Learn / Manage the Position
Managing an active idea: hold, close, roll
Hold is no ticket. Close is BTC (buy to close) and/or STC (sell to close). A roll is close plus a new open.
The Positions page is a journal. A note that says hold, close, take profits, or roll is describing tickets — this site still does not send them. Never average a broken thesis with a new BTO (buy to open) or STO (sell to open) “because the Greek looks cheap.”
A cheap-looking Greek is not a reason to add size. Slide the structure on its Learn lesson or on What if, then decide hold, close, or roll.
Tickets for this structure
BTO (buy to open) · STO (sell to open) · BTC (buy to close) · STC (sell to close). Illustrative fills only. We never send these orders.
STC (sell to close)
Close a long
Sell to close — take profits on a long
You BTO’d (buy to open) the MSFT $420/$440 debit spread at $5. Now 10 DTE (days to expiration), MSFT is $438, the package marks $16. Take profits: STC (sell to close) the $420 call and BTC (buy to close) the $440 call. About $11 per share of gain on the lesson numbers. That is a close, not a hold.
BTC (buy to close)
Close a short
Buy to close — exit a short
You STO’d (sell to open) a cash-secured put. The note says close. Ticket: BTC (buy to close) that put. If you instead STO (sell to open) another put “to average,” you added risk. Rolling is not the same as averaging a dead thesis.
STO (sell to open)
Open a short
Sell to open — only on a roll out/up/down
Still bullish, you BTC (buy to close) the short $440 MSFT call and STO (sell to open) a $450 call further out in time (roll up and out). The new STO (sell to open) is a new short, not a repair of a long that is already wrong.
BTO (buy to open)
Open a long
Buy to open — roll a long, or do not
Rolling a long call is STC (sell to close) the old contract and BTO (buy to open) a later-dated one. If the original thesis is broken, skip the BTO (buy to open). Expiration auto-moves a journal row to expired — that is not a ticket, it is a calendar.
Hold means no ticket today
Hold is the absence of BTO (buy to open), STO (sell to open), BTC (buy to close), and STC (sell to close). The thesis is still the one you logged. If the delayed mark and the event calendar no longer match that thesis, the note should say close or roll — and you decide whether to send those tickets at a broker.
How the Greeks move
This page is tickets, not a structure. Watch delta and theta on the lesson lab for the row you logged, or on /greeks and What if. Do not STO (sell to open) a second put because theta looks rich.
Checking for a quiz…
Teaching numbers only — not a live quote, not a fill, not financial advice. All lessons · Back to Practice · Replay · Journal.