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Strategies & Market Trends : Advanced Option Strategies -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Don Martini who wrote (109)	8/3/1998 5:40:00 PM
From: Vol	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 355

Thanks, Don, for the explanation. One more question: Do you have any objective screen to picking your stocks to sell puts or straddles on? I own Dell, Gap, and ATI straight up, and I doubt I could have done much better by selling puts, although I like the concept of the premie as downside protection. Now the premie might have helped soften the CA blow a bit... Vol P.S. Ditto on VVUS. It was sweet for a while, but then it bit me and boy, was it venomous.

To: Don Martini who wrote (109)	8/11/1998 12:23:00 PM
From: wilander	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 355

Don, You bring up really good points and advice. I have a few questions. 1) I have tinkered with dell calls and have made $20,000 in a matter of days back in early july. Unfortunately i have lost all of this and more tinkering with pfe and lcos calls. Experts say in the long run buying calls is a losing proposition, b/z 90% of options expire worthless. What are some of your thoughts on this? You sell naked puts, knowing before hand your maximum reward and keeping open your maximum loss(theoretically of course). If I buy out of the money calls expiring in two weeks or less, to make money two things have to happen:1)the stock has to move at least 5% up and 2)It has to do this in 1-3 days. If you sell a naked put all that has to happen to make money is that the stock doesn't go down. I see why you choose to sell puts. Its really safer. 2)What options do you monitor, if I may ask? I monitor big volume stocks dell,lu, ericy,intc, msft,etc and cover call plays of 7-10% a month. I don't sell cover calls though, I sell naked calls and some spreads. I read about your experience with value line, so i was wondering what you do to screen candidates. 3) I have sold some dell aug 105 puts at 4 7/8. Do you suggest selling more dell puts? And in general what do you think about present and future dell plays? 4) I sold yhoo aug 180 puts at $11 two weeks ago and when yhoo started dropping I sold yhoo aug 180 calls at 10, thus selling a straddle. Since then as you know, yhoo has split. I feel yhoo will stay still. Do you think I am a moron, and should get out now?What are your thoughts about selling straddles on yhoo and other internet stocks in general(amzn,aol,lcos,xcit,seek). Thanks in advance. wilander PS I know you must be a busy man, so if you choose not to answer certain questions I won't be offended.