Meet the Trader: CAULIN T. STRUYK

Location: Denver

Age: 33

Years Trading: Eight

How did you start trading?

I started trading in 2014 with dividend stocks and just collected the dividend. Then I started trying equity derivatives in 2016 by just buying options. This was obviously unsuccessful because I was long premium. I lost money with time and had a very low probability of profit compared with selling options. So, I tried a new method in 2020. I finally implemented the tastytrade mechanics and started only selling premium. This is when I really started to make money. The shift from buying premium to selling premium and volatility was the real key to my success. Right now, I maintain a short delta portfolio and use mainly short strangles.

Favorite trading strategy?

My favorite strategy is the short strangle. I implement this with about 22 to 30 delta on each side. I try to stay close to zero delta on each position. I never go lower than 18 delta on either side. I don’t think the risk is justified with delta that low. I also use the iron condor (short strikes the same delta). I don’t like the iron condor because it makes rolling difficult with the clunky long options. I occasionally do butterflies and jade lizards and reverse jade lizards. I will do an SPX put fly when /VX is up $1 or more and /ES is down 2% or more.

Average number of trades per day?

I average about four to five new trades per day. In earnings season I can make seven to eight trades a day.

What percentage of your outcomes do you attribute to luck?

I attribute 0% of outcomes to luck. Everything in options is a probability. With the tasty mechanics, one has a mathematical advantage. I use the law of large numbers and a high number of occurrences to win without luck, as I was never lucky.

Worst trading moment?

I lost 100k in the pandemic crash of 2020. I found out that to be short premium and long delta was a serious problem on an outlier down move. This is why I keep my portfolio delta short to offset outlier down moves.

DTE:

Days to expiration refers to the number of days until an option expires. Standard expiration cycles cease trading after the market closes on the third Friday of each month, but many underlyings have weekly options that expire every Friday.