#SPX1dte Face plant on the long condors again. Waiting for the morning before the open to consider the next trade.

#SPX1dte Bought to Open $SPX June 29th 3700/3720-3920/3940 condors for 1.25. Taking the same approach as yesterday, even though it didn’t pan out today. Decisions on when to clese are much more difficult when going long. Had I sold at the peaks today, would have gotten 1.00 on call side and 1.60 on put side. But it seems that while my usual short strategy racks up successive small wins and occasional chunky losers, a successful long strategy would consist of multiple small losses and occasional chunky wins. A few weeks ago after we ended a multi-day rally, the first big down day was followed by a couple of bigger down days. Are we starting the next leg lower?

#SPX1dte I went long on today’s, and was hoping for a nice spike higher. Got up a bit over a dollar before retreating, so I missed fills. Now, on downside, sold half the position for .40. Holding the rest for possible deeper dive. Bought the condors for 1.25, so likely facing a loss unless we really crash today.

#SPX1dte BOUGHT to open $SPX June 28th 3775/3800-4000/4025 condors for 1.25, SPX at 3896, deltas -.04 +.04.

Looking for a chunky move in either direction tomorrow.

#SPX1dte In pre-market, Sold to Open $SPX June 27th 3815/3835-3995/4015 condors for 1.40, deltas -.06 +.06

#SPX1dte For those of you playing along from home, yes, my call side is in trouble. The perils of having a job with a commute… missed the breach of my stop point while driving to work, then it kept going and I’m white knuckling it.

#SPX1dte Sold to Open $SPX June 24th 3680/3700-3885/3905 condors for 1.35, SPX at 3799, IV 30.25%, deltas -.06 +.06

Expiring: June 23rd 3670/3690-3845/3865 condors, sold this morning for 1.55

#SPX1dte In pre-market, Sold to Open $SPX June 23rd 3670/3690-3845/3865 condors for 1.55, IV 45.9%, deltas -.06 +.06

#SPX1dte Expired: $SPX June 22nd 3645/3665-3845/3865 condors, sold yesterday for 1.55.

Was planning to BUY a cheap .05-delta condor at the close but got pulled away. So instead I will likely sell a condor in the hour before the open tomorrow.

#SPX1dte Sold to Open $SPX June 22nd 3645/3665-3845/3865 condors for 1.55, SPX at 3762, IV 30%, deltas -.07 +.06

#SPX1dte Bought to close $SPX 3800/3820 call spreads for .20. Condors sold this morning for 1.25. Stop level was briefly breached in the first hour of trading, but was able to wait and close it more cheaply.

I looked into thinkorswim’s “thinkback” back testing and saw that if I had sold the condor Friday before the close, it would have been the 3520/3540-3800/3820 condors for about 1.60. Same strikes on call side but 80 points lower on put side (which makes sense because we were UP in the pre-market when I sold this morning). So I missed out on about 40 cents in premium by waiting.

I will likely alternate between selling day before and day-of, at least until Downside Warning ends.

#SPX1dte in pre-market, sold to open $SPX June 21st 3600/3620-3800/3820 condors for 1.25, IV 50.2%, deltas -.06 + .06. /ES (futures) at about 3730.

#SPX1dte Wasn’t able to place a trade yesterday so, this morning about 31 minutes before the open:
Sold to Open $SPX June 17th 3550/3570-3785/3805 condors for 1.35. IV 63.8%, deltas -.06 +.06

#SPX1dte Bought to close $SPX June 16th 3645/3625 put spreads for 3.70. Condors sold yesterday for 1.60.

#SPX1dte Sorry I have been unable to post but got back some ground after various losses wiped away gains and left me flat over the last month.

Yesterday, sold to open $SPX June 15th 3560/3580-3885/3905 condors for 1.65.
Today, after Fed announcement, sold two vertical same-days: 3870/3890 calls, 3650/3630 puts, for 1.35 each, 2.70 total.

All looking to expire so a gain of 4.35 today.

Not only is the market a mess, but I’m traveling tomorrow so cannot monitor.
#SPX1dte

#SPX1dte Stopping in the early hours before open to avoid any further down-drift before it gets expensive.

Bought to close $SPX June 13th 3770/3750 put spreads for 3.90. Condors sold for 1.30 on Friday.

#SPX1dte I just knew I should have gone long last night and I didn’t do it. So tough to follow my gut when my gut can often be wrong.

Haven’t closed it yet but I will be looking to do it at the open… almost was going to get 5 wins this week, but the struggle continues.

#SPX1dte Looks like I picked the wrong day to exit cheaply.

Bought to close $SPX June 9th 4040/4020 put spreads for 1.15. Condors sold yesterday for 1.45.

#SPX1dte I’d say it is unlikely, but this looks like one of those days that COULD just fall apart.

Bought to close $SPX June 8th 4075/4055 put spreads for .15. Condors sold yesterday for 1.55.

