As a reminder, this Post is quickly accessible in the menu bar at the top of the page.
Recent Updates
Econ Calendar 1/5 – 1/9
As a reminder, this Post is quickly accessible in the menu bar at the top of the page.
SPX decisions (it’s good!)
With SPX basically unchanged from late October, I’ve had continuous premium coming in with little to no change in the LEAPS values. Love it!! With two more rolls next week all cash outlay for all positions will be recovered. And with the long LEAP puts sitting at 6800 things are setting up nicely.
But how can we make things even better and safer? After a long “Red Team” call with my brother @bikeeagle we came up with some ideas on what to do with excess cash that will hopefully be coming in (but you never know! 🙂 🙂 )
Some ideas:
1. Keep doing everything as is and just add to the LEAPS.
2. Roll up the LEAPS further and even into the money a little on the put side for margin reduction and more downside protection.
3. Buy back the bear call spread LEAPS. That would be nice margin reduction getting rid of those.
4. When adding going forward only buy the LEAP put. A little more expensive but no margin hit on the call side.
5. Go ahead and roll the current LEAPS positions out to 2030 now.
What I’m leaning towards as premium received allows:
2 and 3 together then 5 then 4.
It’ll take awhile but would make the setup absolutely perfect….
OptionsExpiration
SOXL 49/48 Bear Call Spreads
SOXL 50.5/48 Bear Call Spread
SOXL 50/48 Bear Call Spread
SOXL 35.5/40 Bull Put Spread
NVDA 195/192.5 Bear Call Spread
NVDA 192.5 Diagonal Call
SLV 59/61.5 Bull Put Spread
SLV 61/64 Bull Put Spread
SLV 71/68.5 Bear Call Spread
SPY 690/689 Bear Call Spread
SPY 688/687 Bear Call Spread
BOIL 21.0 Puts
SPCE 4.5 Covered Calls
Assignments:
1 BOIL 22.0 Put
Decent start to the new year
TQQQ,
STO Feb. 20, $45 puts at 1.70
STO Feb. 13, 46 puts at 1.70
BW
#rolling
CALENDAR BW 16 JAN 2026 7.5 PUT to/15 MAY 2026/7.5-put@1.26
BOIL Put
Sold BOIL 01/09/2026 18.5 Puts at $0.16 and $0.20
#TinyPuts
SPX
Straight roll.
Rolled SPX Jan 2 2026 6900.0 Puts to Jan 5 2026 6900.0 Puts @ 6.00 credit (46.20 total now)
SPY action 1/2/26
#FuzzyLEAPs I was assigned 200 shares of $SPY from my Jan 2nd 687 puts. Oddly, I was NOT assigned from my deeper ITM 689 put. That may have been due to margin considerations.
Today I sold the stock for 686.75. Cost basis was 685.78, given the price of my roll trade on Wednesday.
Then:
Sold (1) Jan 5th 687 put for 2.40
Sold (1) Jan 5th 686 put for 1.74
Also:
Rolled Jan 2nd 689 put to Jan 6th 689 put, .90 credit (skipping a day to avoid assignment)
Pretty easy management of the assignment. Wish I had waited a bit to sell the puts because now they are over a dollar higher each.
SLV NVDA Calls
Sold 1 SLV 01/05/2026 74/71.5 Bear Call Spread ar $0.14 Credit
Sold 1 SLV 01/07/2026 77/74.5 Bear Call Spread ar $0.14 Credit
Sold 1 NVDA 01/09/2026 212.5/207.5 Bear Call Spread at $0.17 Credit
Zero day Spreads
Sold 1 SPY 01/02/2026 688/687 Bear Call Spread at $0.32 Credit
Sold 1 SPY 01/02/2026 690/689 Bear Call Spread at $0.07 Credit
Sold 1 SOXL 01/02/2026 49/48 Bear Call Spread at $0.28 Credit
Hope everyone had a wonderful…
Hope everyone had a wonderful and prosperous trading 2025!
I closed all my positions Friday through today except 2 to make taxes easier.
