This episode centers on navigating markets at all-time highs after last week’s FOMC head-fake. We discuss how to balance staying long with reducing risk, trimming SPX put-credit spreads, and the trade-offs of skipping entries during volatile weeks.

Brian joins to walk through his weekend watchlist and three core income strategies: in-the-money covered calls, poor man’s covered calls (diagonals), and broken-wing butterflies—including how he manages risk, targets returns, and selects trades. We also cover SPY covered calls vs. selling puts, an update on Intel’s surprise breakout, and practical ways to use mechanical strategies like Alpha Crunching’s Thursday PCS setup.

Symbols mentioned: SPX, SPY, ETSY, BABA, RKLB, INTC.

Join us for another live session of the Stock Market Options Trading Podcast with Eric and co-host Brian as we dive into trading SPY options. We start by comparing SPY vs SPX — looking at the key differences in contract size, settlement style, tax treatment, and liquidity.

Brian also shares details on his Delta Neutral “double diagonal” strategy with SPY, walking through trade setups, adjustments, and lessons learned from managing the position. We cover how rolling strikes works, how IV impacts results, and why this approach may fit best in lower-volatility environments.

Eric wraps up by discussing how he’s using covered calls on SPY as a way to generate income and manage positions during the current market uptrend.

👉 If you want to join future sessions live, visit https://stockmarketoptionstrading.net and check the Events tab for schedules and Zoom links. Replays are always posted here on the YouTube channel.

🎁 50% OFF: Option Omega (code SMOT) • Alpha Crunching (code SPX50) — grab both and build + automate your SPX playbook.

This episode is a fun, nerdy deep-dive with Troy and Matt from Option Omega. We cover how to build realistic backtests for options (especially 0DTE) and when it makes sense to automate entries/exits so you’re not chained to the screen. We also walk through a few trade structures—including the much-misunderstood Reverse Iron Condor (RIC)—and talk about portfolio-level thinking: position sizing, diversification across edges, and why “one-lotting” more often than not can save your sanity.

What we cover:

• Why end-of-day data lies for options backtests and how 1-minute, intraday pricing changes the conclusions (stops, profit targets, and whether you even got filled).
• The rise of 0DTE and why intraday realism matters way more than it did for 45–90 DTE trades.
• The “Punisher”: stress-testing backtests with slippage, fills, and tougher assumptions so results hold up in live trading.
• Liquidity matters: why OO focuses on top tickers (SPX, SPY, QQQ, etc.), and the pros/cons of instruments like XSP.
• RICs (Reverse Iron Condors) as long-gamma plays: when long premium + the right signal can still have positive expectancy, and sizing so a few losses don’t nuke the account.
• Credit-spread philosophy: structure ≠ edge. Edge comes from when you put it on (signals), then you pick the simplest structure that monetizes that edge.
• Automation better than willpower: broker-resting stops, time windows, and signal-gated entries so your plan runs even when you’re walking the dog.
• Sizing & psychology: allocations as a strategy; why many traders should downshift to one-lots more often; diversifying edges (theta harvest + long-gamma + price-action) on the same ticker.
• My ASD signal (Alpha Crunching): using Average Strength Deviation as a weekly, day-of-week filter; combining ASD with simple MAs/EMAs for “aggressive” ATM put-credit spreads; converting those rules into hands-off automations.
• Broker support today: Schwab, Tastytrade, Tradier (IB not currently supported for U.S. retail cloud API).

Key takeaways:

• Backtests need intraday realism or they’re just stories.
• Structure is just the container; edge = timing + conditions.
• If your edge is “market stability”, credit spreads monetize it better than naked long calls.
• Automation lets you run more strategies with smaller per-trade risk and fewer emotional mistakes.
• Test harshly (slippage, fills, stops) so live results rhyme with backtests.

Resources & links:

• 🔧 https://OptionOmega.com (backtesting + automation) — Use code SMOT for 50% off.
• 📈 https://AlphaCrunching.com (signals, forecasts, ASD/WTR/TTR, weekly trade ideas) Use code SPX50 for 50% off first year.