#SPX1dte Sold to Open $SPX June 8th 4055/4075-4230/4250 condors for 1.55, SPX at 4160, IV 22.7%, delta -.06 +.07

#SPX1dte Sold to Open $SPX June 7th 4005/4030-4200/4225 condors for 1.60, SPX at 4119, IV 24.7%, deltas -.05 +.06. ***25-pt wide wings since there is no 4220 strike available.***

#SPX1dte Bought to close $SPX June 6th 4200/4220 call spreads for 1.30. Condors sold for 1.55 on Friday.

#SPX1dte Bought to close $SPX June 3rd 4060/4040 put spreads for .15. Condors sold yesterday for 1.45.

#SPX1dte Sold to Open $SPX June 3rd 4040/4060-4250/4270 condors for 1.45, SPX at 4172, IV 27.4%, deltas -.06 +.06

Expiring: June 2nd 3995/4015-4190/4210 condors, sold yesterday for 1.60.

#SPX1dte Sold to Open $SPX June 2nd 3995/4015-4190/4210 condors for 1.575, SPX at 4104, IV 26.2%, deltas -.06 +.06

Expired: June 1st 4030/4050-4240/4260 condors, sold yesterday for 1.55.

#SPX1dte Sold to Open $SPX June 1st 4030/4050-4240/4260 condors for 1.55, SPX at 4143, IV 27.8%, deltas -.07 +.05.

#SPX1dte The inevitable Murphy’s Law struck, and of course, the first day I go long is the first day in a couple weeks that neither side of the condor is threatened. Unless we get a violent mid-day move, this one is a loss of 1.60, which is what I purchased it for. Part of the problem today was that the market spiked 15 points HIGHER after I bought the condor on Friday. This set me up nicely for a profit on a spike higher this morning. But instead, we got a spike lower, meaning the put side was just too far away for meaningful profit. The struggle continues…

#SPX1dte BOUGHT to Open $SPX May 31st 4000/4020-4235/4255 condors for 1.60. SPX at 4142, IV 16.2%, deltas -.06 +.06

Yes, I am BUYING this one, since just about every day for a couple months has offered a higher spread price than my entry, even on the days things settled quickly and they expire worthless. The biggest trick will be WHEN TO EXIT. This morning I may have been happy with 4.50 as an exit on the call side… but over 15.00 eventually became available. But suffice it to say, I only need to make about 1.00 per day to meet the goals of this strategy.

I will probably alternate between long and short, and definitely switch back to short when volatility settles.

Weekly summary:
3 wins, +4.45
2 losses, -3.65
Total: +.80 for the week

#SPX1dte Bought to close $SPX May 27th 4135/4155 call spreads for 3.00. Condors sold yesterday for 1.45.

#SPX1dte. Unadvisedly waited it out and call side expired worthless.

Sold to Open $SPX May 27th 3925/3945-4135/4155 condors for 1.45, a few minutes after the closing bell.

#SPX1dte Stop hit on the 4065/4085 call side, so looking to exit. This pretty much means that literally every other day this strategy hits its stop point, and it can be either on the put or call side. It may be prudent to alternate between short and long spreads. It seems each volatile day is followed by a more docile one, and vice versa. In any case, it’s the first prolonged period since the 2020 crash that this strategy has struggled.

Bought to close $SPX May 26th 3960/3940 put spreads for .05. Condors sold yesterday for 1.75

#SPX1dte Sold to Open $SPX May 26th 3840/3860-4065/4085 condors for 1.70, SPX at 3971, IV 31.6%, deltas -.06 +.06

#SPX1dte Bought to close $SPX May 24th 3825/3805 put spreads for .10. Condors sold for 1.75 yesterday. Call side still pretty far from stop point.

#SPX1dte Sold to Open $SPX May 25th 3805/3825-4040/4060 condors for 1.75, SPX at 3937, IV 33.6%, deltas -.06 +.06

#SPX1dte Bought to close $SPX May 24th 3860/3840 put spreads for 3.85. Condors sold yesterday for 1.75.

This has been pretty rough last few weeks. It’s rare that every other spread is stopped out. If it continues I will have to suspend the campaign or examine the pattern to see if certain days should be avoided.

#SPX1dte Sold to Open $SPX May 24th 3840/3860-4060/4080 condors for 1.75, SPX at 3971, IV 31.3%, deltas -.05 +.06

#SPX1dte Bought to close $SPX 3750/3730 put spreads for .10. Condors sold Friday for 1.50.

#SPX1dte Sold to open $SPX May 23rd 3730/3750-4015/4035 condors for 1.50, SPX at 3887, IV 23.7%, deltas -.06 + .06

#SPX1dte Bought to Close $SPX May 20th 3800/3780 put spreads for 4.45. Condors sold yesterday for 1.65.

Rough week, with two stops on the put side, both with relentless down moves with little bounce opportunities. Wednesday turned out to be a 4% down day so I couldn’t risk waiting for a bigger bounce today. It’s already a dollar cheaper than my fill.

#SPX1dte Sold to Open $SPX May 20th 3780/3800-4050/4070 condors for 1.50, SPX at 3924, IV 37.15%, deltas -.06 +.06

#SPX1dte Bought to close $SPX May 19th 3780/3760 put spreads for .15. Condors sold yesterday for 1.20.

