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Dykstra: Buying Volatility

Lenny Dykstra

For those of you just awaking from a three-day sleep, the stock market plummeted Friday, with the Dow losing 213 points. The slide can be attributed to a few factors, not the least of which is the expanding uncertainty concerning Iran.

Undeniably, I am not an expert on Iran. However, it is abundantly clear that there is mounting concern over Iran's nuclear program, and the volatile climate surrounding the actions of its president, Mahmoud Alimadinejad. The fact he met recently with leaders of Hamas and Islamic Jihad would at least suggest the likelihood of increased defiance on his part. This heightens fear of a showdown between the West and Iran, which could have a significant impact on oil reserves and prices.

I will leave more in-depth analysis to those more educated in those matters. However, this air of uncertainty leads me to believe that the "buy and hold" strategy of investing has to be seriously questioned. It lends further credibility to my strategy of deep in-the-money-calls as a sound philosophy for successful investing.

Real Trades, Real Profits

When you trade deep in-the-money calls, volatility is your friend. Quality companies went on sale Friday as "panic" was everywhere. Days like Friday are the kind that allow you and I to get an "edge" by using our deep in-the-money calls strategy. For example, we were able to buy the deep in-the-money calls for General Electric (GE Quote); I went out to June and bought the $30 dollar strike, for $4. To be clear, we paid $4,000 dollars to control 1000 shares of one of the best companies in the world!

Everyone thinks GE had a "bad quarter;" what a joke! Excluding items, the results matched Wall Street estimates. It's just how the operators on Wall Street want to spin it.

To watch an interview with Lenny Dykstra about his investing strategy, please click here.

Let me share a quote from GE's chairman and CEO, Jeffrey Immelt : "We finished 2005 as expected, with a strong quarter in our business segments that capped an excellent year."

I feel very confident GE will rebound in the roughly five months we have control of the stock. It could be Monday. It could be in two weeks. It could take six weeks or longer, but if you stay disciplined, and don't try for the home run, you will slowly but surely become rich if you follow my advice.

Remember, if you want to be a "winning trader," you must take you profits when you can. Let me give you an example: The strength on Thursday allowed me to book profits on existing positions. I had good-'till-canceled limit orders to sell strength. No emotion. Just prudent trading to take advantage of market swings.

Most traders buy strength and sell weakness. My strategy works because I am buying weakness and selling strength. And I am buying time; plenty of time. Enough for the trades to work in my favor 90% of the time, more often than not.

Among my current picks: on Intel(INTC Quote), I was able to buy 30 of the July $17.50 in-the-money calls for $4.90.

On Verisign(VRSN Quote), I bought the March $17.50s at $4.50 and sold them Thursday at $5. Then, I bought them again on Friday for the same original price, $4.50.

I was able to buy the May $35 in-the-money call on Coca-Cola(KO Quote) for $5.50.

I was able to buy 20 more June $35 calls on Dow Chemical(DOW Quote) for $7.40. So, all the way until the third Friday in June, I will control 2,000 shares of Dow for a total price of $42.40.

In closing, for those of you who have just begun following my columns and my winning strategy, I am going to be even more clear going forward on what action I, personally, am taking, so you can lock up your profits just like I do.

I can guarantee you this: no matter what part of the country you live in, the money is just as green and you gotta love that!

Remember, life is a journey, enjoy the ride!