Great year trading, 28.4 total portfolio return (401k, IRAs, Roth etc. and I can’t trade most of these) and 71.2% returns for the 2 trading accounts. It was 69% last Friday but I just closed out some SPX rhinos today pushing it over 70%. 2024 was a bad trading year and ironically that was a 28.4% trading return and a little less, 24% for the entire portfolio.
All from trading about 6-7 strategies repeatedly. In order of profitable to least profitable:
1. BWB/Rhino trades on SPX, RUT, and ETFs
2. Double calendars/diagonals but converted to nested iron condor once profits develop. This creates an iron condor with no risk to both sides or if I have a directional bias I can skew it.
3. Asymmetric iron condors (debit spread imbedded in iron condor in specific ratios then hedged to upside or downside)
4. Combos (all of the above combined usually as recovery tactics)
5. Strangles on futures
6. Jade lizards/naked puts/skewed butterflies/skewed iron condors
7. Hedging other positions using futures such as /ES for an SPX position that needs adjusting
No 0 DTE trading unless I saw a really good opportunity. Maybe 8 times all year. And no stocks other than what is in the 401k.
Having almost everything hedged prevents the big losses I had in 2015 (Chinese Yuan devaluation), 2018 (SVXY implosion), and 2020 (Covid). In fact when the market drops quickly and dramatically I cash in winning lottery tickets. Often large enough gains to offset any losses on the IRAs/401K for total portfolio hedging.
With that said I am throwing this out there and no hard feelings if no one interested. I no longer trade professionally for Traders Reserve (these are tactics I could not share there as they were too complex for our subscribers) but would be willing to pass along some of these tactics as long as no one tries to benefit commercially from the information. I run my own money like a mini-hedge fund. Interested in a group webinar/discussion where we can all share ideas and tactics?
I also would consider a pooled asset account if anyone is interested in that? Would need help from someone who is an expert in taxes and how to structure that. I know Interactive Brokers has a family and friends account which allows up to 15 accounts controlled as one.
Anyone know how to set up a corporation that could then pool assets to help control taxes?
Open for discussion, I have Fridays off so those would be good days for collaboration.
May 2026 be AWESOME for everyone and everything, not just trading!!
SLV Expiration
SLV 12/31/2025 61/63.5 Bull Put Spread
SLV 12/31/2025 74/71.5 Bear Call Spread
SLV 12/31/2025 75/73.5 Bear Call Spread
SLV 12/31/2025 62.0 Puts
SLV 12/31/2025 61.5 Put
Happy Healthy Prosperous 2026
BOIL Puts
Sold BOIL 01/02/2026 21.0 Puts at $0.13
#TinyPuts
SLV Puts Rolled
Rolled 1 SLV 12/31/2025 62/65 Bull Put Spread to 1 SLV 01/07/2026 56.5/61.5 Bull Put Spread at $0.05 Credit
TQQQ,
STO February 20, $45 puts at 1.51
SLV Puts
Sold 1 01/05/2026 58.5/61 Bull Put Spread at $0.17 Credit
SPX
Straight roll. 2026!!
Rolled SPX Dec 31 2025 6900.0 Puts to Jan 2 2026 6900.0 Puts @ 6.25 credit (40.20 total now)
EDIT: Doing similar rolls in XSP position.
More SLV
Sold SLV 12/31/2025 62.0 Puts at $0.06 and $0.08
#TinyPuts #EveryLittleBitHelps
VIX @fuzzballl Are you planing…
VIX
@fuzzballl
Are you planing to keep your VIX position until expiry or roll it out to Feb?
SLV Puts
Sold 1 SLV 12/31/2025 62/65 Bull Put Spread at $0.19 Credit
Sold 1 SLV 01/02/2026 61/64 Bull Put Spread at $0.14 Credit
Sold 1 SLV 01/05/2026 60/63 Bull Put Spread at $0.20 Credit
Sold 1 SLV 01/07/2026 59/62 Bull Put Spread at $0.26 Credit
SPX
Straight roll.
Rolled SPX Dec 30 2025 6900.0 Puts to Dec 31 2025 6900.0 Puts @ 9.00 credit (33.95 total now)
SPY rolls 12/30/25
#FuzzyLEAPs Rolled $SPY Dec 30th 687 puts to Jan 2nd 687 puts for 1.22. (Two puts with total rolls of 13.57 and 7.44 respectively).
