This is my bread-and-butter strategy: 0DTE Breakeven Iron Condor. But it is not only mine. Retail trader Davíð Berndsen from Iceland has also had great success with this 0DTE Iron Condor strategy. During the last year, we have had several exchanges of our experiences.
In this video we explain how we trade the strategy and compare the results. Together, we have made at least 6,000 trades with this 0DTE Iron Condor strategy, and we have both been consistently profitable.
So far, we should say 🙂 Nothing is forever in options trading, and past performance is, of course, no guarantee for continued success.
SUMMARY: The video interview discusses the profitable 0DTE Breakeven Iron Condor strategy used by both the author and his guest Davíð Berndsen.
– The strategy focuses on trading SPX options with same-day expiration.
– It involves selling multiple Iron Condors and collecting equal premium on both sides.
– Stop-losses are set separately on each side equal to or a bit less than the total premium collected on the Iron Condor.
– The strategy has a relatively low risk compared to many other option selling strategies.
– The author and trader have so far consistently profited, with Davíð’s account growing over 60% in 16 months.
Watch the video about this 0DTE Iron Condor strategy
The video was produced with Streamyard – an easy-to-use and amazing tool for live streaming and recording
Are you curious to know more about this 0DTE strategy?
First of all: Watch the video. We explain the main mechanics of the strategy.
But for an even more detailed walk-through:
Here is a detailed write-up of the 0DTE Breakeven Iron Condor strategy.
Davíð and I trade it a bit differently. But here is a short summary:
– It is a day trading strategy on SPX – the index option for the S&P 500 index. 0DTE = Zero Days to Expiration.
– It consists of selling Iron Condors on SPX – with expiration the same day – collecting the same premium on both sides
– The trades have very tight stop-losses – set separately for each side equal to or a bit less than the total premium collected for the Iron Condor.
– The stop-losses can be tightened throughout the day to manage the total risk and secure profits.
The tight stop-losses mean that the loss will be close to zero if the stop-loss hits on one side, hence the name “Breakeven Iron Condor”.
The risk profile
I asked Davíð how he would rate the risk profile of the 0DTE Breakeven Iron Condor strategy – with 1 being very low risk and 10 being very high risk.
He gave It a 3 out of 10. My assessment was a 4 out of 10. So let’s settle on 3.5 for this strategy.
Our results trading 0DTE Breakeven Iron Condor
We discuss the results in detail in the video – including how it can be measured in different ways.
Davíð has – with one exception – only been trading this strategy since June 2023. His account has grown by over 60% in 16 months since then. The big drawdown earlier this year was due to the one time he broke his rule and bought shares he ended up losing on.
I – on the other hand – measure my results in different ways. My favorite measure is to look at the average net profit and loss per trade as a percentage of the risked capital. I have only had four losing months since I started trading the strategy in April 2021.
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[…] Davíð Berndsen from Iceland grew his account with 60% in 16 months trading 0DTE Breakeven Iron Condor. Watch my video interview with him here. […]
Hi John,
Thanks for showcasing some other traders. It’s interesting to see how other people trade similar strategies.
I recently started trading 0DTE, and have not been doing so well. I am using MEIC strategy similar to Tammy Chambless, but on much smaller scale.
Just wondering how your performance has been recently?
Thanks for the great blog.
Hi Larry,
September was an average month – with an average P/L per trade at 0.36%. So far October is also positive, but a bit below the September results.
I am happy to hear that you like the blog. Keep coming back for more articles and interviews 🙂
John Einar
What delta are your short legs for each side, and how wide are your wings? I’m surprised these details are not more prominent in your plan.
The delta for the short legs are usually between 5 and 15 – and the width of the wings 30. You find a more detailed write-up here: https://www.thetaprofits.com/my-most-profitable-options-trading-strategy-0dte-breakeven-iron-condor/
From the only image here showing a setup with any numbers, it appears your short put is 5800, and short call is 5840, with 30 dollars wide wings (long 5770 put and long 5870 call). On the image that seems to be about $20 otm on each short with a $30 max loss, but you set your shot loss at .7x or .8x of your total credit. Do take profit early if you hit a percent gain or just let it run to close or when the stop hits
I take profit when the shorts reach 5 cents or let it go to the stop hits. The image is only meant for illustration 🙂