Tag Archives: Iron Condor

Stock Trading

Iron Condor – Buckle Your Seat Belts

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As the iron condor spread is becoming a more popular way to trade options, it’s important to go over the pros and cons that come with this trade. Before going out and trading this strategy, it is really important to take the time to fully understand this trade from top to bottom.

While the iron condor strategy sounds like an exotic trade – in fact it is really quite simple. It is comprised of two separate credit spreads – a put credit spread and a call credit spread – on the same stock or index.

The simplicity of this trade might be a bit misleading to the newer option trader due to the fact that the probability of the trade is so far skewed in the favor of the trader – it is easy to overlook the potential risks that are involved.

For example, let’s take a look at the iron condors risk to reward. The maximum possible reward these trades can give off can be ‘dwarfed’ by the maximum possible loss. Let’s pretend that we place a trade that has a total potential reward of five thousand dollars. The risk to reward on this trade can be just terrible – for example out max possible loss COULD be around twenty five thousand dollars or even more.

However – as long as a trader educates themselves and uses the proper trade management and adjustment techniques – this risk to reward ratio doesn’t need to be a problem.

The final, bottom line is that as long as the trader has educated themselves on this trade and they have learned how to correctly manage and adjust the iron condor when things go awry – this trade can be a wonderfully reliable way to create monthly income from the market.

Teddy Baby is an option selling psychotic – exceedingly enthusiastic about trading the iron condor . Visit iron condor Site to find out more about his simple paint by the numbers instructions for playing this strategy for reliable profits.

Forex Trading

Iron Condor – Who’s Your Daddy Now, Wall Street?

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A number of different techniques and strategies are available to option investors to help assist them in achieving consistent and reliable monthly income from the option market.

For example there is the butterfly spread, the iron condor , the diagonal (an/or the double diagonal), and the calendar spread, the double calendar spread – and, the vertical spread, which is sometimes also referred to as the credit spread.

In actuality, the vertical spread can be discovered inside found many of the previously talked about strategies. It is a core foundational trade to each of their makeup. Take for instance the iron condor. This trade is constructed from two separate vertical spreads – a put credit spread and a call credit spread – each positioned above and below where the underlying stock is currently trading at.

It is also a basic building block of the butterfly spread. The top half of the butterfly spread is actually just a vertical spread – as is the bottom half. An iron butterfly trade is built from a put vertical spread and a call vertical spread.

The vertical spread trade can be built from either call options or also put options.

Following is an illustration of a bear call vertical spread on the imaginary stock XYZ…

Sell 7 XYZ 35 Call Options Buy 7 XYZ 40 Call Options

This hypothetical vertical spread will profit if the stock XYZ stays where it is trading at (or in other words NOT go up) – or heads down. It is a bearish play.

This position is called a bull put spread due to the fact that even though the position is created using put options, it is being placed in such a way that generates a profit if and when the stock being used moves bullishly.

If XYZ does in fact move downwards (or at least stay in the general area where it is currently trading at and NOT go up) this position will be a spread winning trade and the premium collected at the start of the trade can remain as profit in the traders account. And if you like the idea of that, you can also use this spread on dual sides of where the underlying is trading at – creating an iron condor option trade.

Ted ‘Spread’ Nino is an option selling nut case – particularly addicted with the riding the iron condor . Visit iron condor option lab website to watch more about his tiptop undemanding method to play this option income strategy for ongoing profits.

Forex Trading

Iron Condor – Good Lordy, Watch Out!

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The iron condor spread has two faces – and thankfully for us option traders, neither face belongs to Babs. But then again, it’s almost just as bad (almost)

See, usually when new option traders first catch wind of the iron condor trade, they completely flip out – believing it’s the greatest thing since sliced bread. I know I did. Once I wrapped my head around the method I simply couldn’t believe such a trade existed and that no one had ever told me about this thing before. I was convinced this was a holy grail type trade that left very little possibility for losses. Heck, it was just like they all said – it was like being the casino. Just spend a few minutes every month slapping one of these things on and the let it sail to victory – month after month after month…

Of course, new option traders go gaga over this strategy – and who could blame them. It seems to be a trade that’s almost too good to be real.

The problem – is that it is too good to be true.

But it doesn’t have to be that way.

See here’s the deal: The iron condor actually IS a pretty incredible trade. It CAN take very little time to manage. And it CAN produce some very consistent and truly outstanding and impressive returns.

It’s that most new option traders don’t take the time to really learn and understand this strategy. If they did, they would become aware that the trade has two faces – or two sides if you will – and one of those sides can be quite dangerous – that if is not managed and handled correctly can deliver some pretty ugly losses to a trading account.

It all boils down to the risk to reward ratio of these trades. They have a high probability of winning many small trades – but just ONE loss can completely DESTROY a trading account. And if the one trading these birds don’t realize and fully understand this – and more importantly how to properly manage these trades and how to make effective iron condor adjustments – before long they will get creamed and blasted out of the market possibly with a huge, unrecoverable loss.

The key to winning with this strategy is to understand that the the iron condor does have a dark side – but as long as a trader has the proper knowledge to manage those tantrums and fits that are occasionally thrown by the iron condor – and know how to make effective iron condor adjustments, this trade really can turn out to be all that it’s cracked up to be.

