Shows / The Option Block
The Option Block
The Option Block All-Star Panel breaks down the latest developments in the options market, analyzes unusual options activity, explains cutting-edge options strategies, answers listener questions and much more. Whether you're an active options trader or just getting started in the options market, The Option Block will keep you informed and entertained.
Episodes
- The Option Block
Option Block 153: Facebook Faceplant
Option Block 153: Facebook Faceplant Trading Block: The market had no real direction. The Euro got crushed and bonds had the only give back of the day…
- The Option Block
Option Block 152: Facebook: Buy, Sell, or Wait for Options?
Option Block 152: Facebook: Buy, Sell, or Wait for Options? Trading Block: Not a great day on the market, NASDAQ down significantly. The big grind toward…
- The Option Block
Option Block 151: The After-Hours Trading Debate
Option Block 151: The After-Hours Trading Debate Trading Block: Groupon earnings after the close, up by just a dollar. Red throughout most of the commodities…
- The Option Block
Option Block 150: I'm a Trader, Not a Miracle Worker
Option Block 150: I'm a Trader, Not a Miracle Worker Trading Block: Cisco moving to the downside again after disappointing earnings. Priceline brought in a lot…
- The Option Block
Option Block 149: Beignets, Chicory Coffee, and Facebook
Option Block 149: Beignets, Chicory Coffee, and Facebook Trading Block: Markets marginally changed. Thoughts on the Bloomberg article comparing it to the…
- The Option Block
Option Block 148: Bizarro Day
Option Block 148: Bizarro Day Trading Block: Preparing for Non-farms tomorrow. Now is a great time to get out of any short premium, if it's for a small price…
- The Option Block
Option Block 147: Is ZYNGA the Synthetic Facebook?
Option Block 147: Is ZYNGA the Synthetic Facebook? Trading Block: Most of the bleeding in the NASDAQ came from Apple, down again, and having trouble holding…
- The Option Block
Option Block 146: The Art of Position Management
Option Block 146: The Art of Position Management Trading Block: Apple, Apple, Apple! Off to the upside post earnings after getting beaten up last week. Waiting…
- The Option Block
Option Block 145: What's the Point of Open Interest?
Option Block 145: What’s the Point of Open Interest? Trading Block: The term structure of the VIX was today's worst enemy. Netflix, the widowmaker, reporting…
- The Option Block
Option Block 144: Walking into the Bandsaw of Theta
Option Block 144: Walking into the Bandsaw of Theta Trading Block: Tosaw's run with Apple may be on its last legs. Loads of earnings after the close: NOT AAPL…
- The Option Block
Option Block 143: Apple Apocalypse
Option Block 143: Apple Apocalypse Trading Block: S&P rally vs. NASDAQ (Apple) apocalypse. AAPL sold out aggressively, down about 4%. Tosaw suggested last week…
- The Option Block
Option Block 142: Premium Selling Idiots
Option Block 142: Premium Selling Idiots Trading Block: VIX popped out of its range -- so much for fading to the downside. Apple, the target of an antitrust…
- The Option Block
Option Block 141: Getting Long Prison Premium
Option Block 141: Getting Long Prison Premium Trading Block: Market down today in the wake of weak non-farm numbers on Friday. Yet Apple still up, if only by…
- The Option Block
Option Block 140: Doing Stuff with the Funk
Option Block 140: Doing Stuff with the Funk Trading Block: The markets were aimless today except for Apple carrying the NASDAQ. It's a weekday, so Apple must…
- The Option Block
Option Block 139: No More Exchanges, Please
Option Block 139: No More Exchanges, Please Trading Block: Lots of upside on the day: Dow, S&P, NASDAQ, and VIX. The many masters of VIX. Andrew and the love…
- The Option Block
Option Block 138: There Is No Crying in Options
Option Block 138: There Is No Crying in Options Trading Block: Vol rundown - despite little movement, there is quite a bit of intraday volatility in the vol…
- The Option Block
Option Block 137: Selling the Hunger Games
Option Block 137: Selling the Hunger Games Trading Block: BATS debacle: All IPO trades busted as a matching engine encountered a software bug. The range of…
- The Option Block
Option Block 136: Hunting, Fishing, and Options
Option Block 136: Hunting, Fishing, and Options Trading Block: The market felt the weight of manufacturing issues in Germany, France and, most importantly…
- The Option Block
Option Block 135: Naked Canadians & A Conference Roundup
Option Block 135: Naked Canadians & A Conference Roundup Trading Block: VIX on the rebound - the weekend coming back into the VIX, but the futures themselves…
The Option BlockOption Block 134: The Day the Market Moved
Option Block 134: The Day the Market Moved Trading Block: A lot of excitement on the trading desk today following the largest move of the year so far. What…
The Option BlockOption Block 133: One Thing Sebastian Won't Do
Option Block 133: One Thing Sebastian Won't Do Trading Block: With Greek deadline looming, will we get a vol pop or further vol implosion? CBOE is being…
- The Option Block
Option Block 132: Has No One Heard of a Dutch Auction?
