Announcement

After a moderately successful year I've decided to take a hiatus from the blog.  I'll still be trading, but I want to focus my attention on other things like teaching options trading, and less time keeping up with the blog.
I intend to return to it next year, perhaps in a more abbreviated form.

Thanks,
Bo

Trade Adjustment - 21 JUL BABA 110/135 Strangle

Trade Adjustment [Previous Trades]
I decided to take advantage of the drop in BABA this morning and rolled my inverted strangle to the next expiration (NOV) to collect additional credit and extend the duration of the trade.  However, BABA has earnings on 11/1, so there is the risk of a large upward move at that time if the news is favorable.  This inverted position has an intrinsic value of $45, so my goal with every adjustment is to chip away at that to get as close back to break even as I can before I close the position.

Rolled: five 15 OCT 135/180 BABA inverted Strangles @$3.66

• Bought: five 15 OCT 135/180 BABA inverted Strangles @$47.00
• Sold: five 15 OCT 135/180 BABA inverted Strangles @$50.66

Total Credit: $1,831.00
Total Commissions/Fees: $13.44
Balance: $56,943.22

Trade Adjustment - 21 JUL BABA 110/135 Strangle

Trade Adjustment [Previous Trades]
Rolled the 175 inverted Puts up to 180 within the OCT cycle.

Rolled five 15 OCT BABA 170 Puts @$2.04

• Bought: five 15 OCT 170 Puts @$3.31
• Sold: five 15 OCT 170 Puts @$5.35

Total Credit: $1,020.00
Total Commissions/Fees: $6.49
Balance: $55,125.20

Closing Trade - 20 OCT ATVI 57.5/70 Strangle

Closing Trade [Opening Trade]
Bought: three 20 OCT ATVI 57.5/70 Strangles @$0.75

Total Debit: $225.00
Total Commissions/Fees: $0.85
Balance: $54,111.69
Trade P/L: $199.28
YTD Realized P/L: $9,006.26
YTD ROC: 27.9%

Trade Adjustment - 20 OCT MA 125/140 Strangle

Trade Adjustment [Opening Trade]
MA jumped to 140 this morning with the Market's rally so I decided to roll my 125 Puts up to 140 within the OCT expiration to create a straddle.

Rolled: three 20 OCT MA 125 Puts @ $2.40

• Bought: three 20 OCT MA 125 Puts @$0.30
• Sold: three 20 OCT MA 140 Puts @$2.70

Total Credit: $720.00
Total Commissions/Fees: $3.88
Balance: $54,337.54

New Opening Trade - 20 OCT MA 125/140 Strangle

Opening Trade
Sold: three 20 OCT MA 125/140 Strangles @$1.58

Total Credit: $474.00
Total Commissions/Fees: $6.87
Balance: $53,621.41

Closing Trade - 15 SEP XLE 64/64.5/65.5 Ratio Spread

Closing Trade [Opening Trade]
With 14 days left to expiration I decided to scratch the trade for a small profit.

Bought: five 15 SEP XLE 64/64.5/65.5 Ratio Spreads @$0.70

Total Debit: $350.00
Total Commissions/Fees: $2.17
Balance: $53,154.29  
Trade P/L: $45.65
YTD Realized P/L: $8,806.98
YTD ROC: 27.3%  

August Month End Results

August Trade Results
Total Opening Trades: 5
Total Adjusted Trades: 5
Total Closed Trades: 3
Month Realized P/L: $825.80
YTD Realized P/L: $8,761.33
YTD ROC: 27.2%

New Opening Trade - 20 OCT SPX 2440 Calendar

Opening Trade
Bought: two 20 OCT SPX 2440 Calendars @$13.60

Total Debit: $2,720.00
Total Commissions/Fees: $7.31
Balance: $53,506.45

New Opening Trade - 20 OCT ATVI 57.5/70 Strangle [Closed]

Opening Trade
Sold: three 20 OCT ATVI 57.5/70 Strangles @$1.44

Total Credit: $432.00
Total Commissions/Fees: $6.87
Balance: $56,233.76

Closing Trade - 15 SEP XOP 30/31/32 Ratio Spread

Closing Trade [Opening Trade]

Decided to scratch the trade because I didn't collect enough premium when I originally put it on and would rather free up the buying power for a better opportunity.

Bought: five 15 SEP XOP 30/31/32 Ratio Spreads @$0.06

Total Debit: $30.00

Total Commissions/Fees: $2.16

Balance: $55,808.63

Trade P/L: $30.65

YTD Realized P/L: $8,761.33

YTD ROC: 27.2%

Trade Adjustment - 21 JUL BABA 110/135 Strangle

Trade Adjustment [Opening Trade][First Adjustment][2nd Adjustment][3rd Adjustment][4th Adjustment][5th Adjustment][6th Adjustment][7th Adjustment]
Rolled the 170 inverted Puts up to 175.

