Options Playbook Radio

We are back to the playbook this week and taking a close look at Wynn Resorts. There is a lot of volatility in the stock these days with the CEO in the news quite a bit these days. We are looking at a very short-term butterfly. You can find more on page 104 of The Options Playbook , which is always available on OptionsPlaybook.com , in on the Amazon Kindle edition. Specifically: Why a very short-t...

It's time to huddle up and take on listener questions in this episode of Options Playbook Radio. Question from Janice: Hi Brian! I have a question about the way you talk about the alternatives available for managing the LEAPS option put spread if the market goes down. Can you please explain? Question from Matt: What's up with the FB $5 calls? Question from Johnny Bananas: If you buy a put option a...

Continuing with the idea of FAANG stock earnings, today we're looking at an AAPL protective put. You can find more in The Options Playbook , which is always available on OptionsPlaybook.com , in on the Amazon Kindle edition. Specifically: A review of last week How do you protect yourself against a big move in AAPL after earnings? Where is AAPL now? What is the outlook? Selecting a strike and expir...

In this episode, we are looking at a calendar trade around earnings in TSLA. You can find more in The Options Playbook , which is always available on OptionsPlaybook.com , in on the Amazon Kindle edition. Specifically: Where is TSLA trading as of this recording? When are they expected to announce earnings? Where is the at-the-money straddle right now? Setting up a trade into earnings Selecting a s...

In this episode, we are looking beyond the Options Playbook and are selling a put credit spread to pay for a long call. 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: Looking at Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (ISRG), which has been on a tear lately Earnings pushed the stock even higher Expensive under...

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 synth...

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 e...

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 #Option...

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 doi...

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...

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 max...

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...

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 straddl...

Today we are going to look at a ratio spread with puts on FB. In this episode: A review of last week's skip-strike butterfly in AMZN. What was the strategy? Expectation? Where is AMZN now? What about GOOGL? How do you want the market to move when you have a butterfly position? FB earnings are coming up. Let's look at a ratio spread. What is the outlook? Setting up the trade. Selecting strikes. Wha...

This is probably the biggest week of earnings reporting, when the most valuable stocks report. There are things to take into account because of earnings: Remember that implied volatilities rise around earnings Why a skip strike butterfly? Setting up the trade to pay for itself Where is AMZN trading right now? What is the long straddle aka the expected move Using the long straddle to select strikes...

Mark and Brian are back to answer listener questions. Question from Ejh4isu - Let's say you're short naked a bunch of puts and the trade goes against you, and you don't have the money to pony up? What can your broker do? 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 pr...

It's time to tackle listener questions again on Options Playbook Radio. In this episode, Mark and Brian cover: Question from Albert Deckel - First, I want to thank you for all the effort you place into the options playbook. I find your lessons absolutely clear, understandable and instructive....a rare combination!! I bought your book and find that, also, clear and concise and very informative. Two...

We are continuing the discussion of options pricing. This week we take a deep dive into pricing of a butterfly. Specifically: Looking at a 10-day butterfly in AAPL Picking a five-point spread What strikes and expirations to choose? What will this cost? What is the maximum risk and reward? What do we want to happen? What impacts the pricing of butterflies? Managing expectations Looking at the same...

Today Brian is covering a short call spread (which is bearish) on AAPL. All of this applies on the put side, but in this episode, calls are being featured. Specifically: What dynamics do you need to think about when trading short spreads? Look at the most at-the-money straddle to get an idea about pricing Example 1: November 17 expriation; 52 days out Selecting strikes What will this cost? What is...

In this episode, Brian explores long spreads. Specifically, long call spreads and long put spreads. These can be found on pages 60 and 62, respectively, of The Options Playbook . This is always available on OptionsPlaybook.com , in on the Amazon Kindle edition. Details include: The dynamics of spread trading Using AAPL as an example What to consider regarding forecasting and timing The value of th...

In this episode, Brian covers: Using a pricing calculator to review different scenarios Buying an out-of-the-money option What happens to delta? Looking at probability When time is your ally When to buy an out-of-the-money option How to get low time premium Closer to expiration = higher delta What about at-the-money options? When to buy, and when not to

  Last week, we started the back to the basics with the Greeks. You can find an entire chapter on Greeks in The Options Playbook . This is always available on OptionsPlaybook.com , in on the Amazon Kindle edition. In this episode, Brian discusses: Looking at probability using a 90-day option as an example What is the probability of an $8 move in a $60 stock in 90 days? Where do you think the optio...

Now that earnings season is over it's time to get back to basics: the Greeks. You can find an entire chapter on Greeks in The Options Playbook . This is always available on OptionsPlaybook.com , in on the Amazon Kindle edition. In this episode: A review of last time Using the Greeks What does a delta do? Meet the Greeks in The Options Playbook As expiration approaches, what happens to delta? For t...