Trader sprocket888 recently opened up a trade on the Russel index. The trade was selling a short strangle on the index. He was looking to capitalize on the pre-election volatility. However, The Russell has far exceeded the expected move to the upside post-elections. This has caused the trade to be in the red by a… Read More »Managing a breach: Not all trades are perfect.

Trader sprocket888 looks back at a big earnings day in this week’s episode. In the week, four tickers fit the extended volatility setup leading into earnings. The twist on this was that all four announced on the same day. One before the bell and three after the bell. In this episode, sprocket888 talks about the… Read More »Four earnings, one day: a recap of the trades and the results.

In this week’s episode, trader sprocket888 is joined by viperxl007, who returns to the show after a long break. The two traders reflect on the events leading up to the election and what the landscape looks like post-election. For viperxl007, this was the first election cycle in which he actively traded. Both traders highlight how… Read More »Post Election Reflection: Uncertainty has been dramatically cut down.

In this week’s episode, trader sprocket888 looks back at recent trades discussed on the show. There are six to look at. All six trades were discussed in a previous episode, and sprocket888 entered each. Most of them have run their course and have been closed out. Looking back, five of the six have been winners,… Read More »Recent Rundown: $TEAM, $INTC, $F, $SNAP, $META, and $DFS

In this week’s episode, trader sprocket888 needs to pick up more portfolio theta. Portfolio theta is the time premium that decays on a given day. The strategy here is to keep the theta high while the delta low. What is delta? Delta is the amount of movement in the portfolio relative to the movement in… Read More »Theta up, Delta down: Picking up some daily theta.

In this week’s episode, trader sprocket888 looks for possible earnings trades for the upcoming week. These are trades where volatility is extra extended, and he is looking for solid volatility contraction and the basis on which the expressed volatility was originally overstated. In this screening, he has landed on two trades, $SNAP and $META. The… Read More »Earnings Trades: OH $SNAP that is so $META.

In this week’s episode, trader sprocket888 follows up on a trade he picked out last week for earnings on $DFS. He entered a trade for the earnings week and the subsequent monthly expiration. He walks through how the trade panned out in the two regular views: the table view and the flappy bird chart. The… Read More »Ring the register: The conclusion of the $DFS trade.

In this week’s episode, trader sprocket888 is ready to deploy some capital. To do this, Sprocket888 talks through the steps he takes to identify a trade worthy of his capital. The trading style here is premium selling, so the techniques and screening are tilted toward that aim. However, some aspects are also relevant to any… Read More »Shadowing Sprocket888: How does Sprocket identify where to deploy capital?

In this week’s episode, trader sprocket888 looks at his recent earnings trade on $MU. This trade needed management and adjustment, something that should always be prepared for. Sprocket888 talks through the trade set-up, the earnings announcement, and the subsequent trimming of the sails to adjust for the result. This episode highlights the importance of preparing… Read More »Always be ready to trim the sails: A look at a trade on $MU.

In this week’s episode, trader sprocket888 is joined by viperxl007. This week, we take a break from ‘trading’ and focus on retirement. This is a topic that too many people put off until later, only to find that later comes too late. We know there can be anxiety and uncertainty regarding all the different retirement… Read More »Retirement: Even RedBananas need to retire.