After all of my market speculation I came to a conclusion. BUY VIX PUTS. Reason being, I believe that once they announce the passage of the increased debt ceiling, the market will rally big. FYI: they are supposed to release the decision on or before July 22nd. The VIX will be standing their absolutely shell shocked, and it will drop, lower and lower and lower. I bought the August 17' 11 - $15 Puts. I don't call the VIX the fear index, but rather the fearless index. You can call me stupid all you want, but I encourage everyone to embrace their ignorant comments until we see what happens. All knowledgeable comments are more than welcome!
So what should I do then sell them back to close? How do you figure they are tied to the futures? what is the ticker for the future?
Take a look at the Aug 18 call and put. They're miraculously priced a nickel or so apart. You don't need to look at the futures... but they're 18.05 settle.
The 3 handles over cash does not persist until expiration, but that doesn't mean that the futures will drop 3 by Aug expiration. You're trading a complex instrument. Next time go ITM on a long put spread.