I sold a vertical call spread at 245/255 for AAPL on 19 Sep 2025. Today's jump made me very nervous. It was sitting at 230 and now trading at 240ish.
If you were me, what would you have done? I have some options, to share and see what you guys can share with me (which I appreciate)
1- I can sell another call spread for the same date for a different strike price, let's say 260/270. This way I collect some credit. And can apply it to close the original one earlier. This limit my loss and still has some risk.
2- I can roll up an into the future for a credit, the future shall be 3 months at least. This is rolling to 265/275 for Dec monthly for a very small credit. This still has risks but a longer time frame, and the 265 is the max target stock price for AAPL this year.
3- I can sit and wait. And when there is a dip in the next few days to close it for less than now. This has the risk if AAPL goes even higher, and even goes ITM.
4- I can sell the same call spread (this time I will be getting much more credit) in the hope of stock going down, and with this strategy I kind of average my position. So less loss but very risky if you ask me.
Any other options or any of these options that you would have used ?
Posted by canws
2 Comments
I sold a 245 call. Gonna let it go a little more and see what happens. I’m thinking a small pullback is coming.
This is the classic problem with call spreads: you cap your upside but you are still short convexity. When a name like AAPL gaps 4% in a day, the whole game flips from theta bleed to delta risk.
Sell another call spread (260/270) is just doubling down. You collect pennies and increase exposure. If AAPL rips again, you are compounding risk, not hedging it. I would avoid
Same idea with sell the same spread again: it is basically just averaging a short gamma position and this is how retail accounts die. Do not do it.
Roll out and up to Dec 265/275 is the cleanest mechanical move if you still believe AAPL tops out. You pay time, you widen your breakeven window, you keep the credit profile intact. It does not “fix” the risk, but it buys you time.
Talking about buying time, sit and wait is always an option. If AAPL chops, vol comes off, and you can close cheaper. But if it trends higher, you are naked hoping.
If it was me I would probably either roll out and up or cut and redeploy elsewhere. Trying to average or “fix” by adding more risk is how you turn a manageable loser into a blow-up.
Remember: the edge in spreads is carry, not hero calls on direction. And more importantly, you can’t win them all. The market is still random and unpredictable: you have to accept that sometimes, you will get punch in the face. Next time, check to see if selling that credit spread had great odds or not.
Good luck.