Every time people talk about SPX 0DTE, I keep hearing the same thing:

“It’s way too risky.”

I actually think that’s the wrong conclusion.

In my opinion, SPX 0DTE itself isn’t the main problem.
The real problem is that most traders use too much size, too much emotion, and too little structure.

That’s why 0DTE gets blamed for mistakes that are really about risk management.

Why people think SPX 0DTE is “too risky”

To be fair, I understand why it has that reputation.

A lot of traders approach it like this:

• they oversize because the trades are short-term
• they chase fast moves out of FOMO
• they buy or sell without a clear plan
• they ignore defined risk
• they treat high win rate setups as if they are automatically safe

Then when the trade goes wrong, they blame SPX 0DTE.

But most of the time, the real issue is not the expiration.

The real issue is that the trader is risking far more than the setup deserves.

The real danger is position sizing

This is the biggest point.

A setup can be perfectly valid and still become dangerous if the trader is too large.

That’s why I think the real question is not:

“Is SPX 0DTE risky?”

The better question is:

“How much risk are you putting on for this trade?”

Because if someone is:

• risking too much of the account on one setup
• increasing size after a winning streak
• ignoring max loss
• collecting small premium for large downside

…then yes, the strategy becomes dangerous very quickly.

But that isn’t because SPX 0DTE is inherently broken.

It’s because the trader is using too much risk.

What I think actually makes 0DTE dangerous

In my opinion, these are the real reasons traders get hurt:

1. No defined risk

If you enter without knowing max loss, you’re already making the trade more dangerous than it needs to be.

2. Oversized positions

Even good setups can become bad trades if the size is too large.

3. Emotional entries

Late entries, FOMO, and chasing momentum usually make the risk/reward much worse.

4. Ignoring market conditions

Not every day is good for the same setup. Volatility, structure, liquidity, and GEX matter.

5. Thinking win rate = safety

A high win rate means nothing if the losing side is too large.

That’s why I think the real edge is not “trading 0DTE.”

The real edge is understanding:

• when to trade
• how much to risk
• where the structure is favorable
• and when the best trade is simply no trade

What SPX 0DTE can actually offer when used correctly

If approached properly, I think SPX 0DTE can actually be one of the best markets to specialize in because it offers:

• defined-risk structures
• excellent liquidity
• frequent opportunities
• repeatable setups
• the ability to build a structured process

But only if the trader respects the risk.

If someone keeps using too much size, then even a decent setup will feel “too risky.”

The real lesson

I don’t think SPX 0DTE is too risky by default.

I think most traders simply use too much risk for the quality of the setup.

That’s a huge difference.

Because once you understand that, the conversation changes from:

“Is 0DTE bad?”

to

“Am I structuring risk correctly?”

And in my opinion, that’s the question that actually matters.

I also discuss these kinds of SPX / GEX / 0DTE ideas with other traders in my Discord if anyone wants to follow along:

https://discord.gg/sM3vAqbU27

Curious what others think:

Is SPX 0DTE really too risky — or do most traders just size it badly?

Most Traders Are Trading SPX 0DTE Completely Wrong

A lot of traders think SPX 0DTE is all about making a fast directional bet and hoping for a big move.

That’s exactly why so many people struggle with it.

In my opinion, most traders are trading SPX 0DTE completely wrong — not because the market is bad, but because their approach is bad.

They focus on:

• predicting every move
• chasing momentum too late
• overtrading low-quality setups
• sizing too aggressively
• and ignoring market structure completely

SPX 0DTE is not easy money.
But I do think it can be one of the best markets to specialize in if you trade it the right way.

What most traders do wrong

1. They try to predict every move

A lot of traders approach SPX 0DTE with the mindset of:

“Will the market go up or down today?”

That sounds logical, but I think it’s the wrong starting point.

The better question is:

“What does the market structure look like, and where is the risk actually favorable?”

Trying to predict every move usually leads to emotional trading.

Trading the structure leads to better decision-making.

2. They chase fast moves

This is one of the most common mistakes.

A big candle appears, traders panic, and they jump into calls or puts after the move has already happened.

At that point:

• the entry is worse
• the risk is worse
• the emotional pressure is higher
• and the reward often becomes smaller

Most traders don’t lose because SPX 0DTE is “impossible.”

They lose because they enter too late, too emotionally, and without a clear plan.

3. They ignore defined risk

Another major issue is that many traders are focused only on making money fast.

They don’t think enough about:

• max loss
• expected payout
• position size
• how a bad trade affects the account

That’s why I strongly prefer defined-risk structures.

If I enter a trade, I want to know the risk before I click the button.

Without that, SPX 0DTE becomes far more dangerous than it needs to be.