I am traveling rest of today and tomorrow, so rolled to Friday expiry. Doing the same with my 689 put.
SLV
Closed 1 SLV 12/29/2025 74/72.5 Bear Call Spread at $0.00 debit
Rolled to 1 SLV 12/31/2025 73.5/70.5 Bear Call Spread at $0.18 Credit
SLV Expiration:
SLV 12/29/2025 63.5 Put – Sold today at $0.20
SLV 12/29/2025 62.5 Put – Sold today at $0.10
SLV 12/29/2025 61.5/63.5 Bull Put Spread – Sold today at $0.14
SPX
Straight roll.
Rolled SPX Dec 29 2025 6900.0 Puts to Dec 30 2025 6900.0 Puts @ 9.25 credit (24.95 total now)
Fading silver
Sold to open $SLV Jan 16 70/75 bear call spread @ .89. IV rank is 89.
TQQQ,
STO February 6, $46 puts at 1.21
SPY rolls 12/29/25
#FuzzyLEAPs Rolled $SPY Dec 29th 687 puts to Dec 30th 687 puts for .65.
Working on rolling the 689 put.
Econ Calendar 12/28 – 1/2
SPY rolls 12/26/25
#FuzzyLEAPs Rolled $SPY Dec 26th 688 put to Dec 29th 689 put for .70 (2.14 so far).
I have (2) 687 puts I will also be rolling.
SPX
Another short week low volatility week next week too.
Rolled SPX Dec 26 2025 6850.0 Puts to Dec 29 2025 6900.0 Puts @ 5.50 credit (15.70 total now)
SPX Summary
Seemed like a good time to sit down and see where everything stands with the market at all time highs. This is my main account. I’ve got 3 more positions in a different account that I’ve been building on as well with similar results. Here we go!
Building positions:
4 added in Oct 2024
3 added in Feb 2025
1 added in May 2025
2 added in Aug 2025
2 added in Dec 2025
Lots of various sized roll ups (20 total) eventually getting everything to 6800 strike
Total Cost to this point:
524.50 each
6294.0 total
Total credit to close LEAPS (Tue prices):
413.80 each
4965.6 total
Loss on LEAPS:
4965.6 – 6294.0 = 1328.40
Total premium received including outstanding short puts:
494.55 each
5934.60 total
===================
Total gain:
5934.60 – 1328.40 =
+ 4606.20
===================
Since these positions were started in mid Oct 2024 the SPX is up 20 percent so I feel like this is close to a “worse case scenario” in a big up market with all the constant rolling. Still managed to keep 73 cents per dollar of premium received. If we get back to a more typical market and starting with a much bigger position size I’m really looking forward to 2026.
Merry Christmas everyone!
SPX
This might slow things down. Almost rolled it to 8000 since I’ve seen that predicted a few times for 2026!
Rolled SPX Jan 16 2026 6900.0 Put to Jan 16 2026 7000.0 Put @ 42.00 credit (213.35 total now)
EDIT: Corrected date. The entire roll is in Jan 2026 expiration.
Merry Christmas
SPY rolls 12/24/25
#FuzzyLEAPs Rolled $SPY Dec 24th 688 put to Dec 26th 688 put for .62 (1.44 so far)
No pullback so put prices just screaming toward zero. I have 683 and 684 puts today that I can’t get meaningful premium to roll. I will probably allow to expire and roll up several strikes. Or skip sales for Friday’s expiry and start fresh then.
QQQI
#coveredcalls
#onlymonthlys! grr
Sto QQQI 16 JAN 2026 54 CALL @.94
VIX low
Today was the first time in all of 2025 that $VIX got below 14.00. It was the lowest reading since December 13, 2024.
SPX
Rolled out to Friday.
Rolled SPX Dec 23 2025 6850.0 Puts to Dec 26 2025 6850.0 Puts @ 5.50 credit (10.20 total now)
Also:
Added Ramie’s SPX Feb Butterfly @ .30 debit
TQQQ,
STO January 30, $46 puts at 1.12
Spy rolls 12/23/25
#FuzzyLEAPs Rolled $SPY Dec 23rd 683 put to Dec 24th 683 put, .36 credit (4.84 so far)
Rolled Dec 23rd 682 put UP two strikes to Dec 24th 684 put, .85 credit (11.08 so far)
SPX put butterfly
Borrowing a TastyTrade idea for a downside hedge: Bought $SPX Feb 20 6575/6600/6625 put butterfly @ .35 debit.
