Case Studies

Credit Spreads

ARKK Bear Call Spread 

+$55 Profit  |  With $395 Capital 

Although this bear call spread closed out early at a profit, in an interesting plot twist, when I reopened the same trade to recycle the capital, the underlying turned around and started challenging my short strike. Hence the beauty of taking profits early!

DIA Bull Put Spread 

+$70 Profit  |  With $435 Capital

Is the market moving against you and you're not sure if/when to adjust? Then once you adjust, not sure if/when to close out of your two credit spreads? Then you'll definitely want to watch this case study!

GLD Bear Call Spread 

-$70 Loss  |  With $415 Capital

In this case study, not only did my adjustment backfire in my face, but I also got assigned on the adjustment spread and lost money.

EEM Bear Call Spread 

+$18 Profit  |  With $265 Capital

If you're curious why you should even bother trading small tickers like EEM that don't offer much credit, then watch this case study.

EFA Bear Call Spread 

+$30 Profit  |  With $240 Capital

Sometimes, reading a chart can be subjective - is it bullish, bearish, sideways? In this case study, I talk through what the tipping factor should be when choosing which strategy to trade in ambiguous situations.

EWZ Bear Call Spread 

+$35 Profit  |  With $230 Capital

A case study of a quick bearish trade that I placed upon the breaking of a trendline of a long-time uptrend.

OIH Bull Put Spread 

+$58 Profit  |  With $385 Capital

An example of how you can use headlines in the financial news to spot trade opportunities. This trade also explains when it might be acceptable to trade shorter-dated expiries (i.e. less than 30 DTE).

QQQ Bull Put Spread 

+$43 Profit  |  With $415 Capital

Although there's nothing exciting or interesting about this trade, it's a reliable rinse-and-repeat trade and you want the bulk of your portfolio to consist of boring, repeatable trades like this one.

SMH Bull Put Spread 

+$51 Profit  |  With $410 Capital

Rinse-and-repeat! The trend is your friend until it ends... truly. If you've ever doubted that, watch this case study as a good reminder.

EEM Bear Call Spread 

-$671 Loss  |  With $324 Capital

A case study of a time I not only went against the trend (and lost), but I also held onto an assigned position much longer than I should have because I was unwilling to gracefully take a loss. Learn from my mistakes!

TLT Bull Put Spread 

+$49 Profit  |  With $331 Capital

Have you ever been tempted to NOT close out a winning trade early (i.e. to conveniently "forget" to enter in your GTC take-profit order)? Me too 😝

XLU Bull Put Spread 

+$30 Profit  |  With $440 Capital

This case study is a good example of how you can optimize the timing of your entries into directional trades. Here, I entered a bull put spread after the ticker had a string of strong down days, which worked out nicely for this trade.

XOP Bear Call Spread 

+$45 Profit  |  With $430 Capital

An example of a bear call spread that was placed upon the breaking of a bullish trendline. 

QQQ Bear Call Spread 

+$108 Profit  |  With $374 Capital

Here's an example of a time I went against the trend (not recommended) and got lucky.