I have been using the platform for a while and I can tell you they still need to do some work on charting. Being that said, it is in my opinon a solid platform. I highly recommend you guys give it a try, you could just save money with the low commission

I have been using TW since march. I have a small account ($5000). I normally sell options, 1 contract/underlying and about 5 contracts total a month.

TW is great for low volume traders. If you are trading 5-20 contracts at a time, then you can get lower fees elsewhere, but for trading single contracts these fees are pretty good for me.

>>My 20 contract GLD iron condor trade with a profit target of $340 (50% of $680 max profit) before commissions and fees entered at 45 DTE, 56% PoP, has now incurred $240 in commissions with a couple of rolls. I am now just trying to break even on the trade. Perhaps it was a dumb trade to begin.


This reminds me of what Mike Bellafiore of SMBU said one time about their prop options trading, that mostly they only trade neutral the big indexes like SPX. Lose too much in commissions and spread on smaller names. A one contract condor in SPX has about the same BPR as your GLD condor. Marty Schwarz recently came out with a similar statement.

That being said, though, with VIX in the nine and ten handle, you cannot expect to make money selling premium. It's like trying to surf the North Shore in June. Better to stay on the beach and drink beer.


(as for rolling defined risk trades like a condor -- has that become TT doctrine now? It used to be that they said you should not roll defined risk trades)

I recently opened a Roth IRA account with TW. Have made some trades and I can say am really pleased with the commission structure. I have always been a big fan of TOS for trading options. The charts and analytics are second to none. Since TOS sells all their order flow to Citadel, I never could understand why they have to charge both sides of a transaction. Sure they will allow a closing trade for no commissions if the amount is less than .05 cents.

Tastyworks has the pricing broken down before you make the trade, just like in TOS. I am sure their platform will evolve over time into a powerhouse for option traders and until then, I am content to use TW for my trades and TOS for my analytics on options.

suko 

That being said, though, with VIX in the nine and ten handle, you cannot expect to make money selling premium. It's like trying to surf the North Shore in June. Better to stay on the beach and drink beer. (as for rolling defined risk trades like a condor -- has that become TT doctrine now? It used to be that they said you should not roll defined risk trades)

no Rolling IC is not a strategy they push. Defined risk you just let it go.

Hi Suko,

I greatly appreciate your response.

My understanding is that TT supports rolling all or a leg of defined risk trades for either a credit or break-even (B/E), so one can "keep the dream alive" or at least reduce your potential loss. Depending on the circumstances, they support lowering the put strikes or raising the call strikes to improve your potential for success. On my GLD Iron Condor, in one roll, I lowered the puts strike by one point by dropping the call strikes 3 points. Fortunately, I just managed to close the GLD trade for a $240 profit before commissions, but just B/E after commissions.

TT even suggests going inverted, rolling put strikes above the calls strikes, or vice versa, in Iron Condors, to take in more premium to reduce your maximum loss where the trade will mostly be a loser. I am contemplating that trade adjustment for an AMZN Iron Condor, where the market price blew far past my call strikes.

I keep looking for attractive SPX, SPY, and similar index trades, but the IV is usually so low that, for me, the risk is simply too high for the little reward offered.

Of course, TT is not going to suggest that traders stop selling options while the VIX is low since the Tastyworks brokerage needs those commissions. I think that I agree with you that it is too hard to try to sell premium with the VIX and thereby option premiums so low.


