand the importance of not allowing a losing position to inflict large losses have no trouble making an adjustment to an iron condor position that has become too risky. Other traders ignore that risk and hold positions until expiration arrives. The advantage of ignoring risk...
Thanks Mark. That is helpful.
I've noticed in paper trading ICs that if one leg needs adjusting then the other leg has gained anywhere from 50% to 90% of its maximum profit.
Lets say the puts have a 100% loss and the calls have a 50% profit. I am unsure of what to do when I consider rolling the calls closer to the current price. I would like to take the profit to minimize the loss on the puts.
But with the wild swings in the market I am concerned the if I roll the calls they are more likely to require adjusting when the market swings back.
I would like to hear your thoughts on how to approach this situation.
Iron Condor Adjustments
Traders who understand the importance of not allowing a losing position to inflict large losses have no trouble making an adjustment to an iron condor position that has become too risky. Other traders ignore that risk and hold positions until expiration arrives. The advantage of ignoring risk...
Hi Mark,
I can see why you say there isn't a best way to adjust. But I would think there would be a range in which it could be said it would be best to adjust.
For example, if I received $1 for the put leg and I currently have a $5 loss, then wouldn't you say I should have adjusted earlier?
Or lets say I adjust after a 5 cent loss. Wouldn't you say I adjusted too soon?
Iron Condor Adjustments
Traders who understand the importance of not allowing a losing position to inflict large losses have no trouble making an adjustment to an iron condor position that has become too risky. Other traders ignore that risk and hold positions until expiration arrives. The advantage of ignoring risk...
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