Options Boot Camp

OBC 83: Pandemic Mail Call Palooza HOST: MARK LONGO, THE OPTIONS INSIDER MEDIA GROUP CO-HOST: DAN PASSARELLI, MARKET TAKER MENTORING. NASDAQ HOT SEAT: TONY ZHANG, OPTIONSPLAY MAIL CALL QUESTION FROM ELLE76: WHAT MATTERS MORE WHEN TRADING WEEKLY  OPTIONS - GAMMA OR VEGA? QUESTION FROM DRAKE: I'M CONFUSED. WHAT IS THE DIFF BTWN NDX AND NDXP?  QUESTION FROM THOM: THANK YOU FOR YOUR GREAT OPTIONS BOOT CAMP PROGRAM. I’VE BEEN DEVOURING ALL THE EPISODES. I REALLY WANT TO TRADE OPTIONS NOW BUT I’M SCARED BY THESE MARKETS. I WAS LOOKING AT SOME PUTS YESTERDAY AND THEY NEARLY $2 WIDE FOR A TWO-WEEK, 5% OTM PUT. I DIDN’T REALLY KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH THAT MARKET. TRADING ON EITHER THE BID OR THE OFFER LOOKED LIKE A SURE LOSER. DO YOU GUYS HAVE ANY TIPS FOR TRADING IN THESE ESPECIALLY VOLATILE, AND WIDE, MARKETS? THANKS AGAIN FOR THE SHOW AND THE WHOLE NETWORK. KEEPING ME SANE IN MY HOUSE RIGHT NOW. QUESTION FROM VANDANGO: IS IT TRUE THAT MOST PRO TRADERS SHORT VOLATILITY?

OBC 82: Talking Time Spreads, Short Puts and Micromarkets   HOST: MARK LONGO, THE OPTIONS INSIDER MEDIA GROUP CO-HOST: DAN PASSARELLI, MARKET TAKER MENTORING. NASDAQ HOT SEAT: TONY ZHANG, OPTIONSPLAY Mark, Tony and Dan discuss whether long straddles still work, the proper way to structure time spreads in this environment, short puts vs. credit call spreads, selling puts in USO and much more.

Options Boot Camp 81: Pandemic Special  You asked for it -you got it! Mark and Dan put the drill instructor hats back on for a special pandemic-themed episode.  Options Drills Segment They start by breaking down their preferred options trades for this volatile environment.  Mail Call Mark and Dan wade into the mail bag to answer your questions about theta decay,  levered ETPs vs. options, the Schwab/TD merger and much more. 

Options Boot Camp 80: Holiday Options Mythbusting   HOST: Mark Longo, The Options Insider Media Group CO-HOST: Dan Passarelli, Market Taker Mentoring   On this episode of Options Boot Camp, Mark and Dan discuss: Should you write ITM covered calls? Covered calls versus naked short puts? Busting the most common options myth. And much more...  

OBC 79: New Years Mail Call Palooza Part 2 On this special episode, Mark and Dan ring in the new year by answering your questions about: The impact of spy dividends on options traders Rules of thumb when buying options When to buy a call outright vs a spread and much more... Brought to you by www.Tradier.com

OBC 78: New Years Mail Call Palooza On this special episode, Mark and Dan ring in the new year by answering your questions about: Funky Time Spreads Crypto Options Credit Spreads Do Options Pros prefer to sell premium and much more... Brought to you by: www.Tradier.com

OBC 77: Hunting for Income in A Low Rate Environment Host: Mark Longo, The Options Insider Media Group Co-Host: Dan Passarelli, Market Taker Mentoring Basic Training Segment Options Boot Camp is back! In this episode, Mark and Dan explore how to get aggressive with your income when rates are low. The topics discussed include: Covered Calls Short Puts/Put Spreads Collars Covered Combos/Strangles ITM vs. OTM Covered Calls and More

MAIL CALL Question from Joe and Linda -  I have  been knee deep with you guys for the last 14 months and can’t Thank You enough for the wealth of information you provide. One of my favorite quotes: “ Your generosity is only exceeded by my gratitude.” I have a long commute to work in the morning and have managed to listen to all 240+ of the Options Playbook, all of the Bootcamp, 90% of the OIC stuff as well as in and out of the Options Advisor and Futures show. Also haven’t missed Options Block for the last few months.  I purchased Dan’s Trading Options Greeks book and was wondering if he had an audio version. Could easily listen to it on my morning commute. You so much for all your help, looking forward to the future with you guys. Going to be successful enough to be able to travel thank you guys in person! Thanks Again! Question from Rayman5839 - Hi! Is the option premium counted toward exercising an option when in the money?. New to options, thanks...So it would only be profitable if the intrinsic value hea

Options Boot Camp 75: Bringing Education Back With A Vengeance HOST: Mark Longo, Founder and CEO - The Options Insider Media Group Co-Host: Dan Passarelli, Founder - Market Taker Mentoring. Mark and Dan are bringing options education back with a vengeance! In this episode, they kick things off by looking back at a tumultuous 2018. Then they follow up with a super-sized Mail Call segment answering all of your pent-up questions about Apple, skew trades, options exchanges, options education, USO verticals and much more. It's time to get back in peak options trading shape. It's time for Options Boot Camp!

