Huddle up, listeners. It's time for Mark and Brian to answer your questions. Question from BuseKrus D - New to options, and working with a small account size. Looked to put on a trade with a strategy from the playbook (Christmas tree butterfly I think) with a 57-60-66 2x3x1 call fly for a total debit of 1.30. I've always heard that for a defined risk debit trade the max risk is the amount paid. However, the brokerage was saying I needed around 740 in my account to be able to put on the trade. Is...
Oct 18, 2018•26 min
Let's go back in time and review the last two weeks' worth of trades, including: Bearish COST backspread What was the trade? What did we want to happen? How did it turn out? What did we learn? Then there was a NFLX calendar What was the trade? What did we want to happen? What did happen? Let's look at the VIX What about a TSLA fly? Setting up the trade What is the cost? What is the upside? Do you have a question that you want answered on a future episode? Send them to Brian at theoptionsguy@inve...
Oct 11, 2018•16 min
Earnings in FAANG stocks are coming up, with NFLX leading the way on 10/16. We're going to do a long calendar spread with calls. You can find more in The Options Playbook , which is always available on OptionsPlaybook.com , in on the Amazon Kindle edition. Specifically: A review of last week Why a calendar spread? Where is NFLX now? Earnings are released on 10/16 What is the expected earnings? Selecting a strike Setting up the trade What is the maximum risk? Reward? What do we want to happen? Wh...
Oct 04, 2018•12 min
Costco (COST) has earnings coming up next week. We're going to do a backspread with puts, or a ratio volatility spread. You can find more in The Options Playbook , which is always available on OptionsPlaybook.com , in on the Amazon Kindle edition. Specifically: A review of last week COST will announce earnings on 10/4 What does the chart say? Let's do a backspread with puts What's the expected move? What's our take? Selecting the expiration and strikes What if we're wrong? What if we're right? W...
Sep 27, 2018•16 min
Tilray Inc. (TLRY) has gone up over 100% in two days. With stocks that move like this, it's a great learning experience. You can find more in The Options Playbook , which is always available on OptionsPlaybook.com , in on the Amazon Kindle edition. Specifically: A review of last week's NKE diagonal spread What did we want to happen? What actually happened? What does that mean for the contract we bought? What do to now? Let's roll! Crazy moves in TLRY Why are the puts so pricey? What would Brian ...
Sep 20, 2018•20 min
Nike (NKE) has been in the news a lot lately and will announce earnings on September 25. Let's take a look at a diagonal trade. You can find more in The Options Playbook , which is always available on OptionsPlaybook.com , in on the Amazon Kindle edition. Specifically: A review of last week What happened to the SPX? Did you get out, or did you get the stupid award? NKE is near all-time highs Setting up the trade Selecting strikes and expirations Pay attention to the delta of the trade Addressing...
Sep 13, 2018•16 min
Now that earnings season is over, it's time to get back to the basics. You can find more in The Options Playbook , which is always available on OptionsPlaybook.com , in on the Amazon Kindle edition. Specifically: A review of last week Setting up a long put butterfly in SPX Where is the SPX now? Where is volatility? Selecting strikes Using the nearest-term expiration Settlement is at the close on Friday What's the upside? Downside? What do we want to happen? How to roll into a short put spread Re...
Sep 06, 2018•18 min
Now that earnings season is over, it's time to get back to the basics. You can find more in The Options Playbook , which is always available on OptionsPlaybook.com , in on the Amazon Kindle edition. Specifically: A review of last week What happened if you stuck around to the close on Friday? How did we do? Markets are closed for Labor Day How do we take the holiday into account? Where is the S&P 500 right now? Selecting strikes and expiration What do we want to happen? What if it starts to g...
Aug 30, 2018•17 min
Now that earnings season is over, it's time to get back to the basics. You can find more in The Options Playbook , which is always available on OptionsPlaybook.com , in on the Amazon Kindle edition. Specifically: Why choose the S&P 500 index? Selecting the expiration (just two days!) Selecting strikes What is the risk? Remember commissions, especially with a three-legged trade Interesting downside considerations What do we want to happen? Do you have a question that you want answered on a fu...
