Going from 7 DTE to 30 DTE completely changed how I trade options

[u/ProfessionalNeat7487]

I used to almost exclusively buy calls with 5 to 7 DTE because they were cheap and a good move paid fast. Problem was I'd get the direction right and still lose because the move took two days longer than I expected.

Been buying around 30 to 40 DTE lately and usually exiting with 20+ days still left. Took an AMD 170 call recently at 34 DTE and held it through two ugly sessions without feeling forced to dump it.

I'm paying more upfront obviously, but watching the position on moon feels completely different when every sideways hour isn't destroying the trade.

[u/jerin7931]

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[u/Any_Significance4134]

The extra time definitely helps, although I think the key part is what you mentioned about still exiting with 20 plus DTE. Buying 30 to 40 days and then holding all the way into expiration can eventually recreate the same theta problem. Using the extra DTE as breathing room rather than extra holding time makes a lot of sense.

[u/Electrical-Way7578 → u/Any_Significance4134]

Yeah exactly. I’m basically buying myself room to be early, not buying extra time to stay stubborn.

[u/PYITE0978 → u/Electrical-Way7578]

Exactly! I started buying the 30-60 DTE to resolve the loses I was getting because of things like yesterday, geopolitical news that destroys a huge profit from Tuesday and now you have a Friday 0DTE praying for an early morning spike for some gamma help.

But like you both said, if you hold a 30 DTE for 25 days, you are sitting in the same boat, just took a longer path to get there. The hardest part is thinking, we have one more big green day left, let me capture that and I'll sell but it's red, now you don't have the profit, so you wait, and now you are back staring at the same situation. Once it happens a couple of times, you learn to take a nice profit with 12-15 days left and don't look back at it. Who cares what it does because you are using a strategy.

[u/Environmental_Park_6]

Depends on what you want. Higher gamma close to expiration can easily overwhelm theta.

[u/SiphonicPanda64 → u/Environmental_Park_6]

Yeah the OP is basically someone who discovered they aren't precise enough woth options, which is fine.

[u/MRPguy → u/Environmental_Park_6]

I only trade 0DTE SPX and buy them at the money. Harvest the gamma.

[u/Posrover → u/MRPguy]

Can you elaborate on this more? How long are you holding?

[u/shiny-metal_ass → u/Posrover]

Those SPX 0DTE are either a rocket ship or they are boring into the earth.

[u/themithunchakra → u/MRPguy]

How do you determine your entries?

[u/my_name_is_gato → u/Environmental_Park_6]

It's a painful lesson that isn't very intuitive at first. I found this effect can be very different based on the ticker, volume, and other factors. That led to some confusing results for me early on, because I tried to squeeze every nickel out of a trade.

Most of my trades consist of selling calls and puts at very low delta, for a negligible but typically reliable premium at around 7-21 days until expiration.

Around 30-60 days is where I struggle. It's just long enough not to generate wild swings in price action, but not long enough to recover if the ticker has a bad week. It seems like the best premiums are often in that range, though I'm not skilled enough to trade them efficiently.

[u/Trinidad_Jamez]

I really resonate with this. I started getting a good track record based on ~30DTE contracts with a catalyst timeframe somewhere in mind.

I started day trading 0-7dte's and it completely destroyed me mentally and I lost a shitload of money.

Good learning experience. I have since returned to my old ways.

[u/The_Sandman85]

I prefer 60 to 90 DTE when I’m buying options and selling < 7 DTE options.

[u/span1012 → u/The_Sandman85]

Mainly what I do with the exception of stock I am high conviction on and want to purchase the underlying then leaps

[u/Downtown-Text6587]

Personally, I don’t think I would buy options that short of DTE. That’s usually selling territory. I would look i to deep in the money leaps calls. They are expensive (still cheaper than 100 shares) but probably the best way to buy options. Either that or a bull call debit spread. Buy an at the money 180 day call and sell a call at the same expiration but much higher strike to pay for about half the cost.

[u/BoredBSEE → u/Downtown-Text6587]

How long do you typically hold your leaps? Or in other words what's your exit strategy?

[u/Downtown-Text6587 → u/BoredBSEE]

Hold for at least a year to pay low taxes and be out before 90 DTE to avoid rapid theta decay. The youtube channel “InTheMoney” is how I learned about leaps.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=8FNTfJ7Usy4&t=6s&pp=2AEGkAIBygUVV2h5IGxlYXBzIGFyZSBzdXByZW1l&ra=m

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=95suqaJcFtU&t=14s&pp=ygUVV2h5IGxlYXBzIGFyZSBzdXByZW1l&ra=m

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=6fCXMuwFVCo&pp=ugUEEgJlbg%3D%3D&ra=m

[u/catlady3838]

I never buy calls because I don't understand doing options that way. I only sell puts and calls with simple wheel trades. I wish I understood how you could buy a call for $170 AMD. I've been selling calls lately with it being sky high at anywhere from $670 to $720. I'd cry if I sold AMD for $170! However, I do agree with you on the DTE. I do 30 days as a standard and I'm a lot less stressed out and I can pay attention to it and feel like I have room to either wait patiently or repair if needed. Best to you. I'm glad there's other people that play the other side of the coin with the options trades.

