Set to Expire: Oct 2nd

Option	(Position)
AAPL 02OCT2015 111 C	(Closed my position for $41 gain)  1
V 02OCT2015 73 C	(Sold for 20c premium) -1
V 02OCT2015 68.5 P	(Sold for 23c premium) -1

Last Friday, I put on a STRANGLE on $V.  This is a weekly trade for me.  In order for me to keep my premiums that I collected when I sold my CALL/PUT, I need $V to trade in between $68.50-$73.00 by Oct 2, 2015.

Whenever I open up new positions, the market usually tanks right after causing me a headache.  If only I had been more patient, I would have gotten more premiums on my PUT.  Stay calm and wait it out.  Writing this today, I am out of harm's way... but who knows what will happen in the next two trading days that will follow.  

TD.TO - stock/option trade

I have some cash sitting around... basically earning next to nothing in my Interactive Brokers account.  When I am bored, I tend to trade more recklessly than not.  My methods are not recommended to the average investor by any means.

This is an example of what I do to try to make a few bucks.  Risking $5135.00 to make only $50 in 4 days by buying 100 shares of $TD.TO and selling a covered call.  

The only reason I can make this trade is the beauty of no assignment fees at Interactive Brokers.  My commissions were $2.50.  My net profit is $47.50 resulting 1% gain.  

Set to Expire: Sept 25th

Welcome to another edition of my options expiring for September 25th!

Option	Position
GOOG 25SEP2015 655 C (I lose $85)	1
KO 25SEP2015 39 P (I gain $18)	-1
PEP 25SEP2015 92.5 P (I gain $24	-1

What did I get myself into this week?  

1. I decided to gamble with another $GOOG CALL that didn't quite work out losing $85.00.  OUCH.  I also did $AAPL CALL which I ended up with a small gain of a buck after all said and done lol.  I thought I had made more but I got my premiums wrong.  I think I'll stop with long CALLS.
2. Selling PUTS on $KO & $PEP on Monday for a quick turn around profit of $42.00.  Tuesday would have given me more premiums.  My timing is always off.
3. Bought 20 shares of $RCL and sold at end of day for $8 gain. 
4. Bought 100 shares of $TD.TO @ $51.35 and sold a CALL for $51.50 expiring Sept 25th.  If $TD.TO stays above $51.50 today, I will let it assign and gain $49.00 from this short trade.  

This week, I made Interactive Brokers money by trading a lot for minimal gains.

Suck it up and eat my losses!

Nice gain today but it won't help my CALLS.  I'm going to eat my losses for the first time since I started trading options!  It's my stubbornness that led me to this loss.  

Option	Position
FIT 18SEP2015 55 C (-395)	1
SBUX 18SEP2015 62.5 C  (-54)	2
SPY 18SEP2015 208 C (-688)	6
WMT 18SEP2015 60 P (STC for a smaller loss)	1
WMT 18SEP2015 72.5 P (I haven't decided yet)	-1

August Option/Stock Performance

Opps I forgot to post up my August Option/Stock Performance.  It was a good run, but the bear is starting to show its claws!  I'm still up but not at its elated highs.  I made some moves that were questionable and it's starting to bite me in the arse.  Time will only tell whether I can pull through this rut or not!

Quiet Times

No option expiry to report today.  I've been busy at work lately with the auditors up our asses.  But today, I get some time to myself as my controller is not at work.  (He caught me browsing before and had a talk with me before.)

Last Friday, the market continued to drop.  My portfolio sank hard and fast.  This week, I saw my portfolio fluctuate $15k.  It's hard to swallow then you're watching all your paper gains disappear before your eyes!  

I had a few short PUTs to roll out:  $FB to Nov15, (2)-$NFLX Jan16 & (2)-$WMT Jan17!  My buying power will be tied up for a while.  I am staying cautious at this time.  A little annoyed that I made those trades earlier in the week and it blew up in my face.  If only, I let my shares assigned for $FB & $NFLX, I'd be able to walk away with a few hundred buckeroos... but I was scared and covered my ass with lower strike prices for $FB @ $77.50 and $NFLX @ $95.00. But time is of the essence.  

Another missed opportunity, I closed my long PUTS @ $209.50 on $SPY just before the market crashed last Thursday.  OPPORTUNITY WAS THERE FOR ME, but I squandered it all. 

Anyways, time to move on and quit reminiscing.  I have a number of options expiring on Sept18'15.  I hope the market continues to stabilize and make a run back up to the levels where we have gotten so used to!   

Set to Expire: Aug 21st

Still hanging in there!  I was sitting comfortably until today.  Hindsight, I was getting a little reckless with my buying power.  Now I have to watch my short PUT options like a hawk.  

Option	Position
FB 21AUG2015 91 P  -  Almost in the money!  4% drop spells trouble to me.	-1
NFLX 21AUG2015 115 P  -  ITM, I will have to roll it out tomorrow	-1
NFLX 21AUG2015 116 P  -  ITM, I will have to roll it out tomorrow	-1
SBUX 21AUG2015 54 P  -  Today, I closed for 1c.  Realized $44.71.	-2
WMT 21AUG2015 60 P  -  OTM, this will expire worthless, I will lose $15	2
WMT 21AUG2015 70 P   ITM, I will have to roll it out tomorrow	-2

What happened this week or so?

I was looking for quick money and sometimes, it'll lead me into trouble.  $FB & $NFLX were placed earlier this week.  I thought it was OTM at the time I sold my PUTS.  But today, it slapped me in the face.  Now, I face assignment of shares @ my strike prices.  But my exit strategy is to roll them down and out further down the road by tomorrow if they are below my strike prices.

On Monday, my covered call for $FTS.TO strike $38 for August 21, 2015 was assigned early due to ex-dividend date.  I realized a gain of $785 and missed out collecting my dividend.  

Lately, I've been dabbling with $SPY with long PUTs @ $209.5/$210 for Aug 28th.  Thus far, I realized a net gain of $241.94 in few short days.  Since all my positions are closed... Today, I initiated long CALLs @ $208 for Sept 18th.  I'm playing both sides.  I will follow where the money is going.