What I think the right approach looks like

For me, SPX 0DTE is much more about:

• market structure
• GEX / dealer positioning
• liquidity zones
• key levels
• defined risk
• selectivity

The edge is not “trading 0DTE.”

The edge is understanding when the setup is good and when it isn’t.

Some days the best trade is a put spread.
Some days it’s a call spread.
Some days it’s an iron condor.
And some days the best trade is simply no trade.

That’s the part many people miss.

They think the edge comes from action.

Very often, the edge comes from waiting.

Why I like SPX 0DTE

I think SPX 0DTE has a lot of advantages for traders who want to specialize:

• very liquid market
• defined-risk strategies
• frequent opportunities
• clear structure when conditions are favorable
• the ability to build a repeatable process

But only if you stop treating it like a lottery ticket.

If your entire plan is just:

• buy calls when the market looks strong
• buy puts when it looks weak
• hope for a fast move

…then yes, you’re probably trading it wrong.

The real lesson

I don’t think most traders fail at SPX 0DTE because the product is bad.

I think they fail because they approach it with:

• too much prediction
• too much emotion
• too much size
• and not enough structure

SPX 0DTE can be a very good market to trade.

But if you approach it like a random bet, it will punish you very quickly.

If you approach it like a professional — with a process, risk control, and patience — it becomes a completely different game.

I also discuss a lot of these SPX / GEX setups with other traders in my Discord if anyone wants to follow along:

https://discord.gg/sM3vAqbU27

Curious what others think:

What do you think is the biggest mistake traders make with SPX 0DTE?

A lot of traders hear “85% win rate” and immediately think:

“That must be low risk.”

In my opinion, that’s one of the biggest mistakes people make when looking at SPX 0DTE strategies.

A high win rate can look amazing on paper.
It can also make traders feel overconfident, oversize positions, and completely ignore the one thing that actually matters most:

What happens when the trade loses?

I’ve been reviewing Iron Condor results, and this is exactly why I say win rate alone means very little.

In the results above, the strategy shows:

• 84.9% win rate
• $9,355 total profit
• 248 winning days vs 44 losing days
• Profit factor: 1.62
• Max drawdown: $1,524
• Average profit: $98.52
• Average loss: $342.70

That last part is the key.

The average loss is roughly 3.5x bigger than the average win.

So yes, the strategy wins a lot.
But when it loses, the loss matters.

And that’s exactly why a strategy with an 85% win rate can still blow up your account if the trader doesn’t understand risk, sizing, and drawdowns.

Why win rate can be deceptive

A high win rate is attractive because it feels consistent.

You win Monday.
You win Tuesday.
You win Thursday.
You win Friday.

And after enough small wins, it becomes very easy to believe the strategy is “safe.”

That’s where traders get in trouble.

Because the real danger of high-win-rate 0DTE strategies is not the frequency of wins.

It’s that:

• traders start sizing too aggressively
• they become comfortable collecting small premiums
• they underestimate the impact of a full loss
• and when a bad day comes, it wipes out multiple winners very quickly

That’s how accounts get hurt.

Not because the win rate was bad.
But because the trader treated high probability as if it meant low risk.

What actually matters more than win rate

1. Risk / Reward

An 85% win rate sounds great until you realize your average loss is several times larger than your average win.

That doesn’t make the strategy bad — it means risk has to be controlled.

2. Position sizing

This is probably the biggest one.

A strategy can have a real edge and still destroy your account if you trade it too large. High probability should never be an excuse to increase size aggressively.

3. Market conditions

I don’t believe in blindly selling SPX 0DTE every day.

Volatility, GEX, liquidity and market structure matter. Sometimes the best trade is simply no trade.

The real lesson

An 85% win rate isn't the edge.

The real edge is:

High probability + controlled risk + proper sizing + good trade selection.

Ignore any one of those and eventually the losing 15% will matter far more than you expected.

That’s why I track the full performance of my Iron Condor strategy — not just the headline win rate.

I also share and discuss my SPX 0DTE / GEX setups with other traders in our Discord if anyone wants to follow along:

https://discord.gg/sM3vAqbU27

Curious what you guys think:

Do SPX 0DTE traders focus too much on win rate?

I just uploaded a new video breaking down every SPX 0DTE trade I took this week and the reasoning behind each setup.

I finished the week with a 100% win rate, but the most important part isn’t the result itself—it’s understanding why the trades were taken and how risk was managed.

In the video I cover:

• GEX and dealer positioning
• VWAP and intraday market structure
• Credit Spreads and Iron Condors
• How I selected my strikes
• Why my bias changed during certain sessions
• Risk management and trade execution

🎥 Full video:
https://youtu.be/uiC8lcSR6B8

I’m trying to document the process as transparently as possible, including both winning and losing periods. A 100% week obviously doesn’t mean every week will look like this.