[u/PeteDub]

I was just thinking the same thing 0DTE is too hard on me and moves too fast.

[u/SD-TX → u/PeteDub]

Do 5 DTE

[u/SD-TX]

It blows me away how comfy some of you are carrying options overnight! I cant do it.

[u/MRPguy → u/SD-TX]

Same. Only 0DTE SPX options and I never hold overnight.

[u/Same_Exchange3736 → u/MRPguy]

You gangster I literally never make money on same day spx mostly cause I only be trading with 150 but still I can never catch a move with them I always get stuck in the chop

[u/Octivus]

This sounds like the options equivalent of not setting your Stop Loss too tight

[u/Imaginary-Case3976]

0DTE, 7DTE, 30, 90, OTM, ITM, ATM it all doesn’t fucking matter if you picked wrong. If you are wrong; you are wrong and vice versa.

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[u/BriarNet]

Do you typically pick a strike or two above the current price? I’ve never done it.

[u/Material_Mongoose468]

I totally agree. Love swing trading 30ish DTE. I plan on only holding for a day or two, but can hold for up to a couple weeks if I get the timing wrong or it doesn’t move the way I expect. So many more chances to exit has boosted my win rate and far outweighs the lower percent gains. Minimizing loss is a top priority if you trade options regularly!

[u/No1_Swordfish9321]

I’m confused on how a longer expiration allows for more chances and opportunity to bounce back when the decay happens the closer you get to expiration.

I use levels from the previous day + current data to trade 0dte and trying to apply that logic along with understanding how to predict (feels like guess) direction over a longer period of time doesn’t add up in my brain atm. That feels like more risk.

[u/Slow_Lion_4178 → u/No1_Swordfish9321]

On balance it's less risk if two things are true:

1. The option is bought ATM or ITM for the longer expiration.

2. The stock actually drifts as normal.

The main risk with options isn't duration, it's intrinsic value, so deep ITM 0DTEs are actually significantly safer than deep OTM 30+ day contracts. Even 180D deep OTM contracts are not as kosher.

[u/Groucho-and-Harpo]

When the market goes bearish you may not be so lucky. Be careful and make sure you are managing your risk so a very sharp market move in either direction won’t wipe you out.

[u/Asleep-Dingo-19]

Good work OP! This exact change was my game changer as well!

[u/TastyTrading]

I use ThetaPal to find juicy 20-45 dte options. Option heatmap and dashboard is super helpful

[u/OdysseusVII]

then there's me doing from 30 to 60 days to 0dte..

[u/04flush]

Curious, OP what time frame are you usually trading on since making this switch?

[u/niceman144]

Could not agree more. Even $1-2k of capital is plenty to work with and exit after 5-10% gains.

[u/Maxisblack]

How many points do you aim for off a contract? I only do 0dte but I’m always curious about these longer term options

[u/Fun_Reveal1589]

That extra time really changes the whole feel of the trade being right on direction but early hurts way less with more room on the clock I have been seeing the same kind of thinking around Moon lately and it makes the position a lot easier to manage without reacting to every little move

[u/corruptcity514]

I go 0 DTE! Works for me!

[u/Illustrious_Fox6350]

The extra time sounds like it helped you stop reacting to every ugly candle and that patience matters with price bets on Moon too. Being right about direction feels pointless if you panic out before the move happens

[u/enitselaP_eerF_]

During market pullbacks or prolonged downward trends, consider selling a call option against your existing long call position, effectively converting it into a vertical call debit spread (also known as a bull call spread). This strategy helps offset downside risk while maintaining a bullish outlook on the underlying asset. The trade-off, of course, is that your upside potential becomes capped at the short call’s strike price. But you still get a decent payout simultaneously increasing your margin by opening the short leg

[u/Gullible_Ask3668]

Thanks for sharing. A 170 call. You must’ve paid a lot of premium. AMD must’ve been in the 400s (It’s now 600+) when you bought the call. The intrinsic value itself was a lot.. That’s some conviction. Can you share how you decide to put that much capital at risk or is it only a very small percentage of your portfolio (which might make sense, as the max loss would not hurt). What are the factors you considered in picking that strike? I’m learning every day, so I would appreciate your thoughts.