---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

suko 

>>My 20 contract GLD iron condor trade with a profit target of $340 (50% of $680 max profit) before commissions and fees entered at 45 DTE, 56% PoP, has now incurred $240 in commissions with a couple of rolls. I am now just trying to break even on the trade. Perhaps it was a dumb trade to begin. This reminds me of what Mike Bellafiore of SMBU said one time about their prop options trading, that mostly they only trade neutral the big indexes like SPX. Lose too much in commissions and spread on smaller names. A one contract condor in SPX has about the same BPR as your GLD condor. Marty Schwarz recently came out with a similar statement. That being said, though, with VIX in the nine and ten handle, you cannot expect to make money selling premium. It's like trying to surf the North Shore in June. Better to stay on the beach and drink beer. (as for rolling defined risk trades like a condor -- has that become TT doctrine now? It used to be that they said you should not roll defined risk trades)

The way I view it, you don't roll the defined risk and you take it off as a spread. Furthermore, you don't roll the undefined risk trades just to keep the dream alive. You re-evaluate the trade in terms of the original thesis and only roll if it's still as interesting as it was at inception. My hardcore view on rolling.

Here is a low-cost strategy you might want to try. Very wide strikes vertical in very expensive stocks via weekly options, looking for 2:1 RR. PCLN, AMZN, GOOGL, REGN, CMG and a few others -- anything over a couple hundred bucks. This is a strategy that keeps your commissions way down. Best one for me has been CMG, but PCLN has also done very well.

suko 

Here is a low-cost strategy you might want to try. Very wide strikes vertical in very expensive stocks via weekly options, looking for 2:1 RR. PCLN, AMZN, GOOGL, REGN, CMG and a few others -- anything over a couple hundred bucks. This is a strategy that keeps your commissions way down. Best one for me has been CMG, but PCLN has also done very well.

@suko
Are you selling the vertical or buying? How do you determine your directional bias? How do you decide which short strike to use?

Thanks.

I agree with your philosophy and try to avoid apparently futile efforts on losing trades - Hope (dreams) is not a viable trading or investment strategy.

I have only rolled DR trades, and usually roll down/up the OTM side to buy more time or strike points for the ITM leg. I have had some success with that tactic (TLT, GLD) to reach a profit or B/E.

I have also added legs to some vertical spreads to create Iron Condors and Iron Butterflies just to cut my max loss when possible.

I may have been more lucky than good on my UR trades and never needed to roll those trades, although before its rebound, PCLN's recent plunge almost erased all my YTD UR trade profits.

Since I previously could not find any good RR in shorter UR trades, I have usually done longer UR trades at 60 - 90 DTE. I have tried to capture more premium by waiting for down days in the market and by selling option expirations beyond the next earnings date but then trying to close at 50 - 70% of max profit before the earnings release date. That approach has worked in this Buy-the-Dip market.

I also appreciate your low-cost strategy in very expensive stocks and will evaluate some very wide strikes verticals in weekly options.


-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

suko 

The way I view it, you don't roll the defined risk and you take it off as a spread. Furthermore, you don't roll the undefined risk trades just to keep the dream alive. You re-evaluate the trade in terms of the original thesis and only roll if it's still as interesting as it was at inception. My hardcore view on rolling. Here is a low-cost strategy you might want to try. Very wide strikes vertical in very expensive stocks via weekly options, looking for 2:1 RR. PCLN, AMZN, GOOGL, REGN, CMG and a few others -- anything over a couple hundred bucks. This is a strategy that keeps your commissions way down. Best one for me has been CMG, but PCLN has also done very well.

timefreedom 

@suko Are you selling the vertical or buying? How do you determine your directional bias? How do you decide which short strike to use?

Selling. Determining the directional bias is obviously a big problem. Trend trading with your indicator of choice. I like the SLIM Ribbon and not much else. Hull.

I have this strategy on the back burner at the moment as I experiment with a new scanner. What I was doing was just jiggling the strikes around until I could find the best RR in the closest expiration, and which would fit into my sizing parameters. You need to be able to put on at least $2500 in risk to trade PCLN, obviously more is better. I was doing much better with PCLN in bigger size.

With the new scanner software I have lost confidence in my ability to find the optimal strikes and durations on my own, so I can no longer trade in my old way!

I discussed this "HPWS" strategy in my journal here on fio over the last year. Please check it out and ask any questions.