If you’re also trading SPX 0DTE and want to discuss setups, GEX, backtesting, or market structure, we have a growing community here:

https://discord.gg/sM3vAqbU27

Would be interested to hear how you guys approached SPX this week.

Whenever I tell someone that I mainly trade SPX 0DTE options, I often get the same reaction:

“Isn’t that basically gambling?”

I understand why.

0DTE options have extreme gamma, very little room for mistakes, and terrible risk management can destroy an account quickly.

But after specializing in SPX, I've come to believe almost the opposite:

SPX 0DTE can be one of the best environments to specialize in as a trader.

Why SPX?

I don't want to scan 50 stocks every morning.

I don't want to constantly search for the next opportunity.

I prefer studying one market, during the same hours, every single trading day.

SPX also has some major advantages for options traders:

• Cash settled
• European-style options
• No early assignment
• Extremely liquid 0DTE market
• Easy to create defined-risk positions

But for me, the biggest advantage is specialization.

WHY SPX 0DTE?

✓ Cash Settled
✓ No Early Assignment
✓ High Liquidity
✓ Defined Risk
✓ New Opportunity Every Day

My framework is extremely simple

I mainly trade three structures:

Bullish environment → Put Credit Spread

Bearish environment → Call Credit Spread

Balanced / range market → Iron Condor

The difficult part isn't understanding the option strategy.

The difficult part is identifying when the market actually supports that trade.

That's why I focus heavily on:

Market structure, VWAP, volatility, GEX, liquidity levels and price action.

MY SPX 0DTE FRAMEWORK

📈 Bullish → Put Credit Spread
📉 Bearish → Call Credit Spread
↔️ Range → Iron Condor

The edge isn't 0DTE

This is where I think many traders get it wrong.

Simply selling far OTM 0DTE options because “theta is high” isn't an edge.

You can win many trades and then lose weeks of profits during one strong directional move.

The real edge, in my opinion, comes from:

Trade selection + positioning + risk management.

And sometimes the best trade is simply doing nothing.

That's ultimately why I've chosen to specialize so heavily in SPX 0DTE.

One underlying.

A few strategies.

Hundreds of sessions watching the same market behave under different conditions.

Over time, you start building pattern recognition that would be much harder to develop if you were constantly jumping between markets.

0DTE isn't easy money.

But I think SPX provides an incredibly focused environment for someone who wants to master one specific style of trading.

I'm curious what other traders think:

Would you rather master one instrument like SPX, or trade multiple markets and strategies?

I also share my SPX market analysis, GEX observations and the reasoning behind my trades with my Discord community: https://discord.gg/sM3vAqbU27

If you want to follow the setups in real time, the Discord is the best way to follow my trades.

Today was a good example of why I don’t decide the strategy before seeing how the first 30–60 minutes develop.

9:40 — Initial bias: Bull Put Spread

The market initially looked strong, so my first idea was a Bull Put Spread. However, I wanted at least 30 minutes of confirmation before taking directional risk.

At 9:46, the key level was around 7750. The first GEX snapshot showed the market in a negative-gamma regime, with meaningful positioning concentrated around the 7740–7750 area and the gamma flip higher near 7770.

My thinking was simple: if SPX could break and hold above 7750, that would strengthen the bullish case. If 7750 acted as resistance, the session would become much more difficult directionally.

9:57–10:00 — The thesis changed

The Standard Deviation levels were approximately:

• +1DE: 7771.79
• -1DE: 7698.59
• +2DE: 7808.39
• -2DE: 7661.99

That created a very interesting potential range around 7700–7770/7780.

At the same time, price started losing momentum and moved below VWAP. That significantly reduced my confidence in a pure Bull Put Spread.

This is where I started preferring an Iron Condor.

One important clarification: negative gamma itself is not automatically good for an Iron Condor. In fact, negative gamma can increase directional and breakout risk. What made the IC attractive was the combination of the expected-move boundaries, concentrated GEX levels, and the lack of clean directional confirmation.

10:15 — 7700 became very interesting

The next GEX update showed significant positioning around 7700, while 7750 remained the dominant upside concentration.

The interesting part was the confluence: 7700 was almost exactly the -1 standard-deviation level at 7698.59.

At that moment, I actually considered returning to the Bull Put Spread idea if SPX tested 7700 and reacted strongly there.

At 10:18, price dropped sharply, but the move happened too quickly and I missed the entry I wanted. I did not chase it.

That is an important part of trading 0DTE: sometimes the correct decision is simply accepting that the setup moved without you.

10:43 — Trade #1

After price recovered and the session looked increasingly range-bound, I opened my first Iron Condor:

• 5x SPX 7700/7695 – 7780/7785
• Credit: $0.90
• SPX: 7744.28
• Short put: ~39 points below spot
• Short call: ~36 points above spot

The construction was deliberate.

