Today we are looking at back spreads with puts. You can find this in the back spreads section of The Options Playbook, on OptionsPlaybook.com , or in the Amazon Kindle version. Brian covers: A review of last week What happened since? What to do now? What is the risk? Reward? What to do now with earnings season? Let's look at Ford (F) How to avoid the crush of volatility Take a look at time value Where is the market right now? What is the upside? Downside? What do we want to happen?...
Jan 26, 2017•25 min
As promised last time, we are looking at one off trades. You can find this in the back spreads section of The Options Playbook, on OptionsPlaybook.com , or in the Amazon Kindle version. Specifically: How to protect ourselves around the election How do back spreads work? What are we likely to gain? What are we likely to lose? What if we ride until expiration? What is the likelihood of a net credit?...
Jan 19, 2017•20 min
As promised last time, we are looking at how to manage positions, specifically rolling positions. You can find this in the appendix of The Options Playbook, on OptionsPlaybook.com , or in the Amazon Kindle version. Specifically: What does rolling a covered call actually mean? When do you want to roll? When do you NOT want to roll? What are we doing if we roll up and out? What if we just go out, not up? What if we go up, not out? Doing things quickly is key What is the likelihood of assignment?...
Jan 12, 2017•26 min
As promised last time, we are taking a deeper dive into covered call writing. You can find this in the beginning section of The Options Playbook, on OptionsPlaybook.com , or in the Amazon Kindle version. Specifically: Underlying. What stocks make the best candidates for covered call writing? Volatility: It's like Goldilocks...not too much, not too little. What can we do in AAPL? BAC? Earnings impications for timing How far out is the right amount? When to roll?...
Jan 05, 2017•27 min
In this episode, Brian takes on listener questions, including: Question from Choas - Brian, as a beginner, I have done quite a bit of research on the subject of options. Now of course, I would start by doing the right thing - that is writing a covered call on one of my long positions. The problem I am having, believe it or not, is not knowing the direction of the stock or the expiration, the problem is more basic - not knowing which transaction to choose. As it appears, very little is said about...
Dec 29, 2016•22 min
We dug through the archives to bring you the very best of Options Playbook Radio.
Dec 22, 2016•20 min
In this episode of Options Playbook Radio we are covering a long butterfly spread with puts. You can find this on page 104 of The Options Playbook , on OptionsPlaybook.com , or in the Amazon Kindle version. Specifically: A review of last week's trade What was the sentiment? What was the set up? What was the cost? What happened since we put on the trade? Rolling this into a short put spread Don't forget about volatility! How do we roll this? What is the new position? What is the cost? Beware of o...
Dec 15, 2016•26 min
In this episode of Options Playbook Radio we are covering a put butterfly spread. You can find this on page 104 of The Options Playbook , on OptionsPlaybook.com , or in the Amazon Kindle version. Brian covers: A review of the last few weeks What happened at the OPEC meeting? What resulted in the market? Butterflies like time decay and decreases in volatility - IF you are correct on your forecast Where is MRO now? What does that mean for our positions? What could happen next? Don't discount volat...
Dec 08, 2016•22 min
In this episode of Options Playbook Radio we are covering a call butterfly spread. You can find this on page 102 of The Options Playbook , on OptionsPlaybook.com , or in the Amazon Kindle version. Brian covers: A review of the last strategy Taking advantage of the OPEC meeting and the ensuing oil volatility Putting on a butterfly in MRO Picking the expiration and the strikes What will it cost? What is the upside? Breakeven? What is our outlook?...
Dec 01, 2016•14 min
In this episode, recorded the day before Thanksgiving 2016, Brian is joined by Mark, and they take on listener questions and comments. This includes: Options#QuestionOfTheWeek: Great traders need many weapons in their arsenals. But everyone has a favorite. What is yours? Vertical/Ratio Vertical Iron Condor/Iron Fly Straddle/Strangle Covered Call/Short Put What is Brian's answer? Long Butterflies! Listener questions include: When the market is rallying, what's wrong with just buying calls? Has an...