Option Block 132: Has No One Heard of a Dutch Auction? Trading Block: China lowers annual growth target by half a percent, enough to send the bears into an…
- The Option Block
Option Block 130: Nothing Short of Titillating
Option Block 130: Nothing Short of Titillating Trading Block: The VIX cash limbo strikes again - how low can it go? Greek deal in place since the last show. A…
- The Option Block
Option Block 129: How Do You Know When You're Being Stupid?
Option Block 129: How Do You Know When You're Being Stupid? Trading Block: Markets up, VIX down. Interesting activity in the VIX futures. Massive retail growth…
- The Option Block
Option Block 128: Funky Backspread
Option Block 128: Funky Backspread Trading Block: A decent selloff in VIX cash, but is the unknown still lurking? Greece stumbling toward salvation, but the…
- The Option Block
Option Block 127: Predicting Facebook's First Day Closing Price
Option Block 127: Predicting Facebook’s First Day Closing Price Trading Block: Apple is back to the races following the Nortel patent news -- up 10% post…
- The Option Block
Option Block 126: VIX: You Don't Have To Go Home, but You Can't Stay Here
Option Block 126: VIX: You Don't Have To Go Home, but You Can't Stay Here Trading Block: VIX creeping up off concerns of Greek debt weighing on the market…
- The Option Block
Option Block 125: When Squishy Becomes a Technical Term
Option Block 125: When Squishy Becomes a Technical Term Trading Block: Is it too risky to actively short volatility in this environment? Andrew thinks that…
- The Option Block
Option Block 124: Confessions of a Juice Buying Junkie
Option Block 124: Confessions of a Juice Buying Junkie Trading Block: It was a calm day in volatility, given that it has been beaten up recently. What effect…
- The Option Block
Option Block 123: Like a Virgin
Option Block 123: Like a Virgin Trading Block: Apple blows the doors off earnings again – long premium going into earnings was the way to play it. JC Penney up…
- The Option Block
Option Block 122: Option Block After Dark
Option Block 122: Option Block After Dark Trading Block: Greek debt swap is keeping the market in neutral. S&P and VIX both up today, but overall a slow…
- The Option Block
Option Block 121: Degenerate Options Traders
Option Block 121: Degenerate Options Traders Trading Block: Ho hum day on the street, but VIX makes it below 20 after much dancing in the area. Looking at a…
- The Option Block
Option Block 120: Doin' Stuff
Option Block 120: Doin' Stuff Trading Block: Another mild day on the market. Metals/Commodities rundown - GLD up a bit, but not much. Premium on the VIX…
- The Option Block
Option Block 119: The Fanboy Piggyback
Option Block 119: The Fanboy Piggyback Trading Block: Another mild day on the street. Apple hits a new high ahead of earnings, riding high on iPad 3 rumors…
- The Option Block
Option Block 118: Buying Cheapy Premium
Option Block 118: Buying Cheapy Premium Trading Block: Market mostly unchanged today. Vol off modestly - a decent day for gamma scalping in the VIX. Jobless…
- The Option Block
Option Block 117: 2011 Year in Review
Option Block 117: 2011 Year in Review Trading Trends Rocky year for volatility The ups and downs of AAPL NFLX: aka the Widowmaker Weeklys Metals Migration into…
- The Option Block
Option Block 116: Holiday Volatility Sale
Option Block 116: Holiday Volatility Sale Trading Block: A weak rally going into the holiday -- not too much going down on the street except for the continued…
- The Option Block
Option Block 115: Scooping Cheap Volatility
Option Block 115: Scooping Cheap Volatility Trading Block: A volatility/VIX rundown -- it's up, it's down, it's in lockstep with the market, it does its own…
- The Option Block
Option Block 114: No Straddles Without Gamma Scalping
Option Block 114: No Straddles Without Gamma Scalping Trading Block: SPY and other expirations on ETFs--close out your shorts! More put buyers are rolling into…
- The Option Block
Option Block 113: The Great VIX Implosion
Option Block 113: The Great VIX Implosion Trading Block: It's been quite the roller coaster ride for VIX as of late, a lot of people picked up their insurance…
- The Option Block
Option Block 112: VIX Resistance
Option Block 112: VIX Resistance Trading Block: VIX cash back above 30, how long can it last? MF Global disaster continues to get worse, with no clue as to…
- The Option Block
Option Block 111: The Waffle and Egg Indicator
Option Block 111: The Waffle and Egg Indicator Trading Block: VIX was all over the map today. Stocks opened strong but rumors of an S&P downgrade warning to…
- The Option Block
Option Block 110: Worthless December Lottery Tickets
Option Block 110: Worthless December Lottery Tickets Trading Block: A massive explosion to the upside, what was the impetus for the 400 point rally? The S&P…
- The Option Block
Option Block 109: Danger is in the Air
Option Block 109: Danger is in the Air Trading Block: A strong move to the upside after the holiday weekend. VIX at 30 yet again – is this becoming the new…
- The Option Block
Option Block 108: Super Committee VIX Spreads
Option Block 108: Super Committee VIX Spreads Trading Block: Dow back in the red for the year. Debt cutting debate concerns hit the market -- reminiscent of…
- The Option Block
Option Block 107: The End of the AAPL Bulls?