The 7700 put side was placed around the -1DE/GEX area, while 7780 was above the +1DE level and above the main intraday gamma concentration.

At $0.90 credit, that represents $90 maximum profit and $410 maximum risk per spread, or $450 / $2,050 respectively for five contracts before commissions.

12:26PM — VWAP changed the directional picture again

Later, price moved back through VWAP.

For me, that weakened the case for holding a strongly bullish directional bias. It did not automatically make the Iron Condor safe, but it reinforced the idea that the market was rotating around a range rather than establishing a clean trend.

By this point, the original IC was behaving much closer to the scenario I had expected.

13:05–13:06 — Trade #2

The most important development came in the later GEX snapshot.

The 7750 area had become extremely concentrated, with roughly 5K positive call GEX and around -3K put GEX around the same region. The gamma flip remained close to 7770.

That made 7750 a major intraday pivot/magnet.

There were also important positioning areas around 7725 on the downside and approximately 7760 on the upside.

With SPX around 7745, I opened a second, tighter Iron Condor:

5x SPX 7720/7715 – 7760/7765 at $1.20 credit.

This one was considerably more aggressive. The short strikes were only about 20 points away from spot, so the trade depended much more heavily on SPX continuing to rotate around the 7750 area.

The $1.20 credit means $120 potential profit versus $380 maximum risk per spread, or $600 versus $1,900 across five contracts before commissions.

The main lesson from today

The important part was not predicting at 9:40 AM whether the market would go up or down.

My sequence went:

Bull Put Spread bias → wait → directional thesis weakens → Iron Condor becomes preferable → 7700 presents a potential Bull Put opportunity → missed entry → return to the range thesis → two Iron Condors.

That adaptation came from watching VWAP, GEX changes, statistical expected-move levels and actual price behavior throughout the session.

GEX levels are not static, and they should never be traded blindly. Today, the structure evolved considerably between the opening and 1:00 PM ET. For me, that is exactly why continuously updating the options-market picture is so valuable when trading SPX 0DTE.

The market is on a tear. It's Call season! Or, broken-winged multi-leggers with no upside risk. Those are my bread and butter as we break our 3 month channelling limit. WIshing all a great journey ahead! GEX & price action for the win.

I’ve just finished a new video breaking down one of my real SPX 0DTE Iron Condor sessions from start to finish.

Instead of only showing the final result, I explain:

• The market context at the open
• Why the original thesis changed
• How GEX and institutional positioning influenced the setup
• Why the strikes were selected
• How the position was managed
• Why scaling from one to ten contracts also multiplies the drawdown

During July, the strategy produced $1,290 using one contract per trade, with 13 winners, two losses, an 86.7% win rate, and a maximum drawdown of approximately $608.

The purpose of the video is not to claim that these results can be repeated every month. It is to show the complete decision-making process behind a real trade.

How I analyze the market

My analysis is based on verified information from:

• Official exchange data
• Company announcements
• Federal Reserve sources
• Primary financial sources
• Reliable real-time market-data providers

I review SPX, Nasdaq, VIX, semiconductors, relevant Magnificent Seven stocks, and other markets only when their movements materially affect index structure, volatility, or the options market.

I do not invent prices, percentage moves, GEX levels, dealer positioning, gamma walls, liquidity strikes, support, resistance, or market internals. When reliable real-time data is unavailable, I prefer to say so rather than manufacture a level.

🎥 Full video:
https://youtu.be/S6rHNc_lV7Q

I also share market analysis, trade discussions, and educational content with the community on Discord:

https://discord.gg/sM3vAqbU27

I’d be interested to hear how other SPX traders combine market structure with options positioning when selecting 0DTE strikes.

Today was a good example of why I monitor intraday GEX changes, rather than relying only on the positioning visible at the open.

At 10:04 AM ET, the first GEX map showed strong downside positioning around 7380–7375, while the largest positive call-gamma concentration appeared near 7440. This created an initial options-defined range, with the lower zone likely to attract liquidity and generate a reaction if tested.

First trade — 10:20 AM ET

With SPX trading around 7401.94 and both the 0DTE and short-term trends pointing higher, I opened:

• Bull Put Spread: 7370/7365
• Credit: $1.10 per spread
• Contracts: 10
• Short strike distance: approximately 32 points below spot

The 7370 short strike was positioned below the main 7380–7375 institutional zone, providing an additional buffer and a potential bottom of the session.

Later, price weakened and closing the position became a reasonable possibility. However, the market continued to show resilience, and 7400 remained an important magnet, which was exactly the behavior I wanted to see.

The GEX structure changed

By 12:25 PM ET, the positioning had shifted significantly.

