Debit Spread

This is a spread  where the premium received from selling part of the spread is greater than the premium paid for the other part of the spread. For instance, if you sold the AAPL 140.00 Calls @ 4.00 and bought the AAPL 142.00 Calls for 2.00 you have a credit of 2.00. See also Bear…

Tracking Options Flow can be very useful if you know how to take advantage of it. It basically allows you to see what the big traders are doing in real time.  The common thinking is that  these big traders know something that others don’t and are taking a position in anticipation of a move. However,…

This is the process of carrying out the terms of an options contract. A call buyer can exercise his or her right to buy the stock at the strike price. A put owner can exercise his or her right to sell the contract. See also: Exercise Price, Exercise Settlement Value, Automatic Exercise

What is an Option Sweep? An option sweep is basically when a big trader breaks up a large order into small individual trades. This is usually done in order to get filled fast or to conceal a large order.  The common thinking is that a sweep usually means a big trader knows something and is…

A Calendar spread is when you sell an option and buy another one with a more distant expiration date. This can be created with either puts or calls. For example, let’s say you wanted to play Netflix with calendar spread because you figure that the stock has dropped too far too quickly and will bounce…

This is when you own shares in a particular stock and then you sell Calls against it and then buy Puts. You would use this strategy when you think that the stock rice is a little overdone and you are expecting some downside. This has limited risk due to the long put option, but also…