Aug 24, 2018•14 min
Huddle, up listeners! It's time for Brian and Mark to take on listener questions, including: Options question of the week: Earnings season in in full swing. Which names will dominate your options trading this week? 47% - AAPL 37% - TSLA 6% - GPRO 10% - CBOE Question from Imhad1: Is HMNY now the most option-like stock ever? Back to $.08 after reverse splitting up to $14. Crazy! Who would buy an option on this thing? Question from Ling: I've heard some educators say that you should never hold out ...
Aug 16, 2018•21 min
As earnings season winds down, we are looking at strategies before, during, and after announcements. Last week, we did a skip-strike butterfly in GOOGL. Let's follow up on how that went. You can find more in The Options Playbook , which is always available on OptionsPlaybook.com , in on the Amazon Kindle edition. Specifically: A review of the skip-strike butterfly What has happened to GOOGL since then? BKNG (formerly Priceline) is about to announce earnings Setting up the trade Selecting strikes...
Aug 09, 2018•16 min
We are in the heart of earnings season, and next week a lot of the FANG stocks will announce. Two weeks ago, we did a diagonal spread in GOOGL. Let's follow up on how that went, and look at a skip-strike butterfly, as well. You can find more in The Options Playbook , which is always available on OptionsPlaybook.com , in on the Amazon Kindle edition. Specifically: How was the diagonal spread set up? What happened to GOOGL since the paper trade was established? What are we doing now? Setting up th...
Aug 02, 2018•20 min
Huddle up, listeners. It's time for listener questions. If you have questions about anyoptions plays, you can find more in The Options Playbook , which is always available on OptionsPlaybook.com , in on the Amazon Kindle edition. Specifically: How do you like to trade options during earnings season? Do you hold a position through an announcement? How do you determine a strategy or direction? How to select strikes and expiration? What the brokers versus the regulators have to say about defined ri...
Jul 26, 2018•20 min
We are in the heart of earnings season, and next week a lot of the FANG stocks will announce. Let's take a look at a diagonal spread in GOOGL. You can find more in The Options Playbook , which is always available on OptionsPlaybook.com , in on the Amazon Kindle edition. Specifically: Why a diagonal spread? What is a diagonal spread? Setting up a trade GOOGL announces earnigns on 7/23 Selecting the strikes and expirations What do we want to happen? What do we want to avoid? What is the risk? Rewa...
Jul 19, 2018•13 min
We are back into earnings season. Let's take a look at a skip-strike butterfly in NFLX. You can find more in The Options Playbook , which is always available on OptionsPlaybook.com , in on the Amazon Kindle edition. Specifically: A review of the Boeing calendar spread from last time What happened since the paper trade was put on? Looking ahead to NFLX earnings Where is NFLX now? What is the expected move? What happens if we are wrong? What is the maximum return? Reward? Do you have a question th...
Jul 12, 2018•15 min
Today we are bringing you the best of Options Playbook Radio. Originally posted December 28th, 2017 Mark and Brian are back to answer listener questions. In particular: Question from Taj Penaso - Hi, will there be options for bitcoin once the futures are traded?? or just the futures until there are tradeable ETFs available? Thanks. #Options #QOTW - Now it's a party! #Bitcoin futures are live on both @CMEGroup & @CBOE. But everyone's asking us the $1M question - "When will we get #Bitcoin #Op...
Jul 05, 2018•26 min
Tariff turmoil is rocking the market and is beating up some stocks, including Boeing (BA). You can find more in The Options Playbook , which is always available on OptionsPlaybook.com , in on the Amazon Kindle edition. Specifically: Implied volatility is spiking because of talk of tariffs BA announces earnings on 7/25 Stock has fallen about 40 points over the last month Putting on a long call spread Selecting strikes and expirations What is the total cost? What do we want to happen? What is the ...
Jun 28, 2018•12 min
News out of Canada regarding the legalization of marijuana has impacted volatility of medical marijuana stocks. This is an interesting opportunity to get back to basics, including a covered call and a cash-secured put. You can find more in The Options Playbook , which is always available on OptionsPlaybook.com , in on the Amazon Kindle edition. Specifically: A review of last week How did the trade work out? Legal pot in Canada? That impacts IV for CGC What is our outlook? Setting up the trade Wh...
Jun 21, 2018•19 min
This week we will look at a long butterfly with calls. You can find more on page 102 in The Options Playbook , which is always available on OptionsPlaybook.com , or on the Amazon Kindle edition. Specifically: A review from last week (diagonal spread with calls) Staying in FedEx Earnings! June 19' Setting up the trade Selecting strikes, expiration What is the maximum risk? Reward? What do we want to happen? And more... Do you have a question that you want answered on a future episode? Send them t...
