Learn how to make money trading Options – Options Trading for Beginners – Best Vertical Spread Strategies – Selling Vertical Spreads as a home business
Is income from Options Trading Vertical Spreads fact or fantasy? My sense and research suggest the answer should be – “Fact.” But there is a LOT OF PAIN one must go through to get there. This blog is my trek to find that answer. And this blog will be my weekly journal in trading Vertical Spreads Options to get beyond the fantasy. I invite you to walk it with me…
Options Trading Explained
Learn to Trade Options Vertical Spreads
Below are my weekly/monthly (as of 02/01/2022) Journal Posts as I teach myself how to make money selling (trading) Vertical Spread options weekly…
A 5-Year Performance Review Selling Vertical Spreads (2019 – 2023)
As I recount my 5-year journey in the world of Vertical Bull Put Credit Spreads, I liken the strategy to the seductive but ultimately unfulfilling Mrs. Robinson. I shared my struggles, doubts, and moments of despair. Yet, small victories always rekindled my hopes, and I kept searching for my own “Options Income” of success. But…
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Not So Quicken – New Schwab Accounts Download to Quicken
My Ameritrade accounts were transferred to Charles Schwab on the weekend of Nov 3. And for the better part of this month, I’ve been picking up the pieces. I felt like Carl Fredricksen in a slow slog, trudging towards my new investment home. Towing my Schwab accounts over my shoulder as I seek Paradise Falls…
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How to Connect Excel with Thinkorswim
Walking through steps of installing thinkorswim on a new laptop and how to get Excel to pull live data from TOS using RTD. See list of tos.rtd commands. #thinkorswim #TOS #Excel #RTD #tos.rtd #WatchList #TradingJournal #OptionsTrading #Investing
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Why Bother Selling Vertical Bull Put Credit Spreads?
With the US deficit approaching $2 trillion this year, inflation at a gut-buster 17.5% above 2020’s consumer prices, interest rates at a stifling 5.25%, expanding military involvement in the Middle East, Europe, and Asia, a dangerously polarized population, a politically dysfunctional Congress, and the uncertainty of another scorching election-year rematch between Biden and Trump. Why…
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Ameritrade To Charles Schwab Merger – What Should I Expect?
In this month’s Trade Journal post, I want to explore what to expect when my TdAmeritrade accounts are transferred to the Charles Schwab platform. There’s going to be a little sphincter tightening for me until the transfers are completed. Td Ameritrade to Charles Schwab In this month’s Trade Journal post, I want to explore what…
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Bidenomics Dances the Shipoopi (Bipoopinomics)
Has “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” been supplanted with “Inclusion, Equity and the pursuit of Climate Justice?” Bidenomics dances the Shipoopi (Bipoopiomics).
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Economic Outlook Supporting My 2023 Vertical Spreads
The S&P 500 is only 4% away from our pre-COVID high of 4,776. Any new Vertical Bull Put Credit Spread I open in the next few months will hopefully trigger my exit rules. The Economic Outlook for my 2023 Vertical Spreads looks pretty good.
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Out Perform the S&P 500 – Woo-Hoo!
My CND compels me to measure my Options income to gauge whether I’m making money or wasting my time. After a year of ill-reporting my P&L, I made one minor D’oh correction. I’m now relieved to see that my Vertical Bull Put Credit Spreads ARE outperforming the S&P 500.
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Exit Rules – Yearlys Vertical Bull Put Credit Spreads
I still have the goal of a monthly income, I still believe I can do so with Vertical Credit Spreads, and I still desire to be nerdy about it all. So here are my new Exit Rules for Yearly Vertical Bull Put Credit Spreads.
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Cover Calls WATCHLIST Using ThinkorSwim EXCEL
In this month’s Options Trading Journal, I will document my Cover Call Watchlist, which pulls live data from my ThinkorSwim trading platform into an Excel Spreadsheet.
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Great Job!! Excellent writing..
I use Excel with ToS myself (an Excel junkie!). My strategies are debit and credit call spreads, occasionally other four legged.
You could back test your strategies on ToS; I think ToS has 10+ years worth of data is available.
Where are you located?
Great Blog!
