This strategy waits for a sharp move in SPX's first half hour after the 09:30 ET open, then for signs that the move is running out of steam, and buys a 0DTE option betting on a partial pullback. Most mornings there's no setup.
Done for today: closed at the afternoon exit, -$1,740.
9 trades so far. 6 made money and the record is +$915. That's far too few to judge.
Running P&L, one dot per trade (green won, red lost). Paper trades filled at the real ask, sold at the real bid.
The first half hour of the session is when the overnight orders get worked through, and SPX sometimes lurches further than the news justifies. This strategy waits for one of those lurches to run out of steam and bets on part of it coming back.
The very first print of the day is left out of that measurement. SPX's 09:30 price is partly yesterday's (it's printed before all of its stocks have traded), and an early version of this engine kept mistaking that catch-up for a real move.
Only one position at a time, and nothing new is opened once the first half hour is over.
In testing, stops on this pattern mostly cut trades that went on to recover, while the losers were slow fades rather than sudden blow-ups, so I don't use one. That makes every trade's worst case the full price paid for the option.
Why the exact numbers aren't here. I've described what each step does and why, but I've deliberately left out the settings that make it a complete system: the thresholds, distances, sizes, targets and timings. This page is a record of my own paper testing, not a set of rules for anyone to follow, and nothing on it is advice to trade. If you trade anything based on what you read here, the decisions and the results are entirely your own.
Since 9 Oct 2026 there have been 12 sessions. It traded on 7 of them (9 trades in all). On the rest there was no setup in the first half hour. Most of the work is deciding not to trade.
won lost no setup
Everything here is one contract. The most a single trade can lose is what was paid for it, which so far has been at most $2,140. A typical trade was open for about 69 minutes.
| Date | Option | Bought | Sold | Result | Ended at |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26 Oct | 7655 put | $17.80 09:36 | $0.40 15:00 | -$1,740 | afternoon exit |
| 23 Oct | 7620 call | $21.40 09:37 | $32.10 10:46 | +$1,070 | target |
| 21 Oct | 7725 call | $16.00 09:34 | $24.30 11:29 | +$830 | target |
| 20 Oct | 7690 put | $14.50 09:55 | $0.40 15:00 | -$1,410 | afternoon exit |
| 20 Oct | 7675 call | $16.20 09:45 | $25.10 09:52 | +$890 | target |
| 16 Oct | 7740 call | $14.20 09:40 | $0.05 15:00 | -$1,415 | afternoon exit |
| 15 Oct | 7670 call | $19.90 09:56 | $31.40 10:01 | +$1,150 | target |
| 15 Oct | 7695 put | $16.60 09:41 | $25.30 09:53 | +$870 | target |
| 14 Oct | 7775 put | $13.10 09:35 | $19.80 09:57 | +$670 | target |
| Total | 9 trades | +$915 |
Times are New York time. One contract per trade, no commissions.
If it's below zero after 30 trades, or no better than the random-side version by then, it goes to the graveyard with the others.
An option that expires the same day it is traded. It is cheap and moves fast, and it can lose all of its value within hours.
Sharp moves in the first half hour are often the market absorbing a burst of opening orders. When the push visibly stalls, part of it often gives back. Often isn't always, which is why every trade is published.
No. It is a record of my own paper testing, published as it happens. I don't sell signals, and nothing here is a recommendation to trade.
They are paper trades on real quotes: bought at a real ask or my limit, sold at the real bid, one contract each, without commissions. Real fills could be worse.
Paper trades, filled at real market bid/ask quotes, one contract each, no commissions. The trade table is rebuilt every night; the Today box updates live. This site records my own testing and trading. It isn't financial advice. 0DTE options can go to zero within minutes.