Iron Condor – When To Take Profits

When I first began trading the Iron Condor , my game plan was to leave the trade on all the way to the bitter end.

Then – if everything went well and the trade stayed beneath my profit tent – I’d just them expire worthless and keep all that sold premium in my account.

Back then I believed this was the best way to play the trade, because not only would I not have to pay my broker to take the trades off – I would also be able to keep the entire amount.

But I’ve changed my game plan since then.

After spending far too many nights worrying and not being able to fall asleep – along with a lot of expiration day close calls – painful ulcers – and a near hernia or two – I’ve altered the way I manage my iron condor trades.

Here’s what I do now: Right after I put on my iron condor, I tell my options broker (through the use of automatic contingent orders) to buy back both the put credit spread and the call credit as soon as I make the bulk of available profit in each spread.

As an example – if I received a credit of a dollar (let’s say about fifty cents each side) when I put an iron condor trade on – I would immediately ask my broker to set up an order to buy the vertical spreads on each side back when the price on them has been reduced to about ten cents or so.

After I place the trade, I would set up two contingent orders with my broker. One would be to buy back the upper half spread of the iron condor for ten cents – and the other to buy back the lower half spread of the condor for five or ten cents.

Crazy?

Personally I don’t think so.

Sure I might make less than if I tried to milk them all the way through to the very end.

But as you will see – that’s not necessarily correct.

Let’s take a second look at the amount of money we are talking about here. Ten cents per side – or twenty cents total. Okay – sure – it’s nothing to sneeze at – but when you step back, get a broader look, and start to take a few other things into consideration – it can actually start to look quite miniscule.

What’s more important (at least for me) – is that by closing my iron condor trade early, I have LOCKED IN FOREVER the majority of the gains on that side of the trade. And no matter what happens going forward – those gains that I’ve just banked CAN’T be taken away from me.

I have also lessened my exposure.

AND – I also now have the ability to generate ADDITIONAL profits from this iron condor position – more than what was possible when I originally placed the trade. And I can generate this additional profit in the trade WITHOUT an increase in the trades original risk.

Let me show you what I am talking about here:

Option premiums can decay quickly. Really quickly. As a matter of fact, I’ve seen them almost drain completely over the course of just a few days.

Going back to our example – let’s pretend that I put an iron condor on about 40 days until expiration. For the trade I receive around a 1.00 credit. Fifty cents for each credit spread on either end of the position.

The day after I place the trade, our stock – XYZ – all of a sudden turns south – and proceeds to move down over the next 3 or 4 days.

Four days after I initiated the trade, I discover that I can now purchase the call credit spread of the position for just ten cents.

If I do nothing, I am choosing to risk that CALL spread margin for the next 36 DAYS for a measly $10.00 of remaining profit (per spread).

But – if I instead just spend the ten measly bucks to pull off that upper credit spread – I will LOCK IN the majority of the profit that was available in that spread – and earn a great return on investment in just four days.

Then, if XYZ bounces back up – which it will often do after a drop – I no longer have any risk on the upside.

And – for icing on the cake – if it DOES head back up we have the opportunity to ‘resell’ those identical credit spreads – the same ones we just bought back for ten cents – for potentially the same amount of credit we originally sold them for – or perhaps even more. Doing this it’s possible to wind up with an even greater ROI then were were hoping for when we first initialized the iron condor trade.

But of course I don’t have to resell any spreads. Let’s just say I repurchase them at ten cent to take off whole iron condor trade. What have I done? I’ve diminished my risk – I’ve freed up my trading capital – I’ve increased my ‘return on investment’ over number of days in the trade – and I’ve exited the market much sooner than I would have had I stayed in the trade all the way to expiry. And to me, all of these things are GOOD things.

This allows me to totally get away from trading for a few days – or weeks (or however long until the next expiration cycle starts) – and enjoy the other things in my life without having to always be wondering what’s happening to my trade – or the market – or worrying about the next big crash.

And being able to temporarily take some time to ‘get away’ from the game – from the iron condor and ‘option trading’ and ‘vega’ and ‘adjustments’ and ‘theta decay’ – to be able to go out and do other things during market hours without always feeling the need to check quotes on my phone to see what the market is doing – and just having the opportunity to fall into bed at night and sleep like a baby without a care or worry about whether or not there will be a huge gap tomorrow morning at the open…

That’s priceless.