SPY
Taking about 40 percent 60 days early.
Bought to Close SPY Feb 20 2026 610.0 Put @ 2.15 (sold for 4.00)
Bought to Close SPY Feb 20 2026 615.0 Put @ 2.35 (sold for 4.00)
Bought to Close SPY Feb 20 2026 620.0 Put @ 2.60 (sold for 4.20)
SPX
Finally got ’em all back except for my Jan 6900 strike lid. 🙂 🙂 Reloading but leaving a few uncovered.
SPX:
Bought to Close SPX Dec 22 2025 6825.0 Puts @ .25 (sold for 101.90)
Bought to Close SPX Dec 22 2025 6825.0 Puts @ .25 (sold for 96.30)
Bought to Close SPX Dec 22 2025 6840.0 Puts @ .25 (sold for 15.70)
Bought to Close SPX Dec 22 2025 6850.0 Put @ .40 (sold for 14.20)
Sold SPX Dec 23 2025 6850.0 Puts @ 4.70
Covered call position during a takeover?
Does anyone know what happens to a covered call position during a takeover?
Example:
Stock price – $28
Short call – @32
Takeover price – $30
I understand that shares will be sold at $30 and removed from the account.
But what happens to the calls?
Earnings 12/22 – 1/2
There is currently only one company with analyst coverage scheduled to report earnings within the two weeks starting December 22, 2025 – $LMNR. Not shown, because there are no estimates, is $GTIM, also scheduled after the close on Tuesday, December 23, 2025.
–Earnings Whispers
Econ Calendar 12/22 – 12/26
QQQI-EWZ
SPX SPY XSP
Had to be out this afternoon so had to roll earlier than I wanted to today.
SPX:
Rolled SPX Dec 19 2025 6830.0 Puts to Dec 22 2025 6825.0 Puts @ 5.50 credit (101.90 total now)
Rolled SPX Dec 19 2025 6830.0 Puts to Dec 22 2025 6825.0 Puts @ 5.40 credit (96.30 total now)
Rolled SPX Dec 19 2025 6845.0 Puts to Dec 22 2025 6840.0 Puts @ 3.00 credit (15.70 total now)
Rolled SPX Dec 19 2025 6855.0 Put to Dec 22 2025 6850.0 Put @ 1.50 credit (14.20 total now)
Leaving the lid on again:
Rolled SPX Dec 19 2025 6900.0 Put to Jan 16 2026 6900.0 Put @ 37.90 credit (171.35 total now)
=========================================
Bought to Close SPX Dec 19 2025 6850/6855 Bear Call Spreads @ .95 (sold for 1.77)
=========================================
SPY:
Had Dec 19 700/685 Bull Put Spreads @ 9.45
Sold to Close the 685s @ 6.55 and rolled the 700s to Feb monthly @ 2.70 credit
New net position:
SPY Feb 20 2026 700.0 Puts @ 18.70 credit
=========================================
XSP:
Bought to Close XSP Dec 19 2025 680.0 Puts @ .14 (sold for 3.05)
Sold XSP Dec 22 2025 680.0 Puts @ .89
LW Stock
Started a tiny new position in LW at $44.44. Decent dividend. Multiyear low
#FallingKnife
OptionsExpiration
A very good week finally!