Basic Training: The Return of Volatility! VIX is not dead. VIX jumped from 13.99 on 2/2 to 38.30 on 2/5, and 46.34 on 2/6. What are you thought on the recent resurgence of volatility in the marketplace? Do you think this is a temporary aberration or have we transitioned into a new volatility regime? What is the impact of higher volatility on options strategies? What is the impact of this change for options traders? Mail Call: Options Flashpoll The proposed third exchange from MIAX will raise the total number of U.S. Options Exchanges to 16. Is this a good thing for the options market? Is it the straw that finally breaks the camel's back? Or are you too busy getting great fills to care? 44% - More Exchanges the Better 22% - Please Make It Stop 34% - Don't Care: I get filled Listener questions and comments: Question from Allan Tullman - There was a lot of research last year regarding selling put options to harvest risk premium. Now that volatility is back is this an ideal time to harvest premium via put se

Today's guest hosts are Dan Passarelli from Market Taker Mentoring, and Dave Russell, Vice President of Content Strategy at TradeStation. Basic Training: Options Education for Veterans Why is TradeStation pursuing veterans? What is TradeStation doing specifically for veterans? Which options strategies are most popular? Mail Call: Options question of the week Earnings season is upon us once again! It's time for #Tech to put its best foot forward. Which big #tech names are you looking to sling some #options on this week? Amazon ($AMZN) Microsoft ($MSFT) Alphabet ($GOOGL) Facebook ($FB) Listener questions and comments: Question from B. Fowl - What is the most common options question that you guys get? Question from P. James Lamar - Can you guys recommend an options platform for an active option trader? I'll try to add a link to what I used to be able to do on my old platform but am no longer able to do. But I would like to find another platform that has single click entry and exit for options. If you know o

Basic Training: Expiration Mythbusting What is expiration? Why do options expire? What does Triple Witching mean? Quadruple Witching? How does expiration impact the Greeks? How has expiration changed with the advent of the weeklys? Myth: Is it true that options control the stock market on expiration Friday? What happens when you exercise an option? American vs. European exercise? Can you exercise options early? Should you? How does auto-exercise work? Mail Call: Fall in for listener questions Question from Christina Rico - Will we ever have daily options? Question from Ian Nichol - Love the show. What do you guys (and lady) think of this VXX debacle with FINRA and Wells Fargo? Seems like a few of the folks at Wells Fargo should have been listening to this show. Question from TradeHer - How do we get more ladies into #options?

Basic Training: A Review of How to Protect Your Profits Easiest method: Buy a 2-3 month put ATM or slightly an OTM put. Protect just those gains. What do you do if you have a broad portfolio? Hedging Rule of Thumb. Expect to spend about 2% of your portfolio for effective 3-6 month protection. How do you reduce the cost of protection? Buy a spread instead of an outright put, set up a collar, or set up a collar with a kicker. Mail Call: It's time for listener questions 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 S_Warz - Do you trade options through dark pools Question from Thankfulness - Do you have dark pool access? Comment from H. Schwartz‏ - Who said option traders don't celebrate holidays! Question from L. Penguin - I have a question for the Options Bootcamp. I'm a new options

In this episode, Mark, Dan Passarelli and Jill Malandrino take on listener questions. Options Drills: Today's topic was inspired by this listener question: Question from MarkLitwin: How do you lose money in options in the most effective way? Don't by ATM straddles Don't load up on far OTM options because they're cheap Don't trade earnings Be careful with trading weeklies Watch out when selling options going into weekends or holidays Mail Call: Listeners take over Question from ejh4isu: IF I buy/sell a vertical on SPX (or any equity stock for that matter) and hold until expiration, and SPX settles between the strikes, what happens? Example: sell 2395/2400 and SPX settles at 2397. Question from Darqane: Assigned on short SPX puts means getting long the underlying? But how does that work if it's cash settled? Question from Lesnod: How do you get out of the straddles? One side of a straddle is always a loss correct? Question from Bobster: Can you trade options outside of U.S. trading hours? Question from ejh4i