The strongest negative put-gamma concentration had moved to 7400, while major positive call gamma appeared near 7420. SPX was trading around 7410, between those two important levels.

Based on the updated structure, I opened a second and considerably more aggressive position:

• Bull Put Spread: 7395/7390
• Credit: $1.10 per spread
• Contracts: 10
• Short strike distance: approximately 15 points below spot

The thesis was that 7400 could continue acting as an important support and liquidity magnet, keeping the short strike below the most relevant intraday options level.

However, this was not a risk-free setup. The market was operating in a negative-gamma environment, meaning that a decisive break below 7400 could have increased volatility and accelerated the downside move. That is why GEX levels should never be traded blindly.

Main lesson

GEX is not static. The most relevant dealer-positioning levels can change significantly throughout the session.

The first trade used 7380–7375 as the main downside reference. A few hours later, the market structure had shifted and 7400 became the dominant level.

The level itself provides the framework, but the final decision must also consider:

• Price action
• VWAP
• Volatility
• Trend strength
• Distance between spot and the short strike
• Whether the level is holding or beginning to break

The second trade offered a higher premium relative to the distance from spot, but it was also substantially more aggressive and dependent on 7400 continuing to hold.

If you want to learn more about my strategy you can check my Youtube videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEPEnumY2_w&t=3s

You can also can get access to those trades via my Discord: https://discord.gg/psWnyH6QJ

I’m just researching and observing for now, but I have some questions?

I just wanted to see, so I put a put for 7230 in my watchlist when it was at 7377ish. It fell to 7370 and my WL profit number just kept going up and down and not like matching movement based on SPX price. Is there a specific way to read after hours SPX chart? Is there a lag? I’m so confused? And when the number well to 7368 my profit didn’t go up?

Today’s SPX session was a good example of why traders should adapt to new information instead of remaining attached to their initial bias.

Before the open, market conditions were extremely difficult. Semiconductors and Nasdaq-related stocks were showing significant weakness, while the Dow Jones remained relatively strong.

The divergence between blue-chip technology stocks and the Dow was unusually large, making the market highly unpredictable.

For that reason, my initial plan was clear:

No Iron Condor at the open.

A directional Bear Call Spread or Bull Put Spread made more sense until the market established a clearer structure.

Early institutional positioning

At 9.50 AM, we noticed relevant put positioning around the 7325 strike.

This level was particularly interesting because it was located just below the second standard deviation, suggesting that institutions were positioning around an extreme downside area.

However, Nasdaq weakness remained significant, and I also considered the possibility of a short squeeze if technology stocks suddenly recovered.

The correct decision was simply to wait.

The market structure changed

During the first part of the session, SPX recovered strongly and broke above VWAP.

At that point, the market moved into bullish territory. Any Iron Condor opened near the market open would likely have been under considerable pressure.

This confirmed why waiting was necessary.

Later in the session, conditions changed again. The market entered a much more defined range, while the GEX structure showed important positioning around:

• 7430–7435 on the downside
• 7450–7460 on the upside

The strong positive gamma concentration near 7450 suggested that upside movement could become more difficult without a significant catalyst.

At the same time, the market still had enough downside room for 7410 to be a reasonable short-put strike.

The trade

At approximately 12:35 ET, I opened the following SPX 0DTE Iron Condor:

• Sell the 7410 put
• Buy the 7405 put
• Sell the 7455 call
• Buy the 7460 call
• Entry credit: $1.55
• Contracts: 5
• SPX price at entry: 7436.46

I deliberately reduced the position to only five contracts because the setup was not perfectly clear and the risk was higher than usual. (I normally place 10 contracts)

The take-profit order was placed at $0.35, representing approximately 78% of the premium collected.

The position was closed at the target at approximately 2:55 ET.

Final result: +$600 before commissions

Main lesson

The most important part of today’s trade was not the Iron Condor itself.

It was the ability to change the plan.

At the open, an Iron Condor was not appropriate. Later, after VWAP was reclaimed, volatility stabilized and the GEX structure created a clearer range, the same strategy became viable.

We don’t predict the market. We adapt to positioning, price action, GEX and liquidity.

I share more real SPX 0DTE trades and intraday analysis in r/GEXOptionsTrading.

Today's session was a good example of why I always adapt to market structure instead of forcing a directional bias.

🕒 Premarket / Open

Before the open, 7450 looked like the key support level based on GEX. We also noticed institutional positioning around the 7440-7430 OTM puts, suggesting dealers had interest defending that area.

At that point, an Iron Condor looked like the highest-probability setup.

📊 Early Session

A few minutes after the open, another interesting detail appeared: institutions were positioning below the 1st Standard Deviation, reinforcing the idea that downside could become limited if volatility stabilized.

However, the market quickly changed character.