To be taught more about the iron condor strategy, click over to this training site for stacks of free education videos, samples, and reports on how to aptly start, remove, negotiate and adjust the iron condor strategy to yield a ongoing monthly source of income.

Forex Trading

Does The Iron Condor Strategy Actually ‘Do It’?

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The iron condor strategy. This strategy profits when the stock or index being used does NOT make significant moves. Of course options traders try to utilize strategies that can take advantage of movements in the market. A lot of times there is not big movements in the market or the underlying being used so the options being traded expire worthless. Iron condor traders love this type of market environment as it is the ideal situation to pull profits from the markets.

You can imagine the iron condor strategy trade as a purchased strangle and a sold strangle. A “strangle” is where a trader buys an an out-of-the-money call as well as an out-of-the-money put option. Strangles’ premiums are less than those of straddles due to the fact that the contracts are out of the money. Another way you can look at the iron condor strategy is to think of it as two credit spreads placed at the same time – a put credit spread and a call credit spread. The long calls or puts above and below where the short options are placed at are the wings.

For example, let’s take a look and we find that the SPX is trading at around thirteen hundred and so we buy the jan call option at 1375 bringing in right around $245, and at the exact same time we buy the january put option for $4.38. As long as you have chosen a broker that is options friendly – you just need to make sure that you have the funds available to margin the difference between to the strikes. In this pretend scenario, in order to do this spread one would need somewhere around $1320.00.

The calculation would be:

Thirteen hundred seventy at $2.50

1355 @ 4.50

What this shows is that that the credit you bring in is about two dollars.

$15 dollars minus $2 dollars = Thirteen – then times this by one spread (100 contracts) equals about $1,320.00 dollars.

If the underlying finishes the trading cycle below the sold options, the trader gets to keep the entire credit which can translate to a great return in a short period of time.

This example described is one of the wings of the iron condor spread trade – and it is the call spread side of the trade. To construct a fully placed iron condor, one would need to add a bull put spread – which is a put credit spread – below where the underlying is trading at.

Iron condors are great trades and be traded consistently with very profitable results – and some traders use this strategy as their only trading strategy to pull income from the markets. Of course, however, there are potential risks with this strategy – just like any trading strategy.

Knowing which stock or index to use – as well as knowing how and when to properly place, exit, manage and adjust the iron condor is essential. Managing and adjusting these trades are a major part of experiencing success with this type of trading. Not having a solid grasp on how this trade works – or not having a plan in place for what you will do if one of these trades ever moves against you (which it will eventually do) could wind up costing significant losses. Ask me how I know!

To discover more about the iron condor option strategy, visit this training website for heaps of free trading videos, illustrations, and reports on how to fittingly put on, close, supervise and adjust the iron condor strategy to produce a ongoing monthly earnings.

Forex Trading

Iron Condor – Here Comes The Pain

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Before starting to trade the iiron condor trading strategy, one should make sure they completely understand how the trade works and how to adjust the trade if needed. You need to have this in mind before you begin opening your credit spread “wings”. If you don’t you could get utterly destroyed by a big move in the market or the underlying and you wouldn’t have a clue what to do. Remember, the way that the iron condor is set up, with it’s skewed risk to reward ratio, it could take a few of these – or maybe even just one – to utterly destroy your trading account.

Creating the iron condor can be thought of as merging one short and one long strangle paired together at two outer strikes. The strangle is an option strategy where a trader ‘strangles’ where the underlying is trading at buy buying a call option and a put option on either side of where the underlying is trading at. Strangles’ premiums are less than those of straddles due to the fact that the contracts are out of the money. You can look at this as 2 credit spread trades – a put option below and a call option above. Your paired positions are the condor’s wings.

It’s important to have a plan mapped out in advance for adjusting the iron condor you are trading because the risk/reward ratio of this options trading strategy could cause your to experience a loss far greater than your potential reward. This is largely because the way to success with the iron condor is by figuring out an approach that is high probability (you are probably right about what you anticipate). Huge, unexpected movements in the market or the underlying you are trading can have real negative effects on your condor position and your trading account.

Important Iron Condor Keys To Winning.

– Come to the realization that while adjustments are most likely needed at some point while trading iron condors, they can be easy and there are numerous ways to adjust. You don’t have any “mandatory” method for doing so that you must follow. 


– Do not let your position get out of control and into losses. 


– The last thing you want to do is let a small loss grow into a big loss. 


– Don’t lose sight of the bigger picture of how small consistent wins can be very profitable over the long term.

Your key to success in trading this strategy is consistency in gaining profits. These profits must be protected. Iron Condor adjustments should be used with your trade management plan when the potential for position losses present themselves.

When I first started trading this strategy, I would find myself making great returns month after month – only to then wind up giving back most of those returns during the 1 or 2 bad months that can occur throughout a normal year. That all changed however when I learned this super easy method for trading the iron condor. After discovering the methods taught at this iron condor website, I now know exactly what to do when a problem month comes along to keep from losing the rest of my iron condor profits I’ve accumulated throughout the year.

Ted ‘Spread’ Nino is an option selling loony – particularly fiery with playing the iron condor . Go visit his iron condor Development Site to see more about his A-one Undemanding Way to ride the weeklys for reliable returns.