EricSimpson1 5 Report post Posted September 13, 2012 Bought the ANR Oct 8 straddle for 1.63. I'm going to hold until next Thursday (1/5 the time to expiration including weekends). If it's down 15% or up 50% any time until then, I'll exit early. IV not bad. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
trhanson 587 Report post Posted September 13, 2012 You seem to have a good knack for this. I'm going to go along for the ride. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
EricSimpson1 5 Report post Posted September 13, 2012 Alright good luck to both of us. And allocate very small. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
trhanson 587 Report post Posted September 13, 2012 (edited) I'm just trying to pick up 5 contracts from a very small account that I do some speculating on. No worries :-) Haven't gotten filled yet, but ask is at 1.64. Just got filled. When you set yours up, do you set up stops at 15% and limits at 50% ahead of time, or do you just monitor it? Edited September 13, 2012 by trhanson Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Thaze 4 Report post Posted September 13, 2012 If you don't mind me asking, just out of curiosity, how do you find these trades Eric? I find a few every once in a while, but you seem to come up with 10x as many as I do. Any special guidelines you look for when entering these trades or are they just based on gut feelings? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
EricSimpson1 5 Report post Posted September 13, 2012 I'm just monitoring it, but that's just what works for me. Those percentages are guidelines and I adjusted the exit points for the general strategy yesterday. But I do recommend setting at least a stop for the 15% loss if you have any concerns. Also, these are still speculative plays. Even though I've made some pretty good calls on the trades I've posted so far, I would be surprised if it was 50% accurate in the long run. Most of the trades I expect to be small losses or small gains, and then some occasional big gains. I'm also not going to do these trades when the VIX spikes above 25 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
EricSimpson1 5 Report post Posted September 13, 2012 (edited) If you don't mind me asking, just out of curiosity, how do you find these trades Eric? I find a few every once in a while, but you seem to come up with 10x as many as I do. Any special guidelines you look for when entering these trades or are they just based on gut feelings? I use finviz to screen candidates. Look for Optionable stocks with a most recently reported short float of about 15% or higher. Check which ones are up a lot( like 5% or more) in the past few days on high volume. Check news headlines to figure out why the stock is up. Check if options are liquid. Check if IV is below 30-day HV or near it's 52-week low. Still a crapshoot, but not as much as doing straddles on random stocks. Still trying to improve the entry and exit points. And maybe 20% of it is gut feeling. Edited September 13, 2012 by EricSimpson1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Thaze 4 Report post Posted September 13, 2012 (edited) I really appreciate the help, had no idea about finviz. That should help quite a bit in the overall screening process as the majority of the trades I was playing were found manually searching and based on my gut. Edited September 13, 2012 by Thaze Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest listolyman Report post Posted September 13, 2012 I like the chart pattern and the volume on this one. I'm entering tomorrow. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dawajmeister 43 Report post Posted September 14, 2012 Another great call.. nice 12% profit Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
EricSimpson1 5 Report post Posted September 19, 2012 I probably need to shorten my holding time more for these trades. Out at 1.41. 15% loss after commissions. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
