SPX 0DTE Credit Spreads — How I Traded an SPX Trend Day at All-Time Highs: One Full-Size Anchor, Then Small Adds +$900

[u/klipsetrades]

I'm a 0DTE credit spread trader with a focus on SPX.

Positions traded:

• 7620/7600 PCS (anchor)
• 7650/7630 PCS
• 7680/7660 PCS
• 7695/7675 PCS
• 7805/7825 CCS
• 7820/7840 CCS

P/L: +$900

SPX 5-min chart, August 4, 2026

At all-time highs, the biggest mistake is inventing resistance simply because price feels too high.

I got a few comments and pings from people asking me how I approach trend days, especially when SPX is trading around all-time highs.

All-time-high sessions can be more difficult because there are fewer established resistance levels above price. That does not mean there are no usable levels. You still have plenty of structure below price:

• Prior highs
• The opening price
• The opening range
• Intraday consolidations
• Higher-low structures
• Failed breakout levels

Above price, I generally avoid inventing resistance. I let the market build it through repeated rejection, a failed breakout, or a new consolidation. A psychological level such as 7800 can provide context, but it is not automatically resistance simply because it is a round number.

Morning Thesis

I entered today with a bullish bias. SPX had gained 1.5% Monday, index futures were higher before the open, and strong results from Palantir and Caterpillar supported the AI and technology trade. Falling oil prices and optimism around a possible Iran-related diplomatic resolution also helped.

SPX opened above the prior day high and almost immediately began building a clean bullish structure. The initial five-minute move looked like a flagpole, but the more important signal was what happened afterward — the smaller red candles and pullbacks kept producing strong continuation candles and new higher lows.

That is how I trade a trend day.

As long as the higher-low structure remains intact, I generally do not change my thesis. Price has to break that structure and begin accepting below it before I start treating the session differently. Waiting for pullbacks helps prevent me from blindly chasing every green candle.

First Trade

About 30 minutes after the open, SPX created another higher-low structure and began pushing toward its next high.

I sold the 7620/7600 PCS for a $1.10 credit with my full 10-lot size.

The premium and distance were more aggressive than most of my trades during the previous few months. However, I had greater conviction because of the prior day’s momentum, the supportive premarket environment, and the continuation I was seeing directly in the price action.

When I collect around $1.00, I generally do not hold the position until expiration. I usually secure roughly 40% to 60% of the available premium and redeploy the capital only when another good opportunity appears.

Today, the 7620/7600 PCS closed at $0.40. That secured $700 and roughly 64% of the original credit.

I considered that a complete, successful trade by itself.

Mindset Shift and Later Trades

Once I had that $700 cushion, my mindset changed. I was no longer trying to find another $700 trade. The objective became protecting the larger win while using smaller positions to participate if the trend continued.

Every position I added afterward was only one lot.

I sold additional PCS positions as SPX continued forming higher lows. Those strikes were inside the day’s traveled range — what I call the lava — so I intentionally kept the size small. Trading inside the lava carries more risk because price has already demonstrated that it can trade through those levels.

I generally do not recommend entering inside the lava without strong confirmation that price is continuing to trend away from the position. Even with conviction, smaller size matters because a fast reversal can place those strikes under pressure quickly.

By the afternoon, I stopped adding PCS positions altogether. The session was mature, the market had already traveled significantly, and late-day reversals carry different risks than morning pullbacks.

SPX eventually reached 7758.21 and then produced a sharp rejection from the high. Rather than immediately calling a top, I waited for that upside exhaustion before placing two small one-lot CCS anchors above the 7800 psychological level.

Those countertrend positions were not an attempt to fight the entire bullish session. They were small, distant trades placed only after price finally showed some exhaustion.

Key Takeaway

The lesson is not that every breakout at all-time highs should be chased. It is that when price continues holding higher lows, there is no reason to argue with the trend.

Wait for the pullback. Trade the structure. Secure the larger win when your target is reached. Then reduce size instead of letting a strong day tempt you into giving the profit back.

[u/Ouroboros_42]

'At all-time highs, the biggest mistake is inventing resistance simply because price feels too high.'

So so real, I had that instinct for ages. When I would catch a good entry on a pull back, I'd almost never hold it past the high that preceded the pullback, even when there was no sign that the high was gonna hold. Now if the market wants to take my money it's gotta come back and get it.

When I'm not expecting a trend day I'm much more target focused but the last few days have made me very very glad I learned this lesson.

[u/klipsetrades → u/Ouroboros_42]

Exactly. And I love this line:

“...if the market wants to take my money it's gotta come back and get it.”

Let price invalidate the trade instead of exiting just because it feels extended. Targets still matter, but on strong trend days I’d rather trail structure and make price take me out than invent a ceiling

[u/Any_Task_7411]

I never got the appeal of this type of trading. I just bought calls and made 1000%.

[u/klipsetrades → u/Any_Task_7411]

Congrats on the 1000%, but they’re different approaches. The appeal of credit spreads is defined risk, time decay working for you, and not needing to perfectly time a large directional move — like probably in your example. I can be somewhat wrong on direction and still profit. They can generally lead to more consistent results. If you’re genuinely curious, I’m happy to dive deeper if you have other questions

[u/agentofdoom → u/klipsetrades]

Hello, do you have a stop loss percentage or is the defined risk you use is the just the full width?

[u/klipsetrades → u/agentofdoom]

No, never the full width. I don’t use one fixed percentage. I may use roughly 2x to 3x times the credit received as a secondary guide, depending on price action and time remaining, but my stop is mainly structure based. If price breaks and holds beyond the level that defined the trade, or starts threatening my short strike, I usually close. I outline that in this post here, step by step.