A lot of traders look at GEX and try to use it to answer one question:

“Is SPX going up or down?”

That’s not how I use it.

For me, GEX is much more useful for identifying where price is likely to react, stabilize, or gravitate toward. Then I combine those areas with price action to decide whether there is actually a trade.

August 13 was a good example.

5-minute chart of 13th August, Blue line represents VWAP

At 10:15 ET, we opened an SPX 0DTE Bull Put Spread at 7795/7790.

The idea wasn’t that SPX needed to rally aggressively.

The important level was 7800.

Price had already made a strong opening move, and the structure suggested that 7800 was becoming an increasingly important area for the session.

Shortly afterward, the 10:30 ET GEX snapshot made that even clearer.

Huge Gamma concentration at 7800

There was an enormous concentration of positive gamma at 7800, significantly larger than the surrounding strikes.

To me, that doesn’t mean:

>“SPX will definitely close at 7800.”

It means that 7800 deserves my attention.

The combination of:

• strong gamma concentration around 7800
• price action respecting the area
• bullish intraday structure
• and defined risk below the key level

made the 7795/7790 Bull Put Spread attractive.

I didn’t need SPX to keep rallying.

I simply wanted the market to remain supported above my short strike.

Price eventually reversed to the downside and broke below VWAP. However, the 7800 area had such a massive gamma concentration that it ultimately acted like a magnet, pulling price back toward that level.

GEX at 11.30 AM confirmed us that it was very possible to see the price moving between 7780 and 7800

That’s the biggest difference in how I use GEX:

GEX = Context
Price Action = Confirmation
Options Structure = Execution

I don’t trade a GEX level just because it appears on a chart.

I trade how SPX behaves around that level.

I share more of these SPX 0DTE setups, GEX analysis, and real-time trades with other traders in our Discord if anyone wants to follow the process:

https://discord.gg/psWnyH6QJ

Curious how others use GEX:

Do you use it to predict direction, or mainly to identify areas where market behavior may change?

Over the last two months, I’ve been sharing my SPX 0DTE trades in real time with my trading community.

After the latest closed trade, the results are:

26 total trades
24 winners
2 losers
92.31% win rate
+$7,840 Gross P&L
$13,615 Gross Profit
-$5,775 Gross Loss
Profit Factor: 2.36

And there’s something in these numbers that I think is much more interesting than the 92% win rate.

26 Trades / 24 Winners / 2 Losers / 92.31% Win Rate / +$7,840 Gross P&L / 2.36 Profit Factor

July was a very important month

July:

10 trades
8 winners / 2 losers
80% win rate
+$95 Gross P&L

August so far:

16 trades
16 winners / 0 losers
100% win rate
+$7,745 Gross P&L

At first glance, July looks strange.

How can you win 80% of your trades and basically make no money?

Because win rate alone is almost meaningless without understanding risk/reward.

The two losing trades were enough to erase almost all of the profits generated by the eight winners.

That month was actually much more valuable to me than a month of easy winners because it reinforced something I constantly talk about:

A high-probability strategy can still perform badly if the losses become too large relative to the winners.

August has obviously been very different, but I don't expect a 100% win rate to continue indefinitely.

Losses are part of trading.

The objective is surviving them.

July vs August Performance

So what am I actually trading?

My approach is almost entirely focused on SPX 0DTE defined-risk options strategies, mainly:

• Bull Put Spreads
• Bear Call Spreads
• Iron Condors

But I don't wake up every morning and automatically sell an Iron Condor.

The market determines the strategy.

I first look at the broader SPX structure and then combine that with GEX, dealer positioning, liquidity and important option levels.

If the structure is bullish, I may look for a Bull Put Spread below an important support area.

If the structure is bearish, I may look for a Bear Call Spread above resistance.

If SPX looks more likely to remain contained between important levels, an Iron Condor can make more sense.

And if the setup isn't there?

I don't trade.

That last part is probably one of the most underrated edges in 0DTE trading.

I'm not trying to predict SPX

This is probably the biggest difference between how I trade and how I see many people approaching 0DTE.

I'm not trying to perfectly predict:

“SPX will close at X today.”

I'm trying to identify areas where I think the probabilities are favorable and then structure a trade around them with defined risk.

If I'm bullish, I don't necessarily need SPX to explode higher.

Sometimes I simply need an important downside level not to break.

That's a completely different game from buying calls and hoping for a large directional move.

The biggest lesson from these 26 trades

I'm obviously happy with:

92.31% win rate
+$7,840 gross P&L

But the number I'm paying attention to isn't just the win rate.

It's whether the overall process continues producing positive expectancy while keeping drawdowns under control.

Because eventually there will be another losing trade.

There will probably be another losing streak too.

The goal isn't to avoid that.

The goal is to make sure the losing trades don't destroy what the winning trades built.

That's what I'm trying to improve every month.

I share these trades in real time and discuss the SPX/GEX reasoning behind the setups with traders in our Discord for anyone interested in following the process:

https://discord.gg/psWnyH6QJ

Would be interested to hear how other SPX 0DTE traders think about this:

Would you rather trade a strategy with a very high win rate and asymmetric losses, or accept a lower win rate for better risk/reward?

85.1% win rate.

