Options Playbook Radio

With MRVL still to announce earnings, it might be interesting to look at a long call spread in the name. You can find this on page 60 of The Options Playbook. This is always available on OptionsPlaybook.com, in on the Amazon Kindle edition.

In this episode:

• A review of last time
• MRVL announces earnings on 8/24 after the close
• What is the outlook for MRVL
• Selecting the expiration
• What is the most at-the-money strike?
• Buying as much time premium as selling
• What is maximum risk? Reward?
• Selecting a different expriation
• What is maximum risk? Reward?
• Why does one trade cost more than the other?
• Time premium caveats

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].

Since it's still earnings, season we are going to continue to look at expensive stocks. Today's subject is Alibaba (BABA), and we are exploring a backspread. You can find backspreads in The Options Playbook. This is always available on OptionsPlaybook.com, in on the Amazon Kindle edition.

The details:

• The difference bewteen a skip-strike butterfly and a backspread
• What do we want to happen?
• Why a backspread over a skip-strike butterfly?
• Earnings-related considerations
• What is the marketplace expecting after the earnings?
• Selecting strikes
• What will this cost?
• What is the timeframe?
• And more...

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].

It's time for listener questions on Options Playbook Radio. 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 Mark and Brian discuss:

• Question from LesNod: How the heck do you actually get out of straddles? One side of a straddle is always a loss!
• Question from Jelly: Can I buy longer-term options than LEAPS?
• Question from Kim D.: How high to rates need to go before I need to worry about rho?
• Question from Axel D.: Why do they update open interest only once a day?

Since we are still in the middle of earnings season, it makes sense to continue with stocks that are about to release earnings, in this case Tesla, which announces earnings after the recording of this show. You can find skip strike butterflies on page 108 of The Options Playbook. This is always available on OptionsPlaybook.com, in on the Amazon Kindle edition.

In this episode, Brian covers:

• A review of last time
• Where did the AMZN skip strike butterfly end up?
• Where is TSLA?
• What is the outlook?
• What is the expected move?
• Setting up the trade: selecting strikes
• What's the maximum risk? Reward?
• What do you 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].

We are back in earnings season. Given the possibility for big moves, we will look at the skip strike butterfly with calls, which you can find on page 108 of The Options Playbook. This is always available onoptionsPlaybook.com, in on the Amazon Kindle edition.

In this episode:

• What happens to implied volatiilty around earnings?
• The dynamics of the trade
• The more costly the underlying, the more costly the option
• AMZN announces earnings on 7/27 after the close
• What is the "expected move"?
• Picking a close expiration
• Selecting strikes
• What is the maximum risk?
• What is the break-even point?
• What if we are completely wrong?
• What is the best-case scenario?

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].

It's huddle time again on Options Playbook Radio. This is when Mark and Brian answer listener questions. 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].

The Bobster wants to know if options can be traded outside of U.S. trading hours.

• Short answer: yes and no
• Longer answer: liquidity issues, wider spreads, other nuances.
• Should there be regular after hours?
• Should it be limited to a number of names?
• Index versus equity options

Nelly2 wants to know about assignment. Just so I am clear on the spread assignment thing. If I am in SPX, then I just get cash if the index closes inside my spread. But if I am in a stock, then I get the stock?

• Cash-settled
• Guidelines for cash-settled versus regular settled
• Sellers and buyers rights and obligations

For the last few episodes, we were reviewing skip-strike butterflies in GOOGL. You can find this on page 87 of The Options Playbook. This is always available on OptionsPlaybook.com, in on the Amazon Kindle edition.

In this episode:

• A review of the last few weeks of strategies in GOOGL
• Looking at IBM, which will announce earnings on July 18
• Remember: earnings add a bit of volatility to the underlying
• Where is the IV?
• Having a neutral to bullish outlook
• Going out further in time. Why?
• Time is on your side
• Picking the expiration
• Picking the strikes
• What will this cost?
• What is the maximum risk? Reward?

Do you have a question that you want featured on an upcoming episode of Options Playbook Radio? Send Brian an email at: [email protected].

Last week we looked at a GOOGL skip-strike butterfly. Staying on the same page, we will put on a new paper trade as a follow up for that one. You can find this on page 108 of The Options Playbook. This is always available on OptionsPlaybook.com, in on the Amazon Kindle edition.

In this episode:

• A review of last week
• What was the trade?
• What did it cost?
• What happened since?
• What are we doing now?
• Setting up the trade
• Selecting strikes
• What about expirations?
• Max loss and gain?

Do you have a question that you want featured on an upcoming episode of Options Playbook Radio? Send Brian an email at: [email protected].

Today Brian covers a skip-strike butterfly, which you can find on page 109 of The Options Playbook. This is always available on OptionsPlaybook.com, in on the Amazon Kindle edition.

Specifically:

• What are the right circumstances for trading a skip-strike butterfly?
• A bad news event in GOOGL creates an interesting situation for options traders
• Where is GOOGL right now?
• What exactly is a skip-strike butterfly?
• What's our forecast?
• Where is the at-the-money straddle?
• Setting up the trade
• Picking strikes
• Picking expiration
• What's the maximum risk?
• What will this cost?
• Butterfly considerations
• What do we want to happen?

Do you have a question that you want featured on an upcoming episode of Options Playbook Radio? Send Brian an email at: [email protected].

The Huddle: Listeners weigh in with questions

• Question from Steve - With the VIX so low, I am not selling a lot of options anymore, because I am afraid that I will not collect enough premium. Am I thinking of this incorrectly?
• Question from Lincan -My go-to options strat is to sell covered puts on stocks that I want to buy then get paid to wait. If the stock comes my way I eventually trade out of it using a covered call. What do you think? Savvy or stupid?

Do you have a question that you want featured on an upcoming episode of Options Playbook Radio? Send Brian an email at: [email protected].