DLTR 139/133 Bear Call Spread
DLTR 134/130 Bear Call Spread
DLTR 134/132 Bear Call Spreads
DOW 20.5/22 Bull Put Spread
DOW 21/22 Bull Put Spread
DOW 21/22.5 Bull Put Spreads
EOG 97/100 Bull Put Spread
GLD 415/410 Bear Call Spread (my last GLD position)
NFLX 88/90.5 Bull Put Spread
NFLX 88.5/91 Bull Put Spread
NFLX 100.5/98 Bear Call Spread
NFLX 101.5/100 Bear Call Spread
SOXL 30/32.5 Bull Put Spread
SOXL 48/45.5 Bear Call Spread
TTD 35..5 Diagonal Put
TTD 35.0 Diagonal Put
TTD 40/38 Bear Call Spread
TTD 40/39 Bear Call Spread
VTRS 12.0 Covered Call
BAX 20.5 Covered Call
MSTX 6.0 Covered Call
SPCE 5.0 Covered Call
SPCE 4.5 Covered Calls
DOW 30.0 Covered Call
BAX 22.5 Covered Calls
IP 43.0 Covered Call
#EveryLittleBitHelps
DOW 21.5 Puts
DOW 22.0 Put
TTD 32.5 Put
PSKY 10.0 Put
PSKY 11.0 Put
PSKY 11.5 Put
MSTX 4.0 Put
GIS 45.0 Put
BOIL 22.0 Put
CPRT 35.0 Put
#TinyPuts
SPX roll
Rolled $SPX Dec 22 6855 put up and out to Dec 23 6860 put @ 8.45 credit
Expired
$NVDA 184 call
SPY roll 12/19/25
#FuzzyLEAPs Rolled $SPX Dec 22nd 683 put to Dec 23rd 683 put, .50 credit (4.48 so far). Now I have 682 and 683 ITM puts for the 23rd.
DJT Calls
Sold DJT 12/19/2025 17/15.5 Bear Call Spreads at $0.13 and $0.18 Credits
Sold DJT 12/19/2025 17/16 Bear Call Spreads at $0.14 and $0.19 Credits
#1DTE #EveryLittleBitHelps
SPY roll 12/18/25
#FuzzyLEAPs Rolled $SPY Dec 19th 682 put to Dec 23rd 682 put, .97 credit (10.23 total). Leaving my Monday 683 put until tomorrow.
Frankly surprised that the option I rolled wasn’t assigned stock overnight. It has huge Open Interest, since it is a monthly, and we ended yesterday with it over 3 dollars ITM. I guess since there was still another day to expiry it survived, which is the reason I am rolling a day ahead while I am ITM.
AMD Call Closed
$AMD BTC 12/19 225 call at .04. STO at 3.50.
GLD Expiration
1 GLD 12/17/2025 372/377 Bull Put Spread
1 GLD 12/17/2025 381/385 Bull Put Spread
1 GLD 12/17/2025 382/386 Bull Put Spread
GLD Calls Rolled
Rolled 1 GLD 12/17/2025 410/405 Bear Call Spread to 1 GLD 12/19/2025 415/410 Bear Call Spread at $0.16 Credit
SOXL Puts
Sold 1 SOXL 12/19/2025 28/32 Bull Put Spread at $0.22 Credit
SPY roll 12/17/25
#FuzzyLEAPs Rolled $SPY Dec 18th 684 put to Dec 22nd 683 put, 1.26 credit (3.98 total). This rolls tomorrow’s put until Monday, and one strike lower. For now I am leaving Friday’s 683 put to stand.
NFLX SLV TTD Spreads
Sold 1 NFLX 12/19/2025 101.5/100 Bear Call Spread at $0.17 Credit
Sold 1 SLV 12/19/2025 65/62.5 Bear Call Spread at $0.18 Credit
Sold 1 TTD 12/19/2025 41/38.5 Bear Call Spread at $0.15 Credit
Sold 1 TTD 12/19/2025 40/39 Bear Call Spread at $0.17 Credit
SOXL DOW EOG DLTR TTD NFLX Spreads
Sold 1 SOXL 12/19/2025 48/45.5 Bear Call Spread at $0.14 Credit
Sold 1 DOW 12/19/2025 20.5/22 Bull Put Spread at $0.17 Credit
Sold 1 DOW 12/19/2025 21/22 Bull Put Spread at $0.15 Credit
Sold 1 EOG 12/19/2025 97/100 Bull Put Spread at $0.30 Credit
Sold 1 TTD 12/19/2025 40/38 Bear Call Spread at $0.18 Credit
Sold 1 NFLX 12/19/2025 100.5/98 Bear Call Spread at $0.17 Credit
Bought DLTR 12/26/2025 139.0 Calls / Sold DLTR 12/19/2025 135.0 Calls for Diagonal Bear Call Spreads of $0.13 and $0.18 Credits
SPX XSP
Gonna be busy next couple days so rolling out to Friday.