At first glance, that sounds incredible.

But this is exactly why I think win rate is one of the most misunderstood statistics in options trading.

I recently analyzed almost 300 trading days of SPX 0DTE Iron Condor backtesting, and these were the results:

• 296 trading days
• 252 winners
• 44 losers
• 85.1% win rate
• +$9,730 P&L
• Profit Factor: 1.65
• Average Winner: +$98.45
• Average Loser: -$342.70
• Max Drawdown: -$1,524
• Maximum losing streak: 3

Those are objectively interesting results.

But the 85.1% win rate is not the most important number here.

https://preview.redd.it/l4hxbx0vvkjh1.png?width=1893&format=png&auto=webp&s=936aed6688ebdd8131eafbea8d333c332322a9f6

The statistic I pay much more attention to is this:

Average Winner: +$98
Average Loser: -$343

The average losing trade is roughly 3.5x larger than the average winner.

That completely changes how you should interpret an 85% win rate.

The psychological trap of high win-rate strategies

Imagine winning trade after trade.

+$90
+$105
+$100
+$95
+$110...

After enough winners, the strategy starts feeling almost impossible to lose with.

Then the bad market regime arrives.

One loss can erase several winners.

A second loss increases the drawdown.

And suddenly a strategy that felt incredibly safe doesn't feel safe anymore.

That's exactly why drawdown matters.

A strategy isn't defined by how comfortable it feels during its winning streak.

It's defined by whether you can survive its losing periods.

85.1% Winrate but Drawdown still matters

In this backtest, the maximum drawdown was -$1,524.

That's completely manageable with appropriate capital and position sizing.

But take exactly the same strategy and multiply the position size aggressively because “it wins 85% of the time” and suddenly that drawdown becomes a serious problem.

This is something I think many 0DTE traders misunderstand:

Probability of profit ≠ risk.

You can have a very high probability trade and still take far too much risk.

Where I think human discretion can add value

This is where things get particularly interesting.

The backtest is largely mechanical.

It doesn't look at a market and say:

“Today the conditions are terrible. I'm not trading.”

A human can.

When I trade these setups in real time, I also consider things like:

• GEX / dealer positioning
• market structure
• volatility
• liquidity
• important SPX levels
• whether the market is trending or ranging
• whether the premium actually justifies the risk

And most importantly:

I can decide not to trade.

My recent real-time/discretionary results have been around a 92% win rate, compared with approximately 85% in this mechanical backtest.

I wouldn't claim that discretion automatically turns an 85% system into a 92% system — the samples aren't directly comparable yet.

But it raises an interesting question:

Can human trade selection improve a mechanical edge by removing the worst market conditions?

I think it can.

And that's one of the things I'm continuing to test.

Mechanical backtest vs Discretionary Trading

For me, the goal isn't to override a system with emotions.

It's the opposite.

Backtesting provides the foundation.

Human discretion is then used primarily as a filter:

>Is this actually a good environment to deploy the strategy?

Not:

>I have a feeling SPX is going higher.

There's a massive difference between those two.

The real power of backtesting

Backtesting isn't valuable because it gives you a beautiful equity curve.

It's valuable because it shows you the ugly parts before you risk real money.

It tells you:

• how often you lose
• how large those losses can be
• what losing streaks look like
• what drawdown you need to survive
• whether the strategy has positive expectancy
• and how much capital you realistically need

An 85.1% win rate looks sexy.

Knowing that you can survive the other 14.9% is far more important.

That's the real value of backtesting.

I share more of these SPX 0DTE backtests, GEX analysis, and the real-time setups I'm trading with the community in Discord:

https://discord.gg/psWnyH6QJ

I'm curious how other systematic traders approach this:

Would you rather run a strategy 100% mechanically, or use human discretion as a filter to decide when NOT to trade?

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.

The issue is often not the product itself — it’s oversized positions, poor entries, and no defined risk.

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.

The same strategy can feel manageable with proper size — or dangerous when oversized.

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 edge is not 0DTE by itself — it’s structure + position sizing + defined risk + patience.

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/psWnyH6QJ

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.

Most traders treat SPX 0DTE like a gamble. The real edge comes from structure, probabilities and risk control.

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.

The problem is not SPX 0DTE itself - it's poor entries, bad timing and no structure,

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 edge in SPX 0DTE = Structure + GEX + Liquidity + Defined Risk + Patience

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/psWnyH6QJ

Curious what others think:

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

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 I specialize in SPX 0dte

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.

Those are the main reasons I only trade SPX 0dte

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

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.

The edge is Trade Selection + Risk Management

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/psWnyH6QJ

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.

Market at the opening 9.46h

9:40 — Initial bias: Bull Put Spread

Initial GEX looked promising for a 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

Standard Deviations at the opening

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

https://preview.redd.it/czbhvis7l0ih1.png?width=1435&format=png&auto=webp&s=db75c0ff257043949cf544ddec6c700eadc60773

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

10.43h I open my first trade IC 7700-7695/7780-7785

GEX at the moment I made the trade 10.43h

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.

12.26 PM VWAP is broken with momentum

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

Trade #2 IC 7720-7715/7760-7765

The most important development came in the later GEX snapshot.

GEX at 13.05 PM

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.