I am glad to have found this thread and appreciate the time and effort by many to spread the knowledge and keep the thread alive, especially ron99 and britkid99.

I am starting on the Futures Options journey in 2013; been trading stocks, options on stocks/indices(spreads, condors, butterflies) and bonds for a few years. I opened an account with Optionsxpress after doing some research (thank you Ron for your insights on OX) even though their commissions are on the higher side.

I plan to play the strategy of selling far OTM, Delta<0.03, initial margin + 2x the maintenance margin as cash reserve.

Happy and prosperous 2013 to all!

Barrington:

I've been with OX for about 5 years. Their customer service is great. If it costs a little more $ per trade with them but the customer service makes it worth every penny for me.

Should be a very volatile week coming up.

I am waiting on the ACH clearance from OX. So far am liking their interface and ease of use of their website. Also, called them a couple of times during/after account setup and was pleased with the quick response. Since, I won't be doing big volume or day trade etc. the commissions should work out OK.

Their Android mobile trading ap has come a long way also.


Anyone have any thoughts on Unleaded Gasoline options? High premiums but low volume, if any, on the far OTM strikes.

Barrington 

I am glad to have found this thread and appreciate the time and effort by many to spread the knowledge and keep the thread alive, especially ron99 and britkid99. I am starting on the Futures Options journey in 2013; been trading stocks, options on stocks/indices(spreads, condors, butterflies) and bonds for a few years. I opened an account with Optionsxpress after doing some research (thank you Ron for your insights on OX) even though their commissions are on the higher side. I plan to play the strategy of selling far OTM, Delta<0.03, initial margin + 2x the maintenance margin as cash reserve. Happy and prosperous 2013 to all!

Welcome and Good Luck!

opts 

Their Android mobile trading ap has come a long way also. Anyone have any thoughts on Unleaded Gasoline options? High premiums but low volume, if any, on the far OTM strikes.

Yes RB options aren't easy to get on, but the ROI is very good.

Normally RB puts are great to sell early in the year. Steady rise in futures Dec to Apr. RB and CL drop significantly in May. So plan on being out of them before May.

I plan on putting on RB puts.

Happy New Years Everyone and please remember all those that keep us safe:


Trade well in to 2013

OK I have my final results for 2012.

Long options - 44 trades of 862 contracts = 109k loss. I had bought a bunch of ES calls that weren't timed correctly. Plus a few other calls. Trying to predict direction is not easy.

Short futures - 10 trades of 92 contracts = 15k loss.

Futures spreads - 29 trades of 116 contracts = 50k profit. Mainly seasonal spreads.

Short options - 746 trades of 5,034 contracts = 150k profit. A lot less contracts than 2011 but more profit.

Long futures - 216 trades of 949 contracts = 619k profit. Mainly milk futures.

I traded 15 different commodities. CL, C, DA (Milk), DY (Whey), ES, GC, HG, HO, KC, LH, NG, RB, SB, SI, S.

ROI was 75.1%. Not as good as last year. The long options hurt.

But here is the thing that surprised me. Of the 746 trades I sold options, 744 were net profitable. Only 2 trades of 21 contracts lost money. 99.7% winners.

I have an Access database setup into which I enter every trade. Then I am able to do searches to get this data.

ron99 

OK I have my final results for 2012. Long options - 44 trades of 862 contracts = 109k loss. I had bought a bunch of ES calls that weren't timed correctly. Plus a few other calls. Trying to predict direction is not easy. Short futures - 10 trades of 92 contracts = 15k loss. Futures spreads - 29 trades of 116 contracts = 50k profit. Mainly seasonal spreads. Short options - 746 trades of 5,034 contracts = 150k profit. A lot less contracts than 2011 but more profit. Long futures - 216 trades of 949 contracts = 619k profit. Mainly milk futures. I traded 15 different commodities. CL, C, DA (Milk), DY (Whey), ES, GC, HG, HO, KC, LH, NG, RB, SB, SI, S. ROI was 75.1%. Not as good as last year. The long options hurt. But here is the thing that surprised me. Of the 746 trades I sold options, 744 were net profitable. Only 2 trades of 21 contracts lost money. 99.7% winners. I have an Access database setup into which I enter every trade. Then I am able to do searches to get this data.

Your 2012 performance is REALLY impressive. Congrats!

ron99 

OK I have my final results for 2012. Long options - 44 trades of 862 contracts = 109k loss. I had bought a bunch of ES calls that weren't timed correctly. Plus a few other calls. Trying to predict direction is not easy. Short futures - 10 trades of 92 contracts = 15k loss. Futures spreads - 29 trades of 116 contracts = 50k profit. Mainly seasonal spreads. Short options - 746 trades of 5,034 contracts = 150k profit. A lot less contracts than 2011 but more profit. Long futures - 216 trades of 949 contracts = 619k profit. Mainly milk futures. I traded 15 different commodities. CL, C, DA (Milk), DY (Whey), ES, GC, HG, HO, KC, LH, NG, RB, SB, SI, S. ROI was 75.1%. Not as good as last year. The long options hurt. But here is the thing that surprised me. Of the 746 trades I sold options, 744 were net profitable. Only 2 trades of 21 contracts lost money. 99.7% winners. I have an Access database setup into which I enter every trade. Then I am able to do searches to get this data.

Way to go!! Congrats and wish you a successful 2013!