Or – at the very least, it’s DEFINITELY worth the.20 or so it costs me to exit early out of the trade…for what is STILL a remarkable monthly profit.

Ted ‘Spread’ Nino is an option selling wild man – exceptionally enthusiastic about trading the iron condor . Go to his iron condor Site to find out more about his easy paint by the numbers system for riding this strategy for dependable returns.

Weekly Options Gamma Trade – Calling The Market a ‘Sissy’

With Weekly Options there is a little known option trading strategy that can provide consistent profits from markets that seem too wild and choppy to use the usual strategies like iron condors, calendars, and credit spreads. This strategy works best in crazy markets unlike the standard option income strategies such as the iron condor, the calendar spread, credit spread, etc.

One way to think of gamma scalping is to compare it to day trading – where the trader is looking to capture profits from quick little moves – however the difference here is that due to this strategy set up – most of the risk that is normally associated with day trading has been removed. Think of gamma scalping as a way to day trade without having to pick direction – taking away most of the risks that are normally associated with day trading.

When gamma scalping – the trader doesn’t care which way the market will be heading. Up or down, it doesn’t matter. We are properly set up to profit either way. And moves that are bigger make it better.

Once a profit is realized from a move either up or down, the trader locks in that gain using a super easy to implement adjustment method that not only captures that profit – but also re-sets the position to once again profit either way the underlying winds up going. This method allows the trader to continually grab – or ‘scalp’ – profits from the same trade position – and this can be done, over and over again on the same position.

How many times have you purchased a stock or option and wound up actually being right and seeing some profits – only to have the underlying immediately turn around and retreat back to it’s starting position wiping out all the profits?

Gamma Scalping eliminates this. And once again, using the method used to lock that profit in, positions the trade back to it’s starting point – where if the underlying continues moving in the same direction – or stops and returns back to where it came from – MORE profits can continue. This is a dynamic way to trade that can be low stress and even quite enjoyable.

For option income traders who are struggling in these especially volatile times trying to use the standard income trades like condors, credit spreads, and calendars, Gamma Trading is a good method to learn and consider using and adding to their collection of other option strategies.

And along with being profitable – trading this way using weekly options is actually quite an enjoyable way to trade too.

To be trained a much ‘better’ technique to trade the iron condor for monthly income, go over to this Weekly Options website for plain step-by-step blueprint on how to suitably place, manage, and ADJUST these trades.

Playing Weekly Options – Riding The Butterfly Spread Trade To Bring In Weekly Options Profits

One way to trade weekly options that could be considered ‘less risky’ – at least when compared to other similar ways of trading – is to go out and purchase a LEAP option – use that as the foundation for the trade – then start to sell weekly options against it – similar to how one might trade a covered call trade.

Trading LEAPS along with Weekly Options

When you break the word LEAPS down you find that it stands for: ‘long-term equity anticipation securities’. These trading vehicles can have life spans from a couple of months to many months and in some cases even years. Another interesting point regarding these particular trading vehicles is that in actuality they are not even ‘options’ – but in fact they are actually ‘securities’.

I once heard a professional option trader say that he thinks of LEAPS is that they are a way to ‘lease’ or ‘rent’ the underlying stock or etf being used instead of buying the actual stock. LEAPS are probably the closest thing you can find to benefit from the rise or fall in a stock without actually owning the stock itself – and you can do so with a great amount of leverage, at a far lower cost, and with a potentially much bigger return – or bang for your buck.

AAPL example using LEAPS and Weekly Options.

Let’s create an example where a trader decides to make a position in AAPL – but doesn’t have the amount of money needed to purchase the stock. What he can do instead is purchase an AAPL LEAP for far less that what the stock would cost – and still have the ability to take advantage of a move in the stock.

Another great weekly options strategy that can be used will LEAPS options is use them as a stock ‘surrogate’ for a covered call type of position. Instead of using the actual stock as the base position for a covered call play – a LEAP can be used – and then the option trader can sell weekly options against that leap – potentially every single week – bringing in premium much like a covered call type position only with much less capital at risk. Also, if you were to compare these two strategies against one another – you would most likely find that the return on investment is far greater when using the LEAPS weekly options version.

Teddy Baby is an option selling fanatic – mainly addicted about trading Weekly Options . Visit Weekly Options Website to find out more about his Undemanding Paint By The Numbers Design for riding the weeklys for consistent returns.