Now with a day job, I will likely be closing spreads early for pennies more often than I used to, as I can’t watch the markets closely. In today’s case, not too concerned about upside risk, so only closed puts.

#SPX1dte Sold to Open $SPX May 19th 3760/3780-4030/4050 condors for 1.20, SPX at 3916, IV 37%, deltas -.06 +.06.

Premium kind of disappointing for such a volatile day, but I’m guessing it may have something to do with this being the first Thursday expiration.

#SPX1dte Not much relief from today’s drop, but got out on a slight bounce.

Bought to close $SPX May 18th 3965/3945 put spreads for 6.00. Condors sold yesterday for 1.60.

#SPX1dte Significant spike down, and my stop hit when we went under 4000. Looking to close put side with first bounce.

#SPX1dte Sold to Open $SPX May 18th 3945/3965-4160/4180 condors for 1.60, SPX at 4078, IV 29.2%, deltas -.06 +.07

#SPX1dte Sold to Open $SPX May 16th 3855/3875-4130/4150 condors, SPX at 4019, IV 22.7%, deltas -.06 +.06

#SPX1dte Bought to close $SPX May 13th 4050/4070 call spreads for 3.35. Condors sold yesterday for 1.65.

#SPX1dte Sold to Open $SPX May 10th 3825/3850-4125/4150 condors for 1.90, SPX at 3996, IV 41.45%, deltas -.05 +.06. (wings are 25 wide)

#SPX1dte Bought to close $SPX May 9th 3990/3970 put spreads for 2.90. Condors sold for 1.80 on Friday.

#SPX1dte Sold to Open $SPX May 9th 3970/3990-4255/4275 condors for 1.80, SPX at 4127, IV 23.4%, deltas -.06 +.06

Expiring: May 6th 3960/3980-4275/4295, sold yesterday for 1.70.

#SPX1dte Sld to Open $SPX May 6th 3960/3980-4275/4295 condors for 1.70, SPX at 4138, IV 45.2%, deltas -.06 +.06

Jobs report is before the open!

#SPX1dte. I committed the cardinal sin… again… I just refused to believe we’d go too much over a 2% increase on the day, so I ignored when we passed the stop levels. Turned into an 8.00 loss. Frankly, I am lucky it wasn’t the max loss.

#SPX1dte Sold to Open $SPX May 4th 4000/4020-4290/4310 condors for 1.90, IV 40.6%, deltas -.06 +.06
High IV and premium due to Fed announcement.

Expiring: May 3rd 3990/4010-4260/4280 condors, sold yesterday for 1.85

#SPX1dte Sold to Open $SPX May 3rd 3990/4010-4260/4280 condors for 1.85, SPX at 4144, IV 37.7%, deltas -.06 +.07

Expiring: May 2nd 3900/3925-4265/4290 condors, sold Friday for 1.60.

#SPX1dte Sold To Open just after the closing bell: $SPX May 2nd 3900/3925-4265/4290 condors for 1.60, SPX closed at 4132, IV 27.8%, deltas -.06 +.06. *** 25-wide ***

#SPX1dte Bought to close $SPX Apr 29th 4145/4130 put spreads for 1.85. Condors sold for 1.15 yesterday. Was hoping a 4-for-4 week but alas, it was not to be as my stop was hit below 4167. Also, I mistakenly sold 15-wide rather than my usual 20-wide.

I hope y’all sold the crap out of yesterday’s rally.

#SPX1dte Sold to Open $SPX Apr 29th 4130/4150-4395/4415 condors for 1.15, SPX 4289, IV 34.8%, deltas -.06 +.06

#SPX1dte Bought to close $SPX Apr 27th 4020 puts for .10.

#SPX1dte After the close, sold to open $SPX Apr 27th 4000/4020-4280/4300 condors for 1.55. IV 38.6%, deltas -.07 +.06

Futures had dropped 20 points since the close.

#SPX1dte Bought to close $SPX Apr 26th 4160/4140 put spreads for .30. Condors sold yesterday for 1.60. Gotta leave my desk for a couple hours, and in the words of Public Enemy, I Can’t Truss It.

#SPX1dte Sold to Open $SPX Apr 26th 4140/4160-4375/4395 condors for 1.60, SPX at 4293, IV 30.7%, deltas -.05 +.08

First Tuesday series. Small error: I misread my screen, meant to sell the 4380 as the short call so I’m a little riskier on the call side than I’d prefer.

#SPX1dte Sold to Open $SPX Apr 25th 4050/4100-4400/4450 condors for 1.50, SPX at 4275, IV 21.35%, deltas -.05 +.04

Insufficient strikes available on the put side to go with anything less than a 50-point spread. So I went a little safer on deltas as risk is higher.

#SPX1dte Bought to close $SPX Apr 22nd 4300/4280 put spreads for 3.00. Condors sold yesterday for 1.40.

$SPX options expiring Tuesdays start next week… not sure when they plan to start Thursdays but maybe someone will look it up.
#SPX1dte