Get started

Ironcondor

CLOSING: XOP DEC 21ST 28/31/35/40 IRON CONDOR... for a 1.12/contract debit (1.04 profit/contract). Notes: Further clean-up of my XOP core position in December. Now that I've taken off the 38/41 short call vertical and this iron condor, what remains is two short put verticals, one at 32/35, the other at 30/35. The 32/35 was left over from an iron condor I put on previously, the 30/35 from an iron fly, the call side of which I just closed. The 32/35's a three-wide; the 30/35, a five-wide (for a total of eight wide), so I'll look to sell a 2x4 wide in the December cycle to balance units running into expiry.
AMEX:XOP
by NaughtyPines
KSS - Neutral Iron CondorThe stock price broke out from a range, made what looks like a head-n-shoulders pattern, and can mirror the channel pattern it made before the head-n-shoulders. Volatility is high and this is a neutral directional bet on the price action. 47.5/50/77.5/80 JAN19 IRON CONDOR @ 0.45 CREDIT General plan: Roll if necessary & if possible to reduce risk. Target maximum profit, unless significant profit appears early. Comment or direct message for discussion, or on other interesting ideas! Follow for updates.
NYSE:KSS
by themdtrader
OPENING: XOP DEC 21ST 28/31/38/41 IRON CONDOR... for an .83/contract credit. Metrics: Max Profit: .83 ($83)/contract Max Loss/Buying Power Effect: 2.17 ($217)/contract Break Evens: 30.17/38.83 Delta: -.55 Theta: 1.73 Notes: An adjustment trade, primarily to add some additional extrinsic value to my XOP core position with XOP rank/implied still being high (100/42), as well as some short delta (it was shorter when I put it on, but price has continued to erode). I didn't quite collect one-third the width, primarily because I have to "squeeze" it in amongst the various spreads I already have on in the December expiry. As with my SPY core position, I'll look to mix and match profitable short put side with profitable short call side as we run into expiry and/or take the entirety of the position off in profit.
AMEX:XOP
by NaughtyPines
CLOSING: XOP 30/33/41/44 IRON CONDOR... for a .72/contract debit (.38 profit/contract; 34.5% max). Notes: As with my SPY core position, I'm mixing and matching profitable short put side with short call side of oppositional setups that I put on over time to take off some risk, book some profit, and (where possible) to get a bit of delta adjustment where I need it. (Here, I pick up a smidge of needed long delta by closing this out, since price of the underlying has moved to the call side of the pairing). This also has the side benefit of allowing me to recenter a setup in the underlying if I want to and/or frees up buying power to make an adjustment trade if necessary.
AMEX:XOP
by NaughtyPines
CLOSING: SPY DEC 21ST 243/247/286/289 IRON CONDOR... for a .93/contract debit (.36 profit/contract). Comments: Mixing and matching profitable put side with profitable call side of a number of iron condors I've layered on over the past several weeks. I'm not getting much out of this, since I was looking for between .50 and .60/contract profit per "pair.". However, with elections around the corner, I'm just taking off a little risk, as well as a smidge of short delta that was in this particular pairing.
AMEX:SPY
by NaughtyPines
OPENING: AMD 17/20/27.5/30.5 IRON CONDOR... for a 1.06/contract credit. Metrics: Max Profit: $106/contract Max Loss/Buying Power Effect: $194/contract Break Evens: 18.94/28.56 (wide of expected move) Delta: -1.18 Theta: 2.97 Notes: High rank/implied at 85/87 and announcing earnings after market close. Looking for an inzee outzee quickee dirtee, hopefully for 50% max. Two other naked possibilities: the November 16th 23.5 short straddle (paying 4.61; 1.15 profit at 25% max) or the November 16th 20/27.5 short strangle (paying 1.81; .90 profit at 50% max).
NASDAQ:AMD
by NaughtyPines
CLOSING: SPY DEC 21ST 252/256/292/296 IRON CONDOR... for a .96/contract debit (.40/$40 profit per contract). Notes: Mixing and matching profitable put side with profitable call side of iron condors I've put on over the past few weeks, while freeing up buying power for further adjustments or other trades without affecting my SPY net delta much. The scratch point of the entire SPY position was 5.87/contract and is now 5.87 (credit) minus .96 (debit) or 4.91 (credit) with the net delta of the December SPY at -1.94/contract.
AMEX:SPY
by NaughtyPines
OPENING: SPY DEC 21ST 253/257/290/294 IRON CONDOR... for a 1.30/contract credit. Layering on some additional slightly short delta SPY to my existing December setup to bring the entire position back to neutral. Notes: In delta balancing existing setups, you have several basic options: (a) roll the untested side toward current price on significant decrease in value to reduce net position delta;* (b) add units to the side on which delta is needed (i.e., short puts/short put verticals if long delta is required; short calls/short call verticals if short delta is required); or (c) layer on a slightly skewed oppositional setup (short strangle/iron condor, short straddle/iron fly) that has the delta you need to balance the setup out or reduce directional delta. Here, I'm opting for an oppositional setup, since it brings in more credit than just adding units to one side. After layering on this additional position to what I've already got on out in December (see Post Below), I proceed to treat both trades as a single position for scratch point/take profit purposes: the scratch point of the original SPY iron condor was 1.94; with this position's credit of 1.30, the scratch point for the entire ball of wax is 3.24. * -- I tend to roll at 50% max for the side and attempt to reduce position net delta by at least half.
AMEX:SPY
by NaughtyPines
TRADE IDEA: IWM NOV 16TH 153/157/2X170/2X172 IRON CONDORAdding some nondirectional broad market in the November cycle on this uptick in volatility (IWM 30-day currently at 18.998%). QQQ has the higher background implied (20.778%), but I've already got some QQQ on. Metrics: Max Profit: 1.38 at the mid price. Max Loss/Buying Power Effect: 2.62/contract Break Evens: 155.62/170.69 Theta: 1.92 Delta: -7.34 Notes: It may require some minor adjustment at open, depending on what futures do in the overnight, and the underlying does in pre-market ... .
AMEX:IWM
by NaughtyPines
OPENING: QQQ SEPT 28TH 170/174/2X188/2X190 IRON CONDOR... for a 1.34/contract credit. Max Profit: $134/contract Max Loss: $266/contract Break Evens: 172.66/188.67 Delta: -5.37 Theta: 1.83 Notes: A slight variation on a delta-based setup to accommodate skew. Instead of selling equally valued delta on both the put and call sides, I'm selling strikes that are equidistant from current price, but doubling up a narrower call side spread. The risk of the setup is attributable to the widest wing, so the call side risk is 2 x a 2-wide (minus the credit received) or 4.00 minus the credit received -- the same as that of the put side (a 4-wide or 4.00 minus the credit received). Going out the standard 45 days until expiration, collecting one-third the width of the widest wing, and looking to manage at 50% max.
NASDAQ:QQQ
by NaughtyPines
6