Hi Al,
How do I determine when to buy calls.
I trade almost entirely on technical analysis, with a bit of news for consideration. My work is in the current weekly expiration.
Over 90% of my trades are expected to be closed in the same day; I rarely hold anything overnight. That is because the unknown nature of overnight sentiment changes is not well predicted by technical factors.
Typically, about an hour before the open I study the daily and 15-minute charts for the 8 or 10 favorite issues which change little over time. I'm looking for reversals. Always. Looking for trends which have prospects for tiring.
For calls, upward intraday trends will be characterized by reducing buying volume as long bidders think less of the prospects for further such movement.
So, I'm looking at, on the 5-minute charts: RSI low, but beginning move up, stock volume bars red shortening and green beginning to appear and lengthen, Advance/Decline turning up from low, On Balance Volume likewise, Chaiken Oscillator turning up.
On Fridays, there nearly always will be "exhaustions" of varying length that can be identified for calls entries. Care must be taken to not overstay; many Friday calls duration will be less than an hour. Not for most newbies.
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