Stephen Cooper

March fun

roarflolo said: "Just wanted to share my option fun for March expiration through some the fun little pull-backs the markets had and hopefully get some feedback. [B]NDX[/B] Feb 22: Opened an IC on NDX MAR07 1750/1775/1900/1925, +5.85 Feb 27: NDX was at 1785 so I closed the Put leg, -8.20 Mar 5: Closed the call leg to free up margin, -0.10 Loss : 5.85-8.20-0.10 = -2.45 Feb 28: Opened an IC on NDX MAR07 1675/1700/1850/1875, +5.00 Mar 5: NDX has moved lower so I closed the call leg and opened a new one close to 1 std. deviation Closed NDX MAR07 1850/1875 Calls for -0.45 Opened NDX MAR07 1800/1825 Calls for +2.60 Mar 14: NDX was within 10 points of my short put but reversed back up Mar 16: Position expires Profit: 5.00-0.45+2.60 = +7.15 Total NDX from Feb 22 to March 16: -2.45+7.15 = 4.70 [B]SPX[/B] Feb 23: Opened an IC on SPX MAR07 1405/1420/1485/1500, +3.35 Feb 27: SPX is at 1422 so I closed the Put leg, -4.25 Mar 5: Closed the call leg to free up margin, -0.15 Loss : 3.35-4.25-0.15 = -1.05 Feb 18: Opened an IC on SPX MAR07 1350/1365/1455/1470, +2.72 Mar 5: SPX has moved lower so I closed the call leg and opened a new one close to 1 std. deviation Closed SPX MAR07 1455/1470 calls, -0.20 Opened SPX MAR07 1430/1455 calls, +1.25 Mar 14: SPX hit 1366 and looked like it could go lower so I closed the put leg Closed SPX MAR07 1350/1365, -3.90 Mar 16: Calls expire Loss : 2.72-0.20+1.25-3.90 = -0.13 Total SPX from Feb 23 to March 16: -1.05-0.13 = -1.18 Total NDX and SPX from Feb 22 to March 16: 4.70-1.18 = 3.52 So even with the market movements I came out ahead thanks to rolling the call legs down for more credit."

JCast3 said: "i'd say you did pretty well all things considered....way to stay on top of the action.... just want to say i appreciate you guys sharing your options strategies with complete walk through's....my options knowledge is probably on the intermediate level, but i'm still shakey on actual application....ive been playing with strictly covered calls over the past 2 years and i'm just now plunging into more advanced strategies.... i'm going to open up a few positions this week, and will post them here, please feel free to critique them, as you guys seem to have a pretty good handle on this stuff (at least better than i do anyways)...."

RaymondKH said: "[QUOTE=JCast3]just want to say i appreciate you guys sharing your options strategies with complete walk through's....my options knowledge is probably on the intermediate level, but i'm still shakey on actual application....ive been playing with strictly covered calls over the past 2 years and i'm just now plunging into more advanced strategies.... [/QUOTE] I also like Covered Calls because it's a bit conservative and requires less attending to. Most of the time I just set the stop loss alerts to limit my downside and wait for the positions to expire or get assigned. If you are still interested in Covered Call-related plays, you might want to check out [url]http://www.tippingmonkey.com[/url]. It also covers Collars and Covered Calls with and extra OTM Call leg if the sentiment is more than moderately bullish. It looks like a silly little site but I check back once in a while. - Raymond"