Vertical Spreads for Aggressive Growth

Discussion in 'Journals' started by Cache Landing, Jan 27, 2006.

  1. cnms2

    cnms2

    In my opinion, legging in requires a more complex forecast, and it's more difficult to master. You have to quite accurately predict two opposite peaks (top/bottom or bottom/top), and your timing must be quite precise too.

    In long run you make more, and less painfully, if you try to collect only the "meat" of the trend, where the price has its highest velocity. Instead of trying to increase your profit by squeezing more from each trend (the vertical approach), it's more efficient and less risky to take what's easier from it, than move on to another stock with its trend going on (the horizontal approach).

    This secret was already out ... :)
     
    #491     May 18, 2006
  2. #492     May 18, 2006
  3. cnms2

    cnms2

    Another secret is to trade in the market / sector direction.

    And ... some luck doesn't hurt.
     
    #493     May 18, 2006
  4. Now I'm in a predicament. I'm expecting the 200SMA to hold. This tempts me to add to the position as it was small to begin with.

    [note] I'm not a big fan of martingale strategies, but might consider this exception.
     
    #494     May 18, 2006
  5. Rally thinking to himself
    I'm also smarter and better looking than Cache. He should have known to do it like me and open the whole AAPL debit IC at the same time. I'm already up on the position and he's chasing it.:D
     
    #495     May 18, 2006
  6. cnms2

    cnms2

    Unfortunately he's losing money too, and it's time to wonder if he should follow his initial trading plan (to adjust / close/ hold if AAPL's price moves beyond its safety targets, and / or if its IV goes up).

    AAPL closed at 63.18 :(
     
    #496     May 18, 2006
  7. Oops... This whole time I was thinking that he was in a debit Iron Condor, in which case he would be making money right now.
     
    #497     May 18, 2006
  8. LMAO

    I didnt open it all at once, who will give you a ATM $2.5 wide condor for .20?

    i built it up from verticals.
     
    #498     May 18, 2006
  9. i aint losing, its quoted at .50/.75, you guys are confusing the position i got with a different one. there's no plan to adjust, just hold through expiration
     
    #499     May 18, 2006
  10. cnms2

    cnms2

    I guess we're talking about different positions. When you said you opened a condor for a credit, without mentioning legging into it, we assumed you're talking about an iron condor.

    When you consider cash flow and margin, iron condor and any flies are variations of the same strategy: you want the price to stay put, and the IV to go down.

    <img src=http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/attachment.php?s=&postid=1076471>
     
    #500     May 18, 2006