Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

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

To: Tom K. who wrote (132)	8/15/1998 2:08:00 AM
From: John Liu	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 355

Does anyone know how does someone go about writing options and how much money do you usually need to do it? Also is it true that writing options are little or no risk of losing money? Thanks, John

To: Tom K. who wrote (132)	8/15/1998 11:18:00 AM
From: Joe Waynick	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 355

Tom, where do you get 20% margin on options? My broker requires 30%. I would be interested in a broker who only requires the 20% minimum.

To: Tom K. who wrote (132)	8/19/1998 1:16:00 AM
From: Don Martini	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 355

Hello, Tom K! My experience is that usually Dell will move far enough in the right direction in a few weeks to a few months to reduce the premium and maintenance requirement substantially. I don't wait till the leap puts expire, take most of the money then switch to larger premium options. Today I closed 30 contracts for an $8,400 profit because Dell dropped like a stone in the last hour. Then Michael announced 50 cents and a split; so if I had waited till Friday I could have made another $10,000+. Fortunately I still have 50+ long calls open, they should work. So most of my puts are closed; Tomorrow I'll sell 30-40 contracts at hi premiums, watch them drop as Dell climbs to 140 or so before 9/4 when it splits. Two days before split Dell will start to fall, so I'll close these then and sell some out of the money calls. About 5 weeks post split it will be down 15-20% from pre-split price, so I'll close the calls and sell some puts. It's like a rocking horse. I just checked my inbox and found your note; regret this late response. I hope this helps some, Tom. Please let me know if any of these ideas make you money. Sincerely, and best regards! Don Martini