Options Playbook Radio

In this episode, we are looking beyond the Options Playbook and are using a long combination to create a synthetic stock and buy protection. You can find more on p. 76 of The Options Playbook, which is always available on OptionsPlaybook.com, in on the Amazon Kindle edition.

Specifically:

• A review of last week's episode
• What is a synthetic long stock?
• Where is Facebook now?
• How to create a synthetic long position
• Adding a twist...using a put spread
• Selecting expirations and strikes
• What is the cost? Risk?

Do you have a question that you want answered on a future episode? Send them to Brian at [email protected], or to the Options Insider at [email protected].

Welcome to 2018! Let's jump right into strategies, specifically around earnings. In this episode, we are looking at a long calendar spread with puts in FCX. You can find more in The Options Playbook, which is always available on OptionsPlaybook.com, in on the Amazon Kindle edition.

Specifically:

• Why are we picking FCX?
• When does FCX announce earnings?
• What is the implied volatility?
• Why are we expecting a major announcement?
• Why pick a calendar around earnings?
• Defining a calendar spread
• Remember, if you do this, you're long implied volatility
• Caveats and other considerations
• Setting up the trade
• What is the cost? Risk?
• What do we want to happen?

Do you have a question that you want answered on a future episode? Send them to Brian at [email protected], or to the Options Insider at [email protected].

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 #Options?" So we thought we'd ask you - When will we be able to trade #options on these futures? 52% - Q1 2018, 19% - Q2 2018, 14% - Q3 2018, 5% - Q4 2018
• Question from L Penguin - I have a question for the option playbook. I'm a new options trader and I want to buy a LEAP call bc it looks like the stock is going to go to up in the next 12 months, but I don't want to commit yet. I also want to generate income while I hold that position. What are your thoughts on selling the call while I have the leap? Also, this stock has an attractive dividend that I'd like to capture. Is this even possible? Interested in your thoughts, thanks!...I was thinking about buying a deep in the money call for the LEAP, and then depending on where the stock is trading at the time, sell closer to the money.
• Question from VLL98 - What happens to my options if the company declares bankruptcy? Can I still exercise my calls and buy the stock at the strike price?

Do you have a question that you want answered on a future episode? Send them to Brian at [email protected], or to the Options Insider at [email protected].

In this episode, we are looking at a covered call, but with a twist: a credit spread around stock you already own. You can find more on page 80 of The Options Playbook, which is always available on OptionsPlaybook.com, in on the Amazon Kindle edition.

Specifically:

• FedEx announced earnings on 12/20, was up 3.5% after the announcement
• It hit the all-time high on 12/20
• What are the benefits of doing a credit spread instead of just a covered call?
• Setting up the trade: picking expiration (and why that date)
• Selecting strikes
• What is the approach?
• What is the risk?

Do you have a question that you want answered on a future episode? Send them to Brian at [email protected], or to the Options Insider at [email protected].

Mark and Brian are back to answer listener questions. In particular:

• Question from Ariell - Why should I ever buy puts? I can use a stop order in the stock for free and then put that extra capital to work in my trading account. By my math using stops instead of puts can boost your account 5-10% per year. That's a lot of cheese.
• Question from The Financial Grynch - Do you REALLY reckon long options is profitable?
• Question from Lonesome - Could you explain Theta and how it helps/hurts options traders? Should anyone ever buy OTM options?
• Question from Tom Matt - What happened to minis? Are they ever coming back?

Do you have a question that you want answered on a future episode? Send them to Brian at [email protected], or to the Options Insider at [email protected].

In this episode, we revisit an old favorite: the skip-strike butterfly. You can find more on page 108 of The Options Playbook, which is always available on OptionsPlaybook.com, in on the Amazon Kindle edition.

Specifically:

• Broadcomm announces earnings soon, and has been very volatile lately
• Why a skip-strike butterfly?
• What is the outlook?
• Selecting strikes
• What is the cost?
• What about the maximum gain? Loss?

Do you have a question that you want answered on a future episode? Send them to Brian at [email protected], or to the Options Insider at [email protected].

In this episode, Brian explores covered calls to get out of positions before the end of the year.You can find more on page 134 of The Options Playbook, which is always available on OptionsPlaybook.com, in on the Amazon Kindle edition.

Specifically:

• If you need to thin out your portfolio before the end of the year, consider covered calls
• Looking at AAPL
• Selecting an expiration
• Selecting strikes
• What is the cost?
• What do we want to happen?
• An alternative strategy
• What is the moral to the story?

Do you have a question that you want answered on a future episode? Send them to Brian at [email protected], or to the Options Insider at [email protected].

For your listening pleasure, we bring you an all-listener question episode of Options Playbook Radio.

The holiday season brings to mind covered calls.

In this episode, Brian covers:

• Last week's trade in DIS
• What did we want to happen?
• What DID happen?
• Avoidint the stupid award
• The holidays are coming, that means shortened trading weeks
• It might be a good time to trade covered calls
• Getting "free" time decay with holidays
• Where is AAPL?
• Selecting strikes
• And more...

Since it is still earnings season, it makes sense to capture the movement surrounding earnings announcements. In this case, we are looking at a bullish ratio spread in DIS.

In this episode:

• A recap of what happened with last week's FB position
• After AMZN, FB looked a little boring
• DIS reports earnings after the close on Thursday, November 9
• What is the sentiment on DIS?
• Looking at the long straddle to figure out pricing
• Setting up a backspread in DIS
• Picking the strikes and expirations
• What is the downside? Upside?
• What do we want to happen?