How To Use Option Trading Strategies Efficiently

Bullish strategies are usually employed by traders when the price of an underlying asset is expected to rise. Bearish techniques are considered to be appropriate when the movement in price is predicted to be in the opposite direction. Neutral techniques are applied when a trader is not sure about the direction prices will move. Option trading strategies can be used for hedging a traders’ position or for making profits on stock price movements.

Bullish techniques are usually employed if a dealer expects the share price to move upwards. Many bullish techniques can be used to make profitable trades. Aggressive, moderate and mild techniques can be applied on the basis of a traders’ expectation of price rallies within a time frame.

Traders can also make profits from a downward movement in the value of an underlying asset, if they can predict it correctly. Aggressive, moderate and mild bearish approaches can be used to good effect within the expected time limit of a fall in value. Dealers have to be assured they can correctly forecast how steep the fall in value will be.

When traders cannot predict how a share price will move, they employ neutral (or non-directional) techniques to secure their position. In these situations, the price volatility of the underlying determines a traders’ profitability. Neutral techniques like guts, butterfly, long straddle, short straddle and strangle are used by traders in these sensitive scenarios.

Many neutral techniques are bullish or bearish on volatility. Bullish on volatility techniques are profitable when an assets’ share price makes changes significantly. Bullish on volatility techniques includes short condor, short butterfly, long strangle and long straddle. While, neutral bearish on volatility techniques are profitable when an assets’ price has little or no volatility. Bearish on volatility techniques includes short straddle, long butterfly, long condor and the short strangle.

Option strategies are not only employed for making profits on the movements in the value of underlying assets, but also for hedging a dealer’s position. Option trading can help a dealer to reduce his/her risks by going long and short on the same underlying asset. A combination technique is employed by a trader when these simultaneous contracts are purchased on the same asset.

In conclusion, options techniques support different movements in underlying assets that can be bullish, bearish or neutral. Neutral techniques can also be bullish or bearish on volatility. It is best to seek professional advice for detailed guidance when considering the use of option trading strategies.

There are numerous proven option trading strategies that traders can use for completing profitable trades in the market. High probability trading is the target for every trader and is possible with the right techniques.

Making Profits By Trade Profitably By Using Option Trading Strategies To Great Benefit

Option traders employ bullish techniques when they expect an upward movement in an underlying assets’ share price. A bearish technique is considered suitable when the stock price is predicted to fall. Cautious traders apply neutral techniques, when they do not know the direction in which an asset share price will move. Option trading strategies help traders hedge their position and make profits from asset price movements.

Bullish trading techniques can be employed when a trader believes the underlying stock price will move up in the foreseeable future. The technique chosen would depend on the traders’ assessment of the time line within which a rally will occur and the expected increase in the underlying share price. Bullish strategies are aggressive, moderate or mild.

Traders can also make profits from a downward movement in the value of an underlying asset, if they can predict it correctly. Aggressive, moderate and mild bearish approaches can be used to good effect within the expected time limit of a fall in value. Dealers have to be assured they can correctly forecast how steep the fall in value will be.

Traders employ neutral options strategies (or non-directional) when they can not predict whether an underlying share price will go up or down. The ability to make a profit in these situations is not dependent on the upward or downward movement of the underlying assets’ valuation. Instead, it is dependent on the estimated volatility of the assets’ price. Neutral techniques include guts, butterfly, and straddle (long and short) and strangle.

Bullish on volatility and bearish on volatility techniques are a further breakdown of neutral option techniques. In highly volatile scenarios, bullish on volatility approaches such as the long strangle, long straddle, short condor and butterfly will meet traders’ strategic requirements. Bearish on volatility techniques like ratio spreads, long condor, short straddle and short strangle would help a dealer make the most of a little or no movement in price.

Trading approaches can also be used to hedge traders’ positions. Thus, reducing traders’ vulnerability by purchasing simultaneous long and short contracts of the same underlying asset. These approaches are also known as combination strategies, because they involve applying multiple leg structures to reduce risks.

Option trading strategies can support various movements in the value of underlying assets. A dealer’s expectation of the future would determine which technique he/she will apply in a scenario. However, it is advisable to seek expert guidance for clarity.

There are many tested option trading strategies that traders can use for making profitable trades in the market. High probability trading is the target for every trader and is possible with the right techniques.

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