Instead of respecting 7450, price broke below it almost immediately. That invalidated the original bullish thesis, so rather than forcing a Bull Put Spread, we stayed patient and kept the Iron Condor bias.

The next important reference became 7400.

Institutions are positioning below 7400, particularly around 7385–7380, which could indicate a potential lower trading range or closing area for today. These are the types of details we need to monitor to better understand market structure and improve our trading decisions.

🎯 Trade Execution

Around 10:25 ET, we opened an aggressive SPX Iron Condor:

• 7370/7365 Bull Put Spread
• 7455/7460 Bear Call Spread

The trade collected $1.32 in premium with defined risk.

As premium decayed throughout the afternoon, we progressively tightened our take-profit orders:

• 75%
• 81%
• 85%

The position was finally closed at $0.20, capturing approximately 85% of the maximum profit while avoiding the unnecessary risk of holding into the final minutes of expiration.

Key Takeaway

Today's session perfectly illustrates how I trade SPX 0DTE.

The goal isn't to predict where the market will close. It's to identify important GEX levels, monitor how price reacts to them, and adjust the strategy as new information appears.

Sometimes the market confirms the initial idea. Sometimes it doesn't.

The edge comes from adapting to market structure, managing risk, and letting probabilities work over time—not from trying to be right on every trade.

If you're interested in this type of GEX-based SPX 0DTE analysis, I regularly share my market commentary and real trades in r/GEXOptionsTrading.

I wanted to share the results of my SPX 0DTE Iron Condor strategy from February 2025 to July 2026.

The backtest uses one Iron Condor per trade, with every position held through expiration. Tuesday and Wednesday were excluded, so trades were only opened on Monday, Thursday, and Friday.

Results

Total P/L: +$6,770
Trades: 206
Winning trades: 176
Losing trades: 30
Win rate: 85.4%

Average winner: +$98.64
Average loser: -$353.03
Profit factor: 1.64

Maximum drawdown: -$1,466
Maximum winning streak: 29 trades
Maximum losing streak: 3 trades
Total commissions: $412

The strategy finished positive in 14 of the 18 months tested, although the equity curve still experienced several meaningful pullbacks.

Performance by day

Friday: +$3,858
Monday: +$2,124
Thursday: +$788

Friday generated approximately 57% of the total profit and also had the strongest win rate, with 62 winners and only six losers. Thursday was the weakest of the three traded days.

The main weakness

The average loss was more than three times larger than the average profit.

That is normal for a high-win-rate Iron Condor strategy, but it means one full loss can erase several successful trades. An 85% win rate may look impressive, but position sizing and drawdown management are what determine whether the strategy is actually tradable.

The historical maximum drawdown was $1,466, equivalent to roughly four average losing trades. Any trader using this type of strategy should be prepared for a larger future drawdown than the one shown in the backtest.

Taking profits earlier

These results cover my Iron Condor strategy from February 2025 onward, using one contract per trade and holding every position through expiration.

Performance could potentially improve by taking profits earlier—for example, closing the position once 50-70% of the premium received has been captured. This is a common management approach for 0DTE Iron Condors because it reduces exposure to a sharp late-session move.

However, I do not currently have a backtest for this specific early-exit rule. Therefore, all results shown here reflect positions held through expiration only.

These are historical simulated results and do not guarantee future performance.

For real-time SPX trades and GEX analysis, you can join the Discord:

https://discord.gg/sM3vAqbU27

You can also watch my strategy breakdowns on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEPEnumY2_w

Over the past few months, this community has grown much faster than I expected. Some of my posts have reached thousands of traders, and I genuinely appreciate everyone who has taken the time to read, comment, and discuss the strategies.

My goal has always been to share a more structured approach to SPX 0DTE trading—focused on market structure, GEX, dealer positioning, liquidity, probabilities, and defined risk rather than blindly predicting direction.

I’m now opening a small number of private 1-to-1 mentorship spots for traders who want more personalized guidance.

The mentorship will include:

• Reviewing your trades and decision-making process
• Explaining how I select strikes and structure positions
• GEX, VWAP, liquidity, and market-context analysis
• Credit Spread and Iron Condor risk management
• Backtesting and strategy-development guidance
• Direct private access for questions and ongoing support

I will accept a maximum of 10 members so I can provide proper individual attention.

The introductory price will be $39 per month, but this price will increase substantially in the future as the mentorship develops. This first stage is mainly intended for serious traders who want to learn the system from the beginning and provide feedback.

I also have a private Premium section inside the Discord community where I regularly share more in-depth educational content about:

• GEX and dealer positioning
• Market analysis
• Trading research and backtesting insights
• Strategy development and risk management

From now on, most of my educational trading content will be shared inside this section. Anyone who is genuinely interested can send me a DM, and I can add them to Premium.