SPX:
Rolled SPX Dec 16 2025 6855.0 Puts to Dec 19 2025 6845.0 Puts @ 2.20 credit (12.70 total now)
Rolled SPX Dec 16 2025 6865.0 Put to Dec 19 2025 6855.0 Put @ .10 credit (12.70 total now)
XSP:
Rolled XSP Dec 16 2025 682.0 Puts to Dec 19 2025 680.0 Puts @ .95 credit (3.05 total now)
Friday will be interesting if we rally just a little bit before then. Short puts at 6830 (biggest position), 6845, 6855, 6900 and bear call spreads at 6850/6855.
SPY rolls 12/16/25
#FuzzyLEAPs Rolled $SPY Dec 16th 683 put to Dec 19th 682 put, 2.10 credit (9.28 so far). Rolled this a strike down but went all the way to Friday, which has a significant jump in premium from Thursday.
For my 684 put, rolled Dec 16th 684 to Dec 18th 684, .80 credit. Keeping this ITM at same level, rolling to Thursday.
DOW BOIL Puts
Sold DOW 12/19/2025 21.5 Puts at $0.06 and $0.12
Sold 1 BOIL 12/19/2025 22.0 Put at $0.08
#TinyPuts
November Jobs Report
#Jobs — Abbreviated October data shows a loss, while November had a small gain. UE ticks higher.
Gain of +64,000 non-farm payroll jobs, vs. expected gain of 45K
An “abbreviated” October count indicates a loss of -105,000 jobs.
Unemployment up by 0.2 from Sept at 4.6%, highest since Sept 2021
U6 unemployment 8.7%, up by 0.7 from Sept
Labor force participation up 0.1 to 62.5%
Average hourly earnings up by 0.1%; +3.5% Y/Y, smallest gain since May 2021
September jobs revised down by -11K to +108K
August jobs revised down by -22K to -26K
GLD Expiration
1 GLD 12/15/2025 406/401 Bear Call Spread
DLTR Calls
Sod 1 DLTR 12/19/2025 139/134 Bear Call Spread at $0.84 Credit
GLD Puts
Rolled 1 GLD 12/15/2025 368/373 Bull Put Spread to 1 GLD 12/17/2025 382/386 Bull Put Spread at $0.21 Credit
Rolled 1 GLD 12/15/2025 379/384 Bull Put Spread to 1 GLD 12/17/2025 381/385 Bull Put Spread at $0.19 Credit
BAX MSTX TTD CPRT
Sold BAX 12/19/2025 22.5 Covered Calls at $0.02
Sold 1 MSTX 12/19/2025 6.0 Covered Call at $0.05
#EveryLittleBitHelps
Sold 1 CPRT 12/19/2025 35.0 Put at $0.10
Sold 1 DOW 12/19/2025 22.0 Put at $0.09
Sold 1 MSTX 12/19/2025 4.0 Put at $0.10
Sold 1 TTD 12/16/2025 32.5 Put at $0.05
#TinyPuts
SPX XSP
SPX:
Rolled SPX Dec 15 2025 6860.0 Puts to Dec 16 2025 6855.0 Puts @ 2.50 credit (10.50 total now)
Rolled SPX Dec 15 2025 6870.0 Put to Dec 16 2025 6865.0 Put @ 1.50 credit (12.60 total now)
XSP:
Rolled XSP Dec 15 2025 684.0 Puts to Dec 16 2025 682.0 Puts @ .10 credit (2.10 total now)
TQQQ,
BTC January 23, $49 puts at 2.45, the charts do not look very positive right now.
#coveredcalls #syntheticcoveredcalls $NVDA 195 call…
#coveredcalls #syntheticcoveredcalls
$NVDA 195 call
$NVDA 180 call
$GOOGL 327.50 call
$NVDA 467.50 call
SPY roll
#FuzzyLEAPs Rolled $SPY Dec 15th 683 put to Dec 16th 683 put, 1.10 credit (7.18 so far)
My other put is the 684 already rolled until tomorrow, so I will wait until then unless we drop ITM today.
Options Bistro 