Options

4:30 AM. been staring at vol surfaces for three weeks straight. finally got the pipeline clean enough to write about it. if you’re trading options without a vol surface you’re flying blind. period. everyone talks about delta and theta but the actual edge is in understanding where implied vol is mispriced relative to what it should be. that’s the surface. that’s where the money is.

it’s 1:30am. A. passed out on the couch around midnight waiting for me to come to bed. carried her there, went back to the desk. couldn’t sleep anyway. march has been annoying. january was solid (+1.9%). february was decent (+2.3%). march so far: -0.5% with two weeks left. not a disaster but it stings after a clean Q4. the algos aren’t broken, the signals are just getting weaker in this chop. SPX has been range-bound for three weeks and my momentum strategies are getting whipsawed.

3am on a monday and i’m watching theta tick down across my options book. most people don’t realize how much money they’re leaving on the table by not tracking theta properly.

been using both for 2+ years. different tools for different jobs. tastyworks # what I use it for:

been running both for 8 months now. time for an honest comparison. why both # polygon.io: primary equities and options quotes

august starts. final summer month. have a surprise planned for A. this month. august 1 setup # account: $477,040

july starts. second married month begins. summer mode engaged. july 1 setup # account: $469,440 ytd: +$31,640 (+7.22%)

been using thetadata for 8 months now. here’s the real review for options algo traders. what is thetadata # options-focused market data provider.

full size back. second week trading. conditions still favorable. the week # monday may 19: rest day (returned from honeymoon)

found the bug that cost me $5k in april. took 6 hours but finally fucking fixed it. the problem # selling options spreads. sometimes short leg gets assigned early (ITM before expiration).