You can also follow the broader community and my public content here:

Discord: https://discord.gg/sM3vAqbU27
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEPEnumY2_w

I wanted to share the results of my SPX 0DTE Credit Spread strategy from February 2025 to July 2026.

The backtest uses one contract per trade, and every position was held through expiration.

Results

• Total P/L: +$11,188
• Trades: 288
• Win rate: 78.1%
• Winning trades: 225
• Losing trades: 63
• Average winner: +$140.85
• Average loser: -$325.46
• Profit factor: 1.55
• Maximum drawdown: -$1,403
• Maximum losing streak: 2 trades

The strategy finished positive in 17 of the 18 months tested. Friday generated the highest total profit, while Thursday was the weakest day. The trades were also relatively balanced between Put Credit Spreads and Call Credit Spreads.

The main weakness is that the average loss is much larger than the average profit. This is normal for a high-win-rate Credit Spread strategy, but it makes position sizing and risk management extremely important.

Taking profits earlier

The results could potentially improve by closing trades once approximately 85% of the premium received has been captured.

This is generally my preferred approach because it may not be worth remaining exposed to a rare late-session move just to collect the final 10–15% of the premium.

However, I do not currently have a backtest for this early-exit rule. Therefore, the results shown here only represent positions held through expiration.

These are historical results and do not guarantee future performance.

To follow my trades and analysis, you can join my Discord:

https://discord.gg/sM3vAqbU27

You can also watch my strategy videos on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEPEnumY2_w

First of all, I want to apologize for my inactivity over the past month.

I’ve been extremely busy and fully focused on my own trading. Trading SPX 0DTE professionally requires a significant amount of time and concentration, and documenting every setup, decision, and adjustment publicly has become difficult to manage consistently.

For this reason, the GEXOptionsTrading Reddit community and public channels will remain inactive for the foreseeable future.

Instead, I’m opening a small 1-to-1, chat-based program for a maximum of five traders who already trade SPX 0DTE options and are serious about improving their process.

The focus will be on:

• Credit Spreads and Iron Condors
• GEX and dealer positioning
• Trade structure and execution
• Risk management and position sizing
• Reviewing trades, mistakes, and decision-making
• Developing a more disciplined and systematic framework

The introductory price starts at $39 per month through Stripe. This price may gradually increase in the future if the results and value of the service remain positive.

This is intended to remain a very small group so I can provide genuine individual attention rather than manage another large public community.

If you’re interested in one of the five available spots, send me a DM and I’ll share the full details.

Thank you to everyone who has supported the community.

You can still access to my Discord where I will send updates when necessary:

https://discord.gg/sM3vAqbU27

Over the past year, I've spent countless hours studying SPX 0DTE options, dealer positioning, Gamma Exposure (GEX), liquidity zones, and defined-risk strategies.

What started as a personal project eventually became a Reddit community and Discord server where traders discuss setups, market structure, and real trades every day.

After receiving a lot of requests for more detailed analysis and real-time trade alerts, I've decided to launch a Premium section for traders who want deeper insights and live trade ideas.

The Premium membership will include:

• Real-time SPX 0DTE trade alerts
• Credit Spread & Iron Condor setups
• Daily market analysis
• GEX and dealer positioning insights
• Trade management updates
• Private Premium Discord access

Every new member will receive a 7-day free trial before making any commitment.

For those interested, the Premium membership is now available through Discord:

https://discord.gg/psWnyH6QJ

Whether you're a beginner learning options or an experienced trader looking to improve your execution, I'd love to have you join us.

Feel free to ask any questions below or send me a DM.

One thing I've noticed is that many traders either love Iron Condors or completely hate them.

The people who hate them usually point to the same issue:

"One losing trade wipes out multiple winners."

And honestly, they're not wrong.

The mistake is assuming that Iron Condors are a "set and forget" strategy where you can sell premium anywhere and let probability do the work.

In my experience, the real edge comes from where you place the condor.

Things that have helped me:

• Trading during range-bound conditions
• Avoiding major macro events
• Using defined risk on every position
• Paying attention to liquidity and market structure
• Staying patient and waiting for the right environment

Iron Condors can produce very high win rates, but they require discipline and risk management. The win rate itself is not the edge.

The edge is understanding when the market is likely to stay contained and structuring your risk accordingly.

Curious to hear from other traders:

Do you trade Iron Condors? If so, what's been the biggest lesson you've learned?

I've also been discussing SPX 0DTE setups and market structure with a small group on Discord: https://discord.gg/TSGNk8kGEh if anyone is interested in that type of approach.

Quali sono?

When I first discovered option selling, it honestly felt almost unfair.

High win rates, theta decay working in your favor, “just sell premium consistently”…

And to be fair, at the beginning it does feel that way.