Mark, Dan, and Jill were all in the Options Insider studio to record this session. Education, and hilarity, ensued. Options Drills: What are options trading ideas that an active stock trader can use in their portfolio? Getting paid to take on risk, cash-secured put The wheel trade Stock replacement strategy; what about using LEAPS? Using a diagonal spread to generate income Mail Call: Fall in for listener questions and comments Question from Tiim: Why isn't it standard or maybe required to let people close out shorts for free below $.10? Question from USA Patriot: What is ADV?? Question from Richard D: Are there any trades that if you did not have to pay brokerage fees would be excellent types of trades? I recently have been given the opportunity to trade options and equities for a near zero trading costs for about a year. I had in the past found some multi-leg spreads or underlyings with a really low prices unworkable because the trading costs made the potential gains or expected value too low. Thank you

Mail Call: Fall in while your drill instructors answer your questions. Comment from Andrew McNichol - Big fan of your podcast. I appreciate how you start at square one and then walk listeners through every element of options and options trading. Thanks. Question from Tim D. - How high do rates need to be before I need to worry about rho? Question from Kraken1975 - Which of the Greeks do you utilize the most and why? Question from Meatz - Would you describe successful options trading as primarily singles and doubles or more swing for the fences home runs? Question from LCB - This is a challenging time to sell options due to low volatility. So does it stand that the opposite is true? Is it a good time to buy options? Particularly protective puts? Question from Mary - What's the shortest expiry available for plain vanilla options? Question from Ejh4isu - What qualifications do I need to work in the industry as a professional, i.e. as a trader? Is that a career path I'd even want to consider? Question from Priva

Your hosts for this episode are: Mark Longo, Founder, Options Insider Media Group Andrew Giovinazzi, Chief Education Officer, Option Pit Jill Malandrino, Global Markets Reporter, Nasdaq Introduction Segment: What are Nasdaq's options education initiatives? Why are options and options education so important to Nasdaq going forward? Creating content for RIAs. Options 101: Going back to the Basics Basic Options Primer What are options? Basic options terms Why trade options instead of stocks? What are the Greeks? Why should traders care about volatility? Buying options versus selling options Start with paper trading Know where you are going to get out before you get in

Options Drills: What is a calendar? How do we set them up for earnings? Strike/Month selection? Should we carry them through the event? When do we take off? Calendars vs. Diagonals? Mail Call: Fall in recruits and get your questions asked. With $VIX giving up the ghost - which products are you hoping will provide new sources of #Volatility for your #options trading? 33% - Crude Oil (WTI, etc) 20% - Metals ($GLD, $SLV, etc) 20% - FX (GBP/USD, etc) 27% - Indv. Equities-$TSLA, etc VIX Limbo: Last Month 40+% of you said $VIX wouldn't break 9 in 2017. But recent events have us asking again: How low will $VIX get in 2017? Still Won't Break 9 Won't Break 8.5 Won't Break 8.0 Lookout - 7 Handle in '17 Listner Questions and Comments: What is on your mind? Question from Lesnod - How do you get out of the straddles? One side of a straddle is always a loss correct? Question from Meatz - Would you describe successful options trading as primarily singles and doubles or more swing for the fences home runs? Question from

Basic Training: Delta Revisited A basic overview of Delta What is it? How does it impact your trading? Inspired by a Market Trader Mentoring newsletter article Delta Can Still be Your Friend Mail Call/Options Options Question of the week With $TSLA threatening $315 how are you leaning in your Options trades this month? Would you rather: 18% - Buy 1-month $300 put 25% - Buy 1-month $330 call 25% - Sell 1-month $300 put 32% - Staying far away from it Listener Questions and Comments: Question from Joshua Shealy: Thanks so much for all that you guys do! Sorry if this is a novice question. I know that Delta is not literally the % chance of expiring in the money, but more so the rate of change for a $1 movement in the underlying. I noticed today looking at VIX Calls that the strike closest to .5 Delta is the 20 strike, a long way from ATM. I usually associate near .50 Delta with being near ATM. Is this just a nuance of VIX, or am I missing something bigger? Qustion from Brian Fortin: Options Boot Camp Dan is f

Basic Training: Today we are going into the depths of option settlement. A question that is often asked in Group Coaching is that of the various settlement issues. Many option traders limit their universe of option trading to two broad categories: One group consists of individual equities and the similar group of exchange traded funds (ETFs). The other group is composed of a multitude of broad based index products. Individual equities and ETFs trade until the close of market on the third Friday of each month for the monthly series contracts. These days there are more and more ETFs and equities that also have weekly settlements too. These contracts are of American type and as such can be exercised by the owner of the contracts for any reason whatsoever at any time until their expiration. What is automatic exercise? Equity settlement? Cash settled indexes? Determining settlement? Mail Call: Listener questions and comments Question from Mike: Hello, Love the show. I am curious as to why one would ever use a