In my previous article, I.C. Explained, I described a textbook example of an Iron Condor. In this article, I will pick up where I left off, and focus on defining the main difference between the I.C. (Iron Condor) and Condor Spreads…
In this week's article, I will go over one of my Iron Condors that I did awhile ago. (Honestly, in my humble opinion, the last part of 2008 was not the correct environment for the Iron Condor strategy. The I.C. is a strategy that works well in sideways markets. In the last half of 2008, we had a "trending" market, and every owner of a 401K or an IRA account knows which direction the equity market was trending: a way South ? deep South.) Let us define an I.C. as a complex spread trade used in the directionless market environment. More specifically, an I.C. is an option strategy composed of two vertical credit spreads, namely a Bear Call and a Bull Put.
In this article we will examine a specific case of a debit and a credit spread in order to point out that there is virtually very little difference between the two. Instead of attempting to explain the concept by using a fictitious example, the stock XYZ with the one strike price being at this level and the other one at that level, etc, we shall utilize a couple of my recent trades for the same purpose…
In this article we will examine a specific case of a debit and a credit spread in order to point out that there is virtually very little difference between the two. Instead of attempting to explain the concept by using a fictitious example, the stock XYZ with the one strike price being at this level and the other one at that level, etc, we shall utilize a couple of my recent trades for the same purpose…
Bullish spreads allow you to swap profit potential for the opportunity to reduce risk. Spreads offer the ability to take a directional position, but unlike with straight long or uncovered (naked) options, the initial cost or maximum potential loss is reduced. We'll examine how to select the expiration month and strike prices to create bullish spreads based on your expectations…
Bullish spreads allow you to swap profit potential for the opportunity to reduce risk. Spreads offer the ability to take a directional position, but unlike with straight long or uncovered (naked) options, the initial cost or maximum potential loss is reduced. We'll examine how to select the expiration month and strike prices to create bullish spreads based on your expectations…
Bullish spreads allow you to swap profit potential for the opportunity to reduce risk. Spreads offer the ability to take a directional position, but unlike with straight long or uncovered (naked) options, the initial cost or maximum potential loss is reduced. We'll examine how to select the expiration month and strike prices to create bullish spreads based on your expectations…
A brief overview of the Forex market along with an overview of the advantages of Forex trading…
I've often heard some investor-traders refer to technical analysis as "voodoo." Granted, there's a lot of so-called "indicators" out there that are more than a little mysterious and subjective, from Gann lines to planetary alignments. And some of their proponents are in their own galaxies as well. Now, even many of my option trader buddies who do volatility arbitrage are TA cynics. But, what I have to remind them of is that looking at volatility charts is a form of "technical analysis" just like looking at moving averages of price. They are both based on historical statistics, plotted on a graph in a given time frame. They hate when I tell them that, because they think that statistical vol arb is somehow more pure than "voodoo" statistical price analysis.
Writing credit call spreads can be the key to victory in the battle for market domination…
Writing credit call spreads can be the key to victory in the battle for market domination…
In light of the insane volatility in the markets recently, I thought this week it might be helpful to cover a potential strategy on very volatile stocks: Upside-Down Split-Strikes