Nov 25, 2016•35 min
What situations might be a good time for covered call writing? There is also the long put spread from last week to discuss. You can follow on pages 50 and 62, respectively, of The Options Playbook , on OptionsPlaybook.com , or in the Amazon Kindle version. This week, Brian discusses: What has happened to the market since the election? Why is the VIX going up when the market is going up? How did we do from the long put spread from last week? What were the risk parameters? Covered call writing Don...
Nov 17, 2016•19 min
For the last few weeks, we have been looking at earnings plays, including a short call spread (page 64), and today we're looking at a long put spread (page 62) of The Options Playbook , on OptionsPlaybook.com , or in the Amazon Kindle version. On tap for today: Pushing all-time highs post-election Reviewing last week's FB trade Where is the market right now? Putting on a long put spread in SPY What is the timeframe? Setting up the trade What is the maximum risk? Reward? Break-even? Do you have q...
Nov 10, 2016•15 min
'Tis the season. Earnings season, that is. Let's take a look at another earnings play, specifically a short call spread. You can find this on page 80 of The Options Playbook , on OptionsPlaybook.com , or in the Amazon Kindle version. Today Brian discusses: A review of last week's CVX front spread Facebook (FB) announced earnings just after this recording What is the expected move post-earnings? Do we agree with that prediction? Selecting an expiration Setting up the trade What's the risk? Reward...
Nov 03, 2016•15 min
In this episode of Options Playbook Radio, we are talking about a front spread with calls.You can find this on page 80 of The Options Playbook , on OptionsPlaybook.com , or in the Amazon Kindle version. In this episode, Brian discusses: A review of last week Chevron (CVX) will announce earnings before the open on 10/28 What kind of move can we expect? Setting up the trade Picking the expiration What strikes to use? What is the maximum upside? Risk? What about margin? Do you have questions that y...
Oct 27, 2016•14 min
We are going to look at a backspread with puts this week. You can find that on page 87 of The Options Playbook , on OptionsPlaybook.com , or in the Amazon Kindle version. Today, Brian discusses: A review of the MRO covered call from last week Making an adjustment based on new outlook Walgreens, which is merging with Rite-Aid, has earnings coming up What can we do with that? A backspread with puts What is the outlook? Setting up the trade What is the risk? Reward? How to stay out of the valley of...
Oct 20, 2016•17 min
We are taking a look at covered calls today. If you want to follow along, we are on page 50 in the Options Playbook. You can always follow along on OptionsPlaybook.com , or on the Amazon Kindle edition. Today, Brian covers: A long-term straddle that we looked at about four weeks ago on the S&P 500 A covered call in MRO What is the option chain in MRO? Figuring out the upside What is the cost? What is the outlook? Do you have questions that you would like answered on the show? Send them to Br...
Oct 13, 2016•20 min
In this episode, Brian and Mark huddle up to answer listener questions. They take on: Question from Yukoner: Do you ever do spreads in LEAPS. Why and how? So I used to trade the LEAPS rather than buy the stock. Is that a good use case? Question from Tradecraft: Is there a correlation between high options OI and options price levels? Do you have questions that you would like answered on the show? Send them to Brian at theoptionsguy@tradeking.com...
Oct 06, 2016•21 min
This week we are going to look at a cash-secured put, which you can find on page 48 of the Options Playbook. You can always find it online at OptionsPlabyook.com , or in an Amazon Kindle version . Today Brian discusses: OPEC decided to cut oil production, so oil prices and stocks spiked Looking at Marathon Oil, MRO Where is it trading today? How to put on a cash-secured put in MRO? Why is the timing right to do an oil play? Selecting the expiration Remember that you want to be put the stock Wher...
Sep 29, 2016•15 min
Last week we talked about diagonal spreads, which can be found on page 99 of the Options Playbook. You can always find this on the Options Playbook website . First up, a listener question: Question from Mike - Hello Brian, Love the show. I am curious as to why one would ever use a collar instead of a bull put spread. Am I incorrect in thinking these strategies are identical with respect to risk/reward? Since the put spread will cost less to put on, it seems like the better trade. As an additiona...
Sep 22, 2016•18 min
We have recently been doing a lot of long spreads, and then adjusting based on market conditions. If you want to follow along with The Options Playbook, you can find long spreads on page 60, and long strangles on page 72. Today, Brian discusses: A review of last time News since the last episode Putting on a position because of the chart Looking at selling aput below the 2100 strike What will it cost? What is the current position? We now have a gaggle of securities Putting on a diagonal spread in...