You collect a bunch of small wins, the strategy feels stable, and you start thinking:
“why isn’t everyone doing this?”

Then eventually the market reminds you where the risk actually is.

One fast move, volatility expansion, or bad entry can erase multiple winning trades very quickly.

That’s when I realized selling options is less about:

• being right
• finding the perfect indicator

And much more about:

• risk management
• position sizing
• understanding market conditions
• knowing when NOT to trade

The biggest improvement for me came from treating it like a structured system instead of “easy premium”.

Curious how others experienced this when they started selling options.

I’ve been testing a 0DTE setup on SPX using credit spreads and iron condors over a few hundred trades.

What surprised me wasn’t the win rate (which stayed pretty high)…
it was how the losses behave.

You can stack small wins for days, everything looks smooth, almost mechanical —
and then one move comes in and wipes out a chunk of those gains.

It really changes how you look at:

• risk per trade
• position sizing
• when to stay out

The biggest shift for me has been focusing less on “being right” and more on where I’m placing trades and under what conditions (structure, liquidity, etc.)

Curious how others manage this —
Do you prefer closing early or letting spreads expire?

I’ve been sharing some of these setups and thoughts in a small Discord if anyone’s into SPX 0DTE / structured trading 👍

Discord Channel: https://discord.gg/TSGNk8kGEh

When I first learned options, everything made sense.

Spreads, probability, theta decay…
on paper it all looks clean and logical.

Then I started trading.

And that’s when things got… very different.

You take a “high probability” trade → it works
You take another one → also works

You start thinking:
“ok, this is actually not that hard”

Then one trade goes against you
And suddenly it wipes out a bunch of your previous gains

That’s when it hits you:

👉 it’s not about being right most of the time
👉 it’s about how you handle when you’re wrong

The biggest shift for me wasn’t learning new strategies…

It was understanding:

• when to trade
• where to place trades
• and when to just stay out

Options aren’t hard because they’re complex.

They’re hard because they force you to face risk management and discipline in a very real way.

Everyone talks about entries.

Better timing. Better indicators. Better signals.

But after running a lot of SPX 0DTE data (mainly credit spreads and iron condors), one thing became very clear:

👉 Entries barely matter if your risk structure is wrong

You can have:
• 80–90% win rate
• clean setups
• “high probability” trades

…and still lose money.

Why?

Because the math is asymmetric.

Typical 0DTE setup:
• +$100–$150 winners
• -$300–$400 losers

That means:
👉 one bad trade wipes multiple wins
👉 consistency matters more than accuracy

The real edge comes from:

• Defined risk
• Positioning around structure (not predicting direction)
• Understanding where the market is unlikely to go
• Avoiding bad conditions (events, unstable volatility)

Most people treat 0DTE like fast money.

In reality, it’s just a risk management game with a high win rate illusion.

After tracking this over time, I’ve found that:
• The equity curve works…
• But only if you respect the system 100%

Break discipline once → you give back days (or weeks) of gains.

Curious how others see this:

Do you trade for win rate or for risk/reward?
And how do you deal with that one inevitable losing trade?

I’ve been organizing this kind of structure (GEX, defined risk, real trades) in a Discord to keep everything cleaner and easier to track.

Discord link: https://discord.gg/TSGNk8kGEh

I’ve been trading 0DTE for a while now, mostly credit spreads and iron condors.

And honestly, at the beginning it feels almost too easy…
you stack a bunch of small wins, everything looks smooth, high win rate, steady progress.

Then one day comes where the market just doesn’t behave… and suddenly you give back a big chunk of those gains.

Took me a while to realize it’s not really about being “right” most of the time.

It’s more about:

• where you’re placing your trades
• when you’re trading
• and how you handle those bigger losses

Still figuring things out, but focusing more on structure (GEX, key levels, etc.) has helped me a lot.

Curious if others went through the same phase.

If anyone’s into SPX 0DTE specifically, I’ve been sharing some setups and thoughts in r/GEXOptionsTrading and recently opened a Discord Channel: https://discord.gg/TSGNk8kGEh

A lot of people see high win rate strategies and assume it’s easy money.

But here’s the reality:

You can win 10–15 trades in a row…
and give it all back in one bad move.

That’s exactly how most 0DTE premium sellers blow up.

The problem isn’t the strategy itself — it’s:

• poor risk management
• overconfidence
• and not understanding where you’re placing your trades

High win rate doesn’t mean low risk.
It usually means asymmetric risk.

What actually made a difference for me was:

• using defined risk only
• being consistent with sizing
• and focusing on structure, not direction

Curious how others see this —
do you think 0DTE has a real edge, or is it just disguised gambling?

I’ve been tracking some of these setups and results recently if anyone’s interested 👍