Option Block 107: The End of the AAPL Bulls? Trading Block: Housing starts better than expected, yet the market shrugged off an usually strong indicator for…
- The Option Block
The Option Block 106: Juicy GRPN Reversals
TRADING BLOCK: Italian borrowing costs spooked the market. May we actually see some countries abandon the Euro? Groupon options finally went live, not…
- The Option Block
Option Block 105: A Pod of Sissy Girls
Option Block 105: A Pod of Sissy girls Trading Block: How to use SPX movement in the downside skew to gauge the sentiment of a particular rally. An…
- The Option Block
Option Block 104: Piling Onto Groupon
Option Block 104: Piling Onto Groupon Trading Block: A bit of a market turnaround, but mainly a relatively mild day. What a strange place VIX and volatility…
- The Option Block
Option Block 103: Greece is the Word
Option Block 103: Greece is the Word Trading Block: Greece! The other European countries have finally said enough is enough - they may survive without Greece…
- The Option Block
Option Block 102: Turn Off the Idiot Box
Option Block 102: Turn Off the Idiot Box Trading Block: Bonds rallied, volatility exploded. MF Global news, combined with inflation and the Japanese efforts to…
- The Option Block
Option Block 101: Size Money vs. Smart Money
Option Block 101: Size Money vs. Smart Money Trading Block: The market is off to the races...again. Strong rallies across the board. VIX cash finally makes its…
- The Option Block
Option Block: The 100th Episode Extravaganza
Option Block: The 100th Episode Extravaganza Trading Block: A brand new Options Insider website! Are there any legs to the rally? Where was VIX during this…
- The Option Block
Option Block 99: Selling MSFT Premium
Option Block 99: Selling MSFT Premium Trading Block: A rare fairly uneventful day. Chipotle Mexican Grill with earnings after the bell - Is CMG the other…
- The Option Block
The Option Block 98: Playing Apple Earnings
The Option Block 98: Playing Apple Earnings Trading Block: Volatility rundown. Issues with the structure of the VIX - is it time to revamp the "Fear Index."…
- The Option Block
Option Block 97: Live From FIA Chicago
Option Block 97: Live From FIA Chicago Trading Block: VIX Rundown - VIX at a decisive point, at the 32 level, it could be on the move. Apple rallying post-Jobs…
- The Option Block
Option Block 96: Resetting the VIX Bar
Option Block 96: Resetting the VIX Bar Trading Block: VIX finally gets to the mid-30s! The bar for has been raised. Apple without Jobs - down 0.5%. What effect…
- The Option Block
Option Block 95: Kodak vs. American Airlines
Option Block 95: Kodak vs. American Airlines Trading Block: The Greek yo-yo has struck again! Greek debt outlook was not as rosy as last week -- market down…
- The Option Block
Option Block 94: AMZN Takes On AAPL
Option Block 94: AMZN Takes On AAPL Trading Block: The market rallied on stronger than expected GDP numbers, and a little ease on European concerns, combined…
- The Option Block
Option Block 93: Metal-Ocalypse Strikes Again
Option Block 93: Metal-Ocalypse Strikes Again Trading Block: The relationship between VIX and VXN, how it could have helped you. Late session rally on European…