What I was meaning was your combo suggested XLF would go up but you did protect it. By protecting it well... You stayed with it until the puts did it's Job. If it was real money... I wonder how would you have reacted:) Sometimes... that does change things.
When expecting the underlying to go up... I used to go out 2-3mo. * Buy calls three strikes in the money. * with the same number of puts straight across.
If wrong in the direction... the plan was to sell the puts at a double or more and dump it all {as an add} back into the call side. expecting support
My first attempt gave me outstanding results. 4+X Every time after that my plan fell apart (because I didn't follow it) when it went against me. I freaked out and sold the calls at a loss, got the double on the puts and watched it run back up. The puts didn't make as much as the calls lost. If I had followed the plan they would have worked most of the time with more than outstanding results. As always... was a few that the direction was wrong {support did not kick in} and if I added it would have been even worse. so with some respect to freaking out... I saved myself money from a very wrong directional call. In short Combos freak me out:)
My original thought on my last was * buy the 10 strike puts wait for the 13 calls to go At the money giving me gains on the put side from out of the gate before entering the calls. * Enter the calls. If it went against me... the plan was to sell the puts at the falling trend line... today it's about 12.20 and dump all of it back into the cal side. Boy did I screw up not following the plan. I thought the boys were selling I/V so I went long for a daytrade. Now I've bit the bullet and converted the trade into a swing trade with no protection knowing XLF could go to 8-10 I'm not happy
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