On September 28, at 11:15 US Eastern — 23:15 Beijing — I bought back the last 10 contracts of my NOK Oct 2 $11 call: filled at $0.04, $43.20 all-in including fees.
No dramatic tape, just a quiet closing: this old PMCC top leg (Group B) ended up leaving +$114.80 in the account — and removed a $11,000 notional obligation from the books of a RED-status account.
1. The Ledger First
📒 Ledger detail (click to expand)
| Time (Beijing) | Action | Contract | Qty | Price | Cash Flow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22:03 | Limit buyback (DAY) | NOK OCT 2 ‘26 11C | 10 | $0.03 (no fill) | — |
| 23:15 | Buyback filled | NOK OCT 2 ‘26 11C | 10 | $0.04 | -$40.00 |
| Commission & fees | -$3.20 | ||||
| All-in total | -$43.20 |
And the full life of this leg, sell to buy:
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Sold (opened) | avg $0.158 × 10 = +$158.00 |
| Bought back (closed) | all-in -$43.20 |
| Net banked | +$114.80 (kept 72.7% of the maximum gain) |
Basis: both sides per TWS settlement figures; every number recomputed locally, no mental math.
2. What Happened That Night: $0.03 to $0.04
At 22:03 Beijing I placed the order: BUY NOK OCT 2 ‘26 11C ×10, limit $0.03, DAY — a one-cent bargain under the then-mark of $0.04.
The night passed; no seller showed up. At 23:15, the fill came at $0.04. With $3.20 in commission and exchange fees, the buyback cost $43.20 all-in.
Hold out a whole night over one cent? Not worth it. A bargain price is a bonus; getting filled is discipline — this order had exactly one KPI: take the obligation off the books and cross the task off the calendar. Look at the trajectory: the pre-market plan estimated ~$100 to clean this leg up; the actual cost came to $43.20. The market had already handed over plenty of discount — the last cent, let it go.
3. Why “Now”: The Right Move in a RED Account
This buyback hit three lines at once:
- The account is RED — only two kinds of moves are allowed: reduce obligations, reduce risk. This was the former: an $11,000-notional potential delivery obligation, cleared for $43.20. Afterward the maintenance margin reading eased from 79.2% to 76.28% — the direction is right, but the account is still above the 50% line, still RED (honesty stays with the account itself).
- Only a quarter of the value was left on the table. Sold at avg $0.158, bought back at $0.04 — 25% residual. Hang on four more trading days plus an NFP countdown for that last $40 of maximum remaining profit? No. A seller’s profit never comes from “waiting it out”; it comes from one comparison: is the residual worth the risk that remains?
- Decluttering the calendar. October 2 was its original expiry — also the September NFP release night (20:30 Beijing). Retire this old lease early, and the Oct 2 board holds only 10P ×5 — reducing the decision surface is itself a return.
4. Coverage Check (never skipped)
- Before: LEAP 10C JUN’27 20 contracts ≥ short calls 15 → fully covered ✅
- After: LEAP 20 ≥ short calls 5 → +15 headroom, no naked ✅
The buyback didn’t weaken the PMCC skeleton — it just peeled off the oldest layer of lease on top. Same skeleton, lighter shoulders.
5. The Board: Nokia’s Next Node
| Leg | Expiry | Status |
|---|---|---|
| 10P OCT 2 ×5 | 10/2 | ~+4% buffer, watch $10 (NFP night) |
| 10P OCT 9 ×5 | 10/9 | Collecting rent |
| 9.5P OCT 23 ×5 | 10/23 | Straddles 10/22 earnings → handle before it |
| 12C OCT 23 ×5 | 10/23 | Earnings-straddling call, management line 10/15 |
| LEAP 10C JUN’27 ×20 | 2027-06 | Base position, untouched |
The next decision point is 10/2: NFP plus the 10P ×5 expiry. And when that night comes, the board will no longer carry the name 11C.
The most valuable thing a seller does rarely looks dramatic: not the thrill of opening a position, not the pride of squeezing out the last cent — but quietly returning to the market a lease no longer worth managing.
The rent is small; the discipline is large. With the obligation cleared, the next hand starts on a cleaner table.
Trade journal · part of the September NOK short-leg series with the 10C roll and the three-leg put sale.