Jun 14, 2018•21 min
Do you have a question that you want answered on a future episode? Send them to Brian at theoptionsguy@invest.ally.com , or to the Options Insider at questions@theoptionsinsider.com .
Jun 07, 2018•18 min
Huddle up, listeners. It's all listener questions today on Options Playbook Radio. Including: Is there a rule of thumb on how many strikes to skip in a skip strike butterfly? What is Brian's favorite underlying for trading options Do you trade options on stocks below $5? Do you have a question that you want answered on a future episode? Send them to Brian at theoptionsguy@invest.ally.com , or to the Options Insider at questions@theoptionsinsider.com ....
May 31, 2018•21 min
We looked at doing a long call spread last week, which was net positive theta time premium. This week we will be looking at indexes. You can find more in The Options Playbook , which is always available on OptionsPlaybook.com , or on the Amazon Kindle edition. Specifically: Indexes and volatility Rolling out of SPY put flys into credit spreads Trading it directionally Setting up the trade Selecting strikes What do we want to happen? What is the max risk? Reward? To adjust or not to adjust? Do yo...
May 24, 2018•19 min
We are back in the saddle discussing options strategies. With the VIX in the low- to mid-teens, that makes for an interesting time to look at volatility. We are going to look at a long call spread, possibly with a roll. You can find more in The Options Playbook , which is always available on OptionsPlaybook.com , or on the Amazon Kindle edition. Specifically: Indexes and volatility Looking to do this trade for positive theta Selecting expriations What's a time bomb butterfly? Setting up the trad...
May 17, 2018•19 min
Mark and Brian are on location at the Options Industry Conference, the annual event that brings everyone in the options industry together. They discuss: Are covered calls really the best strategy for novice options traders? Is there a good rule of thumb on when to use a ratio spread? Should trading be concentrated in the last 30 minutes of the day to take advantage of liquidity? Do you have a question that you want answered on a future episode? Send them to Brian at theoptionsguy@invest.ally.com...
May 10, 2018•24 min
Mark and Brian are on location at the Options Industry Conference, the annual event that brings everyone in the options industry together. They discuss: Specifically: Launching new products to meet retail investor needs Liquidity concerns Exchanges fragmenting liquidity through extra strikes and expirations What about price improvement? Unlimited quoting What did they learn at this year's event? Do you have a question that you want answered on a future episode? Send them to Brian at theoptionsgu...
May 03, 2018•18 min
We are in the tech portion of earnings season, so let's take a look at Facebook. You can find more in The Options Playbook , which is always available on OptionsPlaybook.com , or on the Amazon Kindle edition. Specifically: Where is FB trading right now? What is the situation with FB? Can we sell the put spread for enough of a credit to buy a call? Setting up the put spread Selecting strikes Looking to buy a call from the proceeds Selecting the strike What do we want to happen? What is the risk? ...
Apr 26, 2018•20 min
Welcome to Options Playbook Radio On this episode we discuss: A review of our earnings trade in NFLX A complete breakdown of our new earnings skip-strike butterfly in GOOGL.
Apr 19, 2018•16 min•Season 2018Ep. 204
In this episode, Brian looks at a NFLX butterfly before earnings, including: Selecting strikes & expiration Watch out for skew Plan the trade, trade the plan And more...
Apr 12, 2018•16 min
We are back in the saddle discussing options strategies. As we are a few days away from earnings, let's look at something that is not driven by earnings. While we're waiting for volatility to slow down, let's look at a short-term butterfly in UNH. You can find more in The Options Playbook , which is always available on OptionsPlaybook.com , or on the Amazon Kindle edition. Specifically: UNH announces earnings on 4/16 Doing a very short-term butterfly to not contain earnings What are we hoping to...
Apr 05, 2018•13 min
It's time to huddle up, in which Brian and Mark address listener questions and comments. In this episode: Question from Ed Bankert: Debating on using covered calls or short puts. Which is better for a less experienced options trader who wants to make money? Question from Duffy: How do you handle the fixed-time aspect of trading options? Comment from Charlie T.: Not really an options guy. I don't need the headache of yet another unknown element aka time. It's hard enough just picking my stocks, d...
Mar 29, 2018•21 min