Rolled: five 15 OCT BABA 170 inverted Puts @$2.22

• Bought: five 15 OCT BABA 170 Puts @$5.94
• Sold: five 15 OCT BABA 175 Puts @$8.16

Total Credit: $1,110.00
Total Commissions/Fees: $1.52
Balance: $55,840.79

Closing Trade - 15 SEP PYPL 55/62.5 Strangle

Closing Trade [Opening Trade]
Bought: five 15 SEP PYPL 55/62.5 Strangles @$0.69

Total Debit: $345.00
Total Commissions/Fees: $1.42
Balance: $54,732.31
Trade P/L: $282.12
YTD Realized P/L: $8,730.68
YTD ROC: 27.1%

Trade Adjustment - 21 JUL BABA 110/135 Strangle

Trade Adjustment [Opening Trade][1st Adjustment][2nd Adjustment][3rd Adjustment][4th Adjustment][5th Adjustment][6th Adjustment]
Rolled my 165 inverted Puts up to 170 for an additional $2.25 credit.  The intrinsic value of the position is now 35.

Rolled: five 15 OCT BABA 165 inverted Puts @$2.25

• Bought five 15 OCT BABA 165 Puts @$5.72
• Sold five 15 OCT BABA 170 Puts @$7.97

Total Credit: $1,125.00
Total Commissions/Fees: $6.52
Balance: $55,078.73

Trade Adjustment - 21 JUL BABA 110/135 Strangle

Trade Adjustment [Opening Trade][1st Adjustment][2nd Adjustment][3rd Adjustment][4th Adjustment][5th Adjustment]
BABA announced earnings today pre-market and the stock jumped to $166.  I needed to roll my inverted Puts up to 165 in the October expiration to collect more credit on the trade.  My position now has an intrinsic value of $30 and with this roll I collected an additional $3.62, bring my total credit to $24.74.  After this I'll need to collect another $5.26 in future adjustments to break even on the trade.

Rolled: five 15 OCT BABA 155 inverted Puts @$3.62

• Bought: five 15 OCT BABA 155 Puts @$3.24
• Sold: five 15 OCT BABA 165 Puts @$6.86

Total Credit: $1,810.00
Total Commissions/Fees: $6.50
Balance: $53,960.25

Trade Adjustment - 21 JUL BABA 110/135 Strangle

Trade Adjustment [Opening Trade][1st Adjustment][2nd Adjustment][3rd Adjustment][4th Adjustment]
Rolled my inverted Strangle out to October to collect an additional $3.16 in credit.  The total credit collected on the trade is now $21.12.  The inverted position has an intrinsic value of $20.00 (the difference between the 135/155 inverted strikes), so if I can buy the position back by October expiration for $21.12 I can scratch the trade, but if I can buy it back between $21.12 and $20.00, I can actually make a profit on the trade of up to $560.00.

Rolled: five 15 SEP BABA 135/155 Inverted Strangles @$3.16
Total Credit: $1,580.00
Total Commissions/Fees: $13.20
Balance: $52,156.35

New Opening Trade - 15 SEP XLE 64/64.5/65.5 Ratio Spread [Closed]

Opening Trade
Sold: five 15 SEP XLE 64/64.5/65.5 Ratio Spread @$0.83

Total Credit: $415.00
Total Commissions/Fees: $17.18
Balance: $50,589.55

Closing Trade - 18 AUG RUT 1440 Put Calendar

Closing Trade [Opening Trade]
Sold: five 18 AUG RUT 1440 Put Calendars @$11.66

Total Credit: $5,830.00
Total Commissions/Fees: $3.57
Balance: $50,191.73
Trade P/L: $513.03
YTD Realized P/L: $8,448.56
YTD ROC: 26.2%

New Opening Trade - 15 SEP XOP 30/31/32 Ratio Spread [Closed]

Opening Trade
Putting on an XOP ratio spread for a credit of $0.16.  This trade has no risk to the upside because it was done for a credit, and has a max profit of $580.00 (distance between the long strike and short strike plus the credit received = ($1+$0.16) x 5 x 100 = $580.00).  Ratio spreads can be put on for a credit because you're selling more contracts than you're buying, in this case 2:1.

Sold: five 15 SEP XOP 30/31/32 Ratio Spreads @$0.16

Total Credit: $80.00
Total Commissions/Fees: $17.19
Balance: $44,365.30

New Opening Trade - 15 SEP PYPL 55/62.5 Strangle [Closed]

Opening Trade
Sold: five 15 SEP PYPL 55/62.5 Strangles @$1.28

Total Credit: $640.00
Total Commissions/Fees: $11.47
Balance: $44,302.49