Volatility levels are widely used by traders when making a decision to enter or exit a position. Understanding the differences between the various metrics of volatility can help gauge option pricing, …
What is a Calendar Spread?
A calendar spread is a strategy often referred to as a time spread. A calendar is a method which could benefit from the time decay of an option and changes in implied volatility. For the most part …
What does the SKEW Index Mean to Options Traders?
In February, 2011, CBOE introduced the S & P 500 SKEW Index, as another means for investors to gauge market volatility and the potential risk of a "black swan" type of event. The SKEW Index is an …
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Technical Indicators 101: Bollinger Bands in a Nutshell
Bollinger Bands are a technical indicator created by renowned technical trader John Bollinger in the early 1980's. There are numerous publications, as well as John's website www.bollingerbands.com, …
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Interactive Brokers Increases Margin Due to Brexit
I remember during market crashes in the past, Interactive Brokers (IB) increased the margin for many products.There was a lot of complaining about it on certain forums but I personally was happy to …
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How Volatility Can be Used to Plan Your Entry Strategies
When you determine the difference between a stock's implied volatility and its current IV percentile, you could have an edge in your trading. This could help you become a more consistently profitable …
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Is Your Trade As Safe As You Think It Is?
One measure of risk that is common for option traders is to use standard deviations of movement. I built a popular Standard deviation calculator to calculate the range of movement for a given set of …
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REPLAY: Round Table with Steve Lentz
Steve Lentz, from OptionVue and Discover Options, presented "Volatility Edge Analysis of the Russell 2000." Steve's data was very intriguing and showed how ofter option sellers have an edge on in the …
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Are your Greeks correct for VIX options?
I posted in the forums about seting up OptionVue correctly to get the correct greeks for VIX options. Jim sent me an interesting link to six figure investing's article on "Thirteen Things Your …
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