Bought some $Dec 155 when AAPL was at $153. May hold for a few days.

EDIT: chickened out and sold for Ñž70. Small realized gains offset huge paper losses for today.

stenner,

Noted your puts (Nov) $155 is a 60 bagger and even your mistake puts (Nov) $170 is a three bagger.  Congras.  Best options trader for month of Nov.  You’re my model options trader .

[quote author=“Mace”]stenner,

Noted your puts (Nov) $155 is a 60 bagger and even your mistake puts (Nov) $170 is a three bagger.  Congras.  Best options trader for month of Nov.  You’re my model options trader .

While I thank you for the kudos, I REALLY wish I didn’t have 60 baggers with my puts (and I REALLY wish I’d bought more than 10 ) 

Hopefully, they’ll help me get through this tumultuous time.  It wasn’t really good trading…just a bit of luck, though the rest of my portfolio is not NEARLY as lucky. 

edit Tues PM…60 baggers may end up just being a temporary paper profit.  Honestly, if we can start back upward, I’ll be glad to lose THAT paper. 

Iqauto shows Max-Pain for AAPL in november to be $170. Can anyone confirm this through other Max-Pain calculators?

Sweet short squeeze today!

Come on $175 for Expiry!

Awcabot - thanks for pointing this out!. Nice to see that the iqauto site is working again!

I wouldn’t read too much into the 170 max pain point though - the curve does not rise steeply until below 160 or above 180 so we could easily get pinned at any strike between $160 and $180 IMO.  Max pain could change to anyone of these strikes in the next few days.

Barring unforseen news, AAPL moves with the market for the next 3 days IMO.

Due to the market’s drop, AAPL implied volatility is jacked up to near pre-earnings levels. 

This has saved me since the bump in IV has more than balanced out the decrease in price - so that I’ve made money on AAPL this week even though I’m long deltas (at least in my trading account - my longer term core position is another matter )

If you are all or mostly long options - you are long volatility (long Vega) and regardless of the direction the stock moves - you will take a relative hit if IV drops. 

IV can always go higher - especially if the market collapses more, but personally I’m planning on reducing my volatility exposure tomorrow and Friday by selling some of my long December and January calls and puts. I’ll stay long AAPL deltas but will keep hedged with net short positions on the indices and select other stocks (AMZN, GOOG,  DELL, MSFT).

Good trading to all.  Protect your capital.

Gold down, US dollar up, Apple down ($164).... I am buying Dec calls today

FWIW with AAPL at about 167.50 the 165/170 Nov strangle is trading at about 4.20.

This strongly suggests that barring any large market moving events - option prices say we close tomorrow between 160 and 175. I know that’s a wide range and not as fun as being able to point to a “max pain” point and say that’s where we’ll be, but it is a pretty reliable guage of what type of trading range we can expect in the next 2 days.

I’m rooting for a pin at $175 tomorrow! 

After this weeks events, I decided to be a bit more conservative ... sold my Jan 09 230’s and bought half as many Jan 10 210’s.

Current positions:

Jan 09 130 (25%)
Jan 09 150 (25%)
Jan 09 170 (25%)
Jan 10 210 (25%)

Hoping all of these with be ITM by Macworld

[quote author=“mtdoc”]Due to the market’s drop, AAPL implied volatility is jacked up to near pre-earnings levels. 

This has saved me since the bump in IV has more than balanced out the decrease in price - so that I’ve made money on AAPL this week even though I’m long deltas (at least in my trading account - my longer term core position is another matter )

If you are all or mostly long options - you are long volatility (long Vega) and regardless of the direction the stock moves - you will take a relative hit if IV drops. 

IV can always go higher - especially if the market collapses more, but personally I’m planning on reducing my volatility exposure tomorrow and Friday by selling some of my long December and January calls and puts. I’ll stay long AAPL deltas but will keep hedged with net short positions on the indices and select other stocks (AMZN, GOOG,  DELL, MSFT).

Good trading to all.  Protect your capital.

mtdoc,

I have learned a great deal from your post re: options and know that you are paying attention to the greeks. I would be very interested, as I am sure many of the other options newbies would be too, if you could post at some time as to how you balance your positions with the greeks. What do you look for and what do you do to balance your positions. I have read some and know that some folks make money with a delta neutral position but I don’t quite understand how that is possible. I am also very interested in learning more advanced trades, how to create, when to create, how to exit. I am using TOS and see diagonals, butterfly, iron condors, condors, etc., etc. but I don’t know why I would use them or when and what type of market conditions warrant their use.  I also know that with options you can make money no matter what the market conditions and after this correction we are in… well I am very motivated to learn. Maybe this should be in a new thread but I will welcome anything you are willing to post. Thanks for all of your efforts here at AFB!!

d

[quote author=“roontoon”][. I would be very interested, as I am sure many of the other options newbies would be too, if you could post at some time as to how you balance your positions with the greeks.

roontoon-

I’m off to work today but will try to do this tomorrow or on the weekend.  It will be a good exercise for me - since having to explain something to others will force me to clarify my own thnking. After 2 yrs of very actively trading complex option positions I still have a lot to learn and am learning more every month.

BTW I don’t really trade “Delta Neutral” - I’m almost always Delta positive AAPL (the one exception was for a very brief period this past May - ouch! ).

I vary how Delta positive I am and trade around changes in volatility and expected price range to try to capture option premium and price movements.

More later…

[quote author=“mtdoc”]
More later…

Thanks and take your time… YOU ROCK!. I am learning from every source I can but when you and others here that are really trading explain what you are doing it carries a lot more weight for a newbie. Practical examples are the best way for me to learn and as it seems other sources (books, internet) give you the text book example but are lacking in the hows and whys. I will look forward to your post!!

d

large volumes of 120 PUTS

After following this forum for almost a year I registered today because I noted in the option chain something that scared me : large volumes of $120 PUTS in April-08 and Jan-09. I wonder if somebody is up to something.

Before finding this forum I felt I was moving alone in the darkness, trying to catch a glimpse of brightness here and there. I want to thank all those who take their time to cast some light on this treacherous terrain.

personally I think thats just large buyers being cautious and hedging a large position that is going the other way. But Im a newb relatively speaking so Id like to hear others opinion on it.