Options Playbook Radio

We are in the tech portion of earnings season, so let's take a look at Facebook. You can find more in The Options Playbook, which is always available on OptionsPlaybook.com, or on the Amazon Kindle edition. Specifically: Where is FB trading right now? What is the situation with FB? Can we sell the put spread for enough of a credit to buy a call? Setting up the put spread Selecting strikes Looking to buy a call from the proceeds Selecting the strike What do we want to happen? What is the risk? Reward? How you can double up to catch up Some rationale on time frame Do you have a question that you want answered on a future episode? Send them to Brian at theoptionsguy@invest.ally.com, or to the Options Insider at questions@theoptionsinsider.com.

Welcome to Options Playbook Radio On this episode we discuss: A review of our earnings trade in NFLX A complete breakdown of our new earnings skip-strike butterfly in GOOGL.

In this episode, Brian looks at a NFLX butterfly before earnings, including: Selecting strikes & expiration Watch out for skew Plan the trade, trade the plan And more...

We are back in the saddle discussing options strategies. As we are a few days away from earnings, let's look at something that is not driven by earnings. While we're waiting for volatility to slow down, let's look at a short-term butterfly in UNH. You can find more in The Options Playbook, which is always available on OptionsPlaybook.com, or on the Amazon Kindle edition. Specifically: UNH announces earnings on 4/16 Doing a very short-term butterfly to not contain earnings What are we hoping to happen? What is the implied volatility? Selecting strikes Setting up the trade What is the maximum risk? Reward? What about time decay? Do you have a question that you want answered on a future episode? Send them to Brian at theoptionsguy@invest.ally.com, or to the Options Insider at questions@theoptionsinsider.com.

It's time to huddle up, in which Brian and Mark address listener questions and comments. In this episode: Question from Ed Bankert: Debating on using covered calls or short puts. Which is better for a less experienced options trader who wants to make money? Question from Duffy: How do you handle the fixed-time aspect of trading options? Comment from Charlie T.: Not really an options guy. I don't need the headache of yet another unknown element aka time. It’s hard enough just picking my stocks, deciding price points, exit points, etc. Do you have a question that you want answered on a future episode? Send them to Brian at theoptionsguy@invest.ally.com, or to the Options Insider at questions@theoptionsinsider.com.

As we approach the end of earnings season, there are still a few names left to announce. Last week we talked about a FedEx butterfly. Let's revisit what has happened since. You can find more in The Options Playbook, which is always available on OptionsPlaybook.com, or on the Amazon Kindle edition. Specifically: A review of last week's FDX butterfly What has happened to FDX since the paper trade? What is happening in Nike? How about a back spread? Looking for volatility Hoping the stock will move more than the expected move Selecting expiration Selecting strikes What is the maximum gain? Loss? Do you have a question that you want answered on a future episode? Send them to Brian at theoptionsguy@invest.ally.com, or to the Options Insider at questions@theoptionsinsider.com.

Last week we talked about a Costco butterfly. Let's revisit what has happened since. You can find more on page 102 (butterfly) and page 126 (iron condor) of The Options Playbook, which is always available on OptionsPlaybook.com, in on the Amazon Kindle edition. Specifically: A review of last week's comparison of the butterfly vs. iron condor in COST Breaking down the butterfly What about the iron condor? What happened after COST announced earnings? Implied volatility and time decay as factors Moving on to FedEx, which reports earnings on 3/20 How to set up a trade to contain the earnings Selecting strikes What is the cost? What is the maximum risk? Do you have a question that you want answered on a future episode? Send them to Brian at theoptionsguy@invest.ally.com, or to the Options Insider at questions@theoptionsinsider.com.

Last week we talked about a Costco butterfly. Let's revisit what has happened since. You can find more on page 102 of The Options Playbook, which is always available on OptionsPlaybook.com, in on the Amazon Kindle edition. Specifically: A review of last week Where is Costco trading now? Setting up the trade Why timing matters Comparing this to an iron condor Why timing matters, part two More risk, more reward? Selecting strikes What is the desired outcome Do you have a question that you want answered on a future episode? Send them to Brian at theoptionsguy@invest.ally.com, or to the Options Insider at questions@theoptionsinsider.com.