I had just booked substantial losses both last year and the beginning of this year selling cash secured puts on stocks that crashed in value and while reading lee lowell’s “get rich with options” book I stumbled on your blog. Your honest no-holds-barred entries are really a great teacher!
Hope to be in touch
Thank you for this compliment! It means a lot!
Hi Damocles,
I am just getting started in Options. I am looking for passive income and have taken courses with tasty trade. Do you have any recommendation as to which articles I should read for your entry and exit strategy and how can I learn how to use think of swim as I am getting started.
Thanks!
Greetings Anonymous. Thanks for your message.
Courses with Tasty Trade are super important, but they primarily cover the mechanics of Options Trading using their platform (I took all the online courses that Ameritrade offered). But those courses I took did not cover the Markets’ ethos or the Traders’ psychology (newbs like me). And the true make-or-break secret of making an income from short-term trading is more about what influences the market than the market itself.
Trading short-term Options Spreads has a big learning curve. If you want to compress that curve, my blog started four years ago, and I ask the very same question you did. Starting from my Opening Salvo (https://optionstradesbydamocles.com/2019/06/07/opening-salvo/), I documented my revelations weekly as I worked through developing strategies and explaining every bonehead stunt. I gave myself advice on what I should or should not do.
I still consider myself a Junior Trader, for I have much more to learn. And my blog is just a personal trading journal, but the post I value most are:
• https://optionstradesbydamocles.com/2020/09/11/law-of-large-numbers/
• https://optionstradesbydamocles.com/2021/09/03/how-to-make-loss-resistant-vertical-spreads-pt-1/ (five post series)
• https://optionstradesbydamocles.com/2021/05/21/custom-options-watchlist-using-thinkorswim-in-excel-pt-1/ (and PT 2)
Every post I did has some varying application of using Thinkorswim.
I wish you luck on your journey. And my most valuable advice I can give is – make it fun.
Hello!
I am brand new to options and your blog. Congrats on your 2021 ROI -your considerable premiums are a testament to your diligence and hard work! I found you as I search for a viable journaling solution for my trades.
I found your great article: https://optionstradesbydamocles.com/2021/05/21/custom-options-watchlist-using-thinkorswim-in-excel-pt-1/
Are you still using this system? I was wondering if I could get your ideas on journaling and my journey? Thanks,
Thank you for your kind words!
I use my custom Watchlist every day. I use it to stage up possible trades for the week, monitor my staged Spreads to see which ones are moving in the right direction and monitor the performance of my open Spreads.
My three posts:
https://optionstradesbydamocles.com/2021/01/19/using-excel-with-thinkorswim/
https://optionstradesbydamocles.com/2021/05/21/custom-options-watchlist-using-thinkorswim-in-excel-pt-1/
https://optionstradesbydamocles.com/2021/05/28/custom-options-watchlist-using-thinkorswim-in-excel-pt-2/
These three posts are my cut-and-paste documentation to recreate my Watchlist from scratch should I ever lose them. Using this as a guide, you can create your own Watchlist tailored to your needs.
Hi Damocles,
I appreciate your content. As a newbie to trading and options I’m trying to soak it all up.
Do you happen to have information on setting up conditional orders for vertical spreads? I’m trying to play it safe and not “blow up” my account. I enjoy learning about options and it seems as if verticals are the safer bet. I work 9-5 and can never watch the market in action so as I analyze charts in the off hours and see a set up unfolding I want to place orders to get in if X happens. I’ve tried this 2ce now and it has not worked as anticipated. Any advice is appreciated! Thanks.
Greetings, thank you for your message and for reading my blog.
I have a 3-part post called “TRADING SPREADS WITH STOP LOSS.” Part 3 goes through ThinkorSwim screenshots for setting up Conditional Order for Vertical Spreads.
https://optionstradesbydamocles.com/2020/07/17/trading-spreads-with-stop-loss-pt-3/
My advice is to be careful using conditional orders. I lost more winning trades due to the “gap down” market phenomenon. As a newb myself, my blog has a lot of information on crafting “loss resistant” spreads.
Thanks
Superb blog! Do you have any recommendations for aspiring writers? I’m planning to start my own website soon but I’m a little lost on everything. Would you recommend starting with a free platform like WordPress or go for a paid option? There are so many choices out there that I’m totally confused .. Any suggestions? Thanks!