Sep 15, 2016•21 min
For the last few weeks, we have been discussing long put spreads, which can be found on page 62 of The Options Playbook . You can always follow along online on OptionsPlaybook.com . This week Brian discusses: A reivew of the last two trades he covered What has the market done since? Where does it leave the spread? What do we do now? How will we reduce risk? Setting up the trade When do we close out? Setting up a new trade What is the outlook? Do you have a question that you would like to have an...
Sep 08, 2016•22 min
Continuing with the long SPX put spread that we put on last week, Brian looks at current market conditions and decides if and how to make any adjustments. If you want to follow along in the Options Playbook, this is on page 62. You can always find this information on OptionsPlaybook.com . This week Brian discusses: What happened after the Fed meeting last week? A recap of last week's strategy What did the market do? Based on how the market moved, how do we make an adjustment? Picking the strikes...
Sep 01, 2016•17 min
This week, we are moving past earnings to look a the overall market. To do this, we'll try a long put spread, which is on page 62 of The Options Playbook. You can always find the information online at OptionsPlaybook.com. Today, we discuss: A review of last week's bull call spread on FL What was our forecast? What happened? Now that earnings are mostly over, let's look at the general, overall market Setting up a long put spread in the S&P 500 Picking expriations: why weekly options over stan...
Aug 25, 2016•16 min
To follow along, you can find long call spreads on page 60 of the Options Playbook. You can also play along online at OptionsPlaybook.com In this episode, Brian discusses: A review of last week's episode featuring TIF What happened since putting on the TIF paper trade? Moving on to FL, which reports earnings tomorrow, August 19 Where is the long straddle trading on the options expiring on August 19? What is the outlook on FL? Setting up the trade What is the risk? Reward?...
Aug 18, 2016•18 min
This week Brian takes a look back at his previous earnings trade on PCLN. What went right? What went wrong? Tune in to this episode of Options Playbook Radio to find out. Have a question for Brian? He's happy to answer them directly via the TradeKing Facebook Page - https://www.facebook.com/tradeking.
Aug 11, 2016•15 min
We're still in earnings season, so let's take a look at Priceline. Sticking with butterflies, this week we are looking at put butterflies. You can find this on page 104 in The Options Playbook, but you can always find this online at OptionsPlaybook.com . This week we cover: Review of last week's GOOG butterfly What a difference choosing expirations can make Upcoming Priceline earnings (before the open on Aug. 4) What is the at-the-money long straddle? What is the outlook? Setting up the butterfl...
Aug 04, 2016•24 min
'Tis the season...earnings season. Instead of avoiding earnings, we are jumping right in, and are going to do so with a long butterfly with calls on GOOG. If you want to follow along with the book, you can find this on page 102. Today, Brian covers: A review of last time, including a mistake we made with the math GOOG announces earnings after the close on July 28 Setting up a butterfly to capture earnings numbers What is the most at-the-money straddle in the nearest-term expiration? Why do we lo...
Jul 28, 2016•22 min
Brian is back to discuss how things went with the the long call that he discussed last week. Specifically, he discusses: The AMZN long call spread from last week Turning that into a standard butterfly with calls What happened after we placed the paper trade? What was the adjustment? Where do things stand now? How would we close the position? What is the risk? Reward?
Jul 21, 2016•18 min
We are back to strategies this week and are looking at long call spreads...with a twist. If you're following along at home, this is on page 60 of the Options Playbook, but you can always find it on OptionsPlaybook.com. Jumping in: AMZN is announcing earnings in two weeks, but we are looking to avoid those earnings We're taking a traditional long call spread, and trying to make it time/premium positive What does that mean? What is the break-even? Setting up the trade What adjustment would we make...
Jul 14, 2016•12 min
Mark and Brian are diving in to listener questions, including: Question from skeball: Where do you see the VIX going, and how will impact stock picking in this market? Which leads to: Who does the volatility swings benefit? Day traders? Swing traders? Long-term traders? Summer doldrums No more earnings What will the Fed do? When/how does VIX revert to the mean?
Jul 07, 2016•18 min