Let's review the skip-strike butterfly in PCLN from last week. You can find more on page 108 of The Options Playbook, which is always available on OptionsPlaybook.com, in on the Amazon Kindle edition. The long butterfly (used on the Costco paper trade) is on page 102. Specifically: A review of last week A change of name Did you adjust? Was time on your side? Who is up next? Costco Holdings! What are we looking for? Putting on an at-the-money butterfly Selecting strikes What is the break even? Avoiding the "stupid award" Do you have a question that you want answered on a future episode? Send them to Brian at theoptionsguy@invest.ally.com, or to the Options Insider at questions@theoptionsinsider.com.

As we enter the end of earnings season, there are still a few big names left to report, including Priceline, PCLN. This is an interesting opportunity for a 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: Earnings + expiration + implied volatility = interesting situation Goal: do the trade for a net credit PLCN announces earnings on 2/27 What is the expected move? What is the implied volatility? Selecting the strikes Remember commissions! What's the risk? Reward? When to get out? Do you have a question that you want answered on a future episode? Send them to Brian at theoptionsguy@invest.ally.com, or to the Options Insider at questions@theoptionsinsider.com.

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-term trade? What is the desired outcome? What about the stock going ex-dividend? Setting up the trade Why use puts? Selecting strikes What is the cost? When to get out? Looking at net theta versus net delta Do you have a question that you want answered on a future episode? Send them to Brian at theoptionsguy@invest.ally.com, or to the Options Insider at questions@theoptionsinsider.com.

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 and the strike price is $5 and the stock drops to $3, is it still worth money?

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 expiration What is the cost? Upside? Meeting the "deductible" What about a protective put spread? What is the cost? Why do it? How do weeklys impact the ability to buy insurance around earnings? Do you have a question that you want answered on a future episode? Send them to Brian at theoptionsguy@invest.ally.com, or to the Options Insider at questions@theoptionsinsider.com.

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 strike The volatility caveat What is the desired outcome? Do you have a question that you want answered on a future episode? Send them to Brian at theoptionsguy@invest.ally.com, or to the Options Insider at questions@theoptionsinsider.com.

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 underlying = expensive options Taking a long view using LEAPS Selecting strikes for the put spread Buying the at-the-money call How does the trade work? What is the cost? What is the risk? How to close it out? Alternatives to the trade as described Do you have a question that you want answered on a future episode? Send them to Brian at theoptionsguy@invest.ally.com, or to the Options Insider at questions@theoptionsinsider.com.

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 synthetic long position Adding a twist...using a put spread Selecting expirations and strikes What is the cost? Risk? Do you have a question that you want answered on a future episode? Send them to Brian at theoptionsguy@invest.ally.com, or to the Options Insider at questions@theoptionsinsider.com.

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 expecting a major announcement? Why pick a calendar around earnings? Defining a calendar spread Remember, if you do this, you're long implied volatility Caveats and other considerations Setting up the trade What is the cost? Risk? What do we want to happen? Do you have a question that you want answered on a future episode? Send them to Brian at theoptionsguy@invest.ally.com, or to the Options Insider at questions@theoptionsinsider.com.

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 #Options?" So we thought we'd ask you - When will we be able to trade #options on these futures? 52% - Q1 2018, 19% - Q2 2018, 14% - Q3 2018, 5% - Q4 2018 Question from L Penguin - I have a question for the option playbook. I'm a new options trader and I want to buy a LEAP call bc it looks like the stock is going to go to up in the next 12 months, but I don't want to commit yet. I also want to generate income while I hold that position. What are your thoughts on selling the call while I have the leap? Also, this stock has an attractive dividend that I'd like to capture. Is this even possible? Interested in your thought

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 doing a credit spread instead of just a covered call? Setting up the trade: picking expiration (and why that date) Selecting strikes What is the approach? What is the risk? Do you have a question that you want answered on a future episode? Send them to Brian at theoptionsguy@invest.ally.com, or to the Options Insider at questions@theoptionsinsider.com.

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 is profitable? Question from Lonesome - Could you explain Theta and how it helps/hurts options traders? Should anyone ever buy OTM options? Question from Tom Matt - What happened to minis? Are they ever coming back? Do you have a question that you want answered on a future episode? Send them to Brian at theoptionsguy@invest.ally.com, or to the Options Insider at questions@theoptionsinsider.com.