Gamma Scalping 101 – Gamma/Theta Trading

TASA ID: 13992

OptionSellers, LJM, Catalyst are among the prominent fund managers currently facing litigation for large losses due to short gamma positions. Retail investors regularly lose their savings by shorting options as well. It is time to explain a few things about the short gamma and the “gamma scalping” strategies.

This article is split in two parts for convenience:

• Gamma Scalping 101 – Gamma/Theta Trading, is this article. It explains the concept of gamma and theta, the daily P&L of an option market-maker, and the purpose of gamma scalping. It explains the difference of historical and implied volatilities, which are the long-term roots of profitability for the strategy, as well as why and how gamma-scalpers select the options to trade.
  
  
• Gamma Scalping 102 – The undisclosed risks, will explain the not-so-obvious risks associated with the gamma-theta strategy: large losses and how frequent they are, the impacts of the gamma distribution and of volatility increases during large moves, the importance of institutional infrastructure, before concluding on its dangers.

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