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If i increase portfolio size from 10k - 50k can i continue using official SO strategies and just change the allocation to 5k. Do the official SO trades tolerate this easily? I'm curious how larger portfolio members trade and would welcome any advice on how and when to step up.

Any advice or links to previously discussed guidelines for increasing portfolio size and allocation using official SO trades?

we have double put calendar and Maji was suggesting a put/call dbl calendar. But as Kim has shown, it makes little difference.

@Antoxa You would definitely want to take a look at Tradier Brokerage as well if in fact, as urfiend stated above, they are are now accepting non-US clients? With their $40 flate rate per month, think of how much you could save!!! Your CSX trade alone will cost you $125 round trip. That would cover 3 months of commissions with them!

The commission structure has to do with where the product is traded and not your physical location. Kim uses IB and as far as i know, lives in Canada! I doubt he would pay 1.25 per contract, but not 100% sure.

Interactive Brokers

Welcome!

Unfortunately it's only single leg. So your 20 contract spread would cost 20.00 in commissions (10.00 max on each leg) and 6.00 in fees. (40 X .15 = 6.00) Plus you pay for the fees when you close it so approximately another 6.00. Round trip cost = 32.00 Old price would have been 52.00.

On the technology side, tastyworks is releasing a new analysis tab, portfolio margin, options on futures, paper trading, an open API, a new scripting language and lots of new mobile features.

Screenshots from activity page general, IBM, VIX examples: IBM VIX

Fees are usually .14 or .15 cents per contract on open and close. (I have been using them since Feb and have yet to see a .10 cent fee. They may charge less for larger accounts but not sure) VIX is .79/.80 on open and close. IBM 1 contract For example: If you bought/sold to open a put in IBM it would be 1.00 commission + .15 fee = 1.15 To close it you would just be charged the fee of .14 cents Round trip cost would = 1.29 IBM 20 contracts If you bought/sold 20 puts to open in IBM it would be 13.00 (10.00 max commission + (.15 cents X 20 contracts = 3.00) To close it would be 2.80 (.14 cents fee X 20 contracts = 2.80) Round trip cost would = 15.80 VIX 20 contracts If you bought/sold to open 20 VIX puts it would be 26.00 (10 max commision + (.80 cents X 20 contracts = 16.00) To close 20 VIX it would be just the fees 15.80 ( Zero Commissions + (.79 cents X 20 contracts = 15.80) Round trip cost = 41.80 This is how i understand it at present. Hope this helps!

@zxcv64 They just sent it to me in an email as they are my broker, so i thought i'd share with everybody. It will probably be posted tomorrow when the offer becomes official. On the technology side they are suppose to unveil an analyze tab that i hope exceeds TOS. Here is the full email for those who are interested: Hello, tastynation! To start off 2018 just right, we want to thank you for your show of unconditional support and irreplaceable loyalty for tastytrade and tastyworks. You are the reason we’re driving change to the financial industry. We’ve not only planned more of what you love, like more live tastytrade shows in 25 cities, more trading tools, more mind-blowing content, more new daily shows – but also stuff that will leave you thinking, “How’d they do THAT?” tastyworks introduced zero commissions to close trades on Jan 3rd, 2017. Starting tomorrow, on Jan 2nd, 2018, tastyworks is introducing capped commissions for large option trades. This means the most commission you will pay for any single leg option trade is $10* (plus clearing fees). That’s right, just $10* per leg! Eighteen years ago, when we built thinkorswim, 100 option contracts to open and close was $300+. At the time, we thought $1.50 per contract was cheap. Today, the industry average per contract is about $.70 plus a small ticket charge. So, 100 option contracts today is approximately $150 to open and close at most firms. With tastyworks’ new rate schedule, the same trade will cost $10 in commissions to open, zero in commissions to close and a $20 clearing fee for a total of $30. Compare that rate to any other firm on the planet and remember how good our technology and content is as well. Fees for small options trades (10 contracts or less) stay the same. But we’re not done. As an added bonus, tastyworks will have twelve monthly drawings for funded accounts (minimum of $2,000) and each month, one customer will win free commissions for 5 years. And no, we haven’t lost our minds. We simply want to do something special and this is just the start. On the technology side, tastyworks is releasing a new analysis tab, portfolio margin, options on futures, paper trading, an open API, a new scripting language and lots of new mobile features.

A quote from Tastyworks: Starting tomorrow, on Jan 2nd, 2018, tastyworks is introducing capped commissions for large option trades. This means the most commission you will pay for any single leg option trade is $10* (plus clearing fees). That’s right, just $10* per leg! Eighteen years ago, when we built thinkorswim, 100 option contracts to open and close was $300+. At the time, we thought $1.50 per contract was cheap. Today, the industry average per contract is about $.70 plus a small ticket charge. So, 100 option contracts today is approximately $150 to open and close at most firms. With tastyworks’ new rate schedule, the same trade will cost $10 in commissions to open, zero in commissions to close and a $20 clearing fee for a total of $30. Compare that rate to any other firm on the planet and remember how good our technology and content is as well. Fees for small options trades (10 contracts or less) stay the same.

I just wanted to say thank you and Happy New Year to @Kim and all the mentors and other SO members who have given so much of their time answering my questions and guiding me. It really is appreciated and i look forward to an even greater 2018 with Steady Options!

As far as i know dough is shut down (although the corp is still under the dough name) you can try and log into the tastyworks platform on the web with your dough user id and password and see if that will get you in, but probably not. Here is a link https://trade.tastyworks.com/tw/login If that doesn't work you will have to open an account and fund it with a couple bucks in order to gain access as they don't have paper trading/ trial accounts as of yet.

It's not free unless you have a brokerage account with Tastyworks, but I don't think there is a minimum to open one. Higher IV Rank and IV gives you greater credit on (net) selling of options is one way.

It's just a grid layout on the Tastyworks (web based platform) where you can sort stocks based on high to low IV Rank (or vice versa), earnings date, IV etc...

Yeah same thing it's just part of tastyworks now. It's on their web based platform only. It's not available on the software.

Is this what you need?

Would any of the mentors be willing, with Kim's approval obviously, to do webinars on different topics related SO strategies. It would be great if we could watch and learn and then have the ability to ask questions on a regular basis in a more concise setting. They could be recorded and we could repeatedly go back to the topics when we have forgotten something or had missed something. Also new members could be directed there and would help get them up to speed quicker. The webinars that Kim have done in the past were great and i have watched them several times. I have found new info i had missed or wasnt able to comprehend at the time but when i returned i was able to digest. I think this would be a real asset to allot of less knowedeable members.

You could look at Tastyworks! $1 per contract and no closing fees.

@Kim Will you be using this tool to add to the list of SO strategies (i.e. post earnings)? If strategies arise that out perform one or some of our current strategies, will we try them out? Or is it more for individual use and strategizing outside of official SO trades. (If this has already been addressed i apologize in advance as i didnt read all 10 pages of post.) Thanks

You could fund your regular account with IB, then get real time data and still just paper trade until you are comfortable. This was advised to me by a CS Rep from IB but I didnt actually take his advice so not 100% sure that would work. I use TOS now to paper trade and i have a much easier time. I know its too expensive for real trades, i only use it for practice. IB has always been an issue when paper trading. In fact it wouldn't let me put on the calendar trades from this week but i was able to fill right away in TOS.

Thanks Kim.

Sorry Kim, Does that mean that we need live data or its not necessary? Thanks, Paul