Humble

Maybe it's different in paper account. Try to open a ticket with IB.

P.S. Make sure you are looking at the portfolio page to see the new position.

I have the same version. Check out the following setting:

Depending on TWS version and your settings, you should see the new position (strangle) on the portfolio page, so you can just copy and paste it into your working page.

First, calls or puts should not make a difference. But if you believe there will be a $50 move, you should not sell strikes that are almost ATM. You should go directional. Of course if there is a move higher, then IV collapse might compensate for gamma losses, but I doubt IV collapse can compensate for a $50 move. There are just too many moving parts, this is why I'm staying away.

I'm using ONE software.

Yes, but leaving the calendar still doesn't remove the margin requirement. I would consider fly only. Will need to backtest it to see how similar trades reacted in the past to huge rally combined with IV collapse.

Since you are short longer expiration options, the margin for this trade is HUGE. Your potential gain as return on margin is around 2%. I think a fly might be a better option.

I would be VERY CAREFUL when someone says " "We guarantee that our options trading strategies will make you profitable every month from now through the next 12 months."

Thank you for posting this @marketchameleon.comThe tool looks interesting, lets get some feedback from members.

Yes, but you selected options expiring in 10 days. Options expiring the same week had much higher IV - around 55, and it collapsed to 20 for ATM options. Also AAPL is not among the highest IV stocks. NFLX IV for example was around 120 and collapsed to 40 after earnings.

When you are taking the IV info? I'm looking at ONE software, and IV shows 38%/33% (puts/calls) on 07/26, and 24% the next day. The stock price on 7/27 (after earnings) jumped to 102.93.

I believe they are talking mostly about vega and IV of those options, rest of the Greeks have no issues. vega and IV might be problematic, as this is basically volatility of volatility.

I will open FB discussion topic shortly and we can discuss there.

That link is being updated all the time, and the table on the bottom of the first topic includes Q3 2016. Those are the candidates we have been trading. I also open a discussion topic before entering. We are trading pretty much the same stocks every cycle, they are all on the performance page (GOOG, NFLX, AMZN, FB, TSLA, PCLN). LNKD used to be an excellent candidate, but MSFT stole it from us. I'm still considering legal action..

I'm sure you can find them by looking at the performance page and Trading pre-earnings calendars topic..

"Stock Trading Whiz Kid" Fined $1.5 Million By SEC For Being a "Paper Trading" Fraud One of the most amusing "investor" types to emerge as a result of the Fed's 7-year-long attempt to centrally plan the market, has been the infamous 17-year-old "hedge fund" manager, who while not actually trading for lack of cash and, of course, the remotes clue what to do, was happy to advise others of his paper trades on twitter or via newsletters, and collect a fee for such "services." And while it was easy to pretend trade for years and years as long as the Fed injected trillions into the "market", levitating stocks every higher, lately it has been far more difficult, not only for real trader, but also for "paper traders" too. Case in point, "stock trading whiz kid" Manuel E. Jesus, aka "Manny Backus" - and apparent chess prodigy based on his photo - and his newsletter company Wealthpire Inc. There was just one problem for Manuel Jesus, aka "whiz kid" - he was a fraud, at least according to the SEC, which announced yesterday "that a self-proclaimed “stock trading whiz kid” and his stock newsletter company in Los Angeles have agreed to pay nearly $1.5 million to settle charges that they defrauded subscribers through false statements and misrepresentations."

https://www.sec.gov/litigation/complaints/2016/comp-pr2016-184.pdf Backus and Wealthpire made materially false statements in advertisements. As a result of their fraud, Backus and Wealthpire received $1,135,145 in ill-gotten gains from subscription fees for the Alert Services. Joiner operated the First Hour Trading online chat room, posed as “MANNY_BACKUS,” and falsely represented that he (as Backus) was buying and selling certain recommended stocks when no such transactions were actually taking place. I hope SEC will finally start prosecuting more of those charlatans. They make a bad name to the whole industry.

I see 4.5k. Even with 3100, it's way too much considering the credit you get.

First, the margin requirement makes the trade very inefficient from margin point if view. You are correct that you are selling higher IV, but that higher IV is there for a reason - November options catch earnings. Which means that Nov IV will probably continue rising, offsetting the theta gains. So in any case, you need the stock to move. And even if it moves, the gain as return on margin will be probably around 5-7% best case. On the other hand, the risk is pretty small as well. So if margin is not an issue, it could be not a bad trade from risk/reward perspective.

Interesting. You are basically betting that TLT will stay relatively unchanged OR make a big move (beyond the outer strikes). But to realize any decent gain, you have to hold till expiration, and to me, this is a big issue. Just to clarify: if you get 1.00 credit on 3.00 width (meaning you effectively risk 2.00, and you exist if you can close it for 0.35? That means 0.65 gain, or 32% return on 2.00 capital. Correct?

Thanks for sharing. Few questions: You mention 6 strikes wide, but comments under the P/L chart say 3 strikes wide. 35% of max gain - can you give an example? You mention 45 DTE, but 6/28/2016 entry doesn't have 45 DTE. Also, could you please include the debit paid? Could you clarify the strikes for 5/31/2016 trade? 126 and 135 is 9 strikes. And I don't see how you could make a gain on this one, after TLT increased to 140+. Thanks! Also, what is the stop loss?

Options cannot go into backwardation, only futures can. This is relevant only for VIX because VIX futures can go to backwardation. Example: VIX Sep futures are at 25 VIX Oct futures are at 20 You have Oct/Sep 20 call calendar. Oct 20 call options might be worth only time value, while Sep 20 options will be worth $5 plus some time value. In this case Oct calls will be worth less than Sep calls. SPX options are based on the index not the futures. So if the index is at 2175, all options will be based on the same index. Which means that back options CANNOT be worth less than front options. They always will be worth more.

So I'm pretty sure it's not Finra regulations, otherwise no broker would allow calendars on indexes. My guess is that they can't (or won't) monitor your position before short leg expiration - which is what they need to do to protect themselves from big losses if you don't liquidate the position before the short leg expires. In case of stocks, it is not an issue - worst case, short leg is assigned, you might get long (or short) big amount of stock and still get a margin call, but at least your stock is protected by the long leg in case the stock makes a big move the next day. In case of cash settlement, you can lose big time if the index moves against your long leg the next day and you don't have the short leg anymore. And if you don't have enough money in your account, your loss becomes broker's loss. Which of course they don't want to happen.