IVR

xrayjuan

I understand, I used to do IV, and IVR when I was doing the Tasty way, but I am done with that, I do scalping now, 1 DTE , and is working better for me. Thanks

soullessoptimism

I don't think it's realistic, thats why I ask the question. By "conservative" I mean I sell puts a few times a year when IVR is high.

sport912x

I think this is a newbie trap. Options are what they are selling for. Today with a market Sell off IV and IVR are high so they are "expensive" . That just means if have the balls you can Sell the 18Dec QQQ 630 Put for $7 today but it was only 3.75 yesterday. If the market recovers in the next 30 days you should be able to buy it back for under $3. A mere 7k in Buying Power, which will go to 12k if the market continues to fall.

nivek_123k

yep, thanks. IVR is another solid tell.

PseudoTsunami

Yes, I do, but these inferences that understanding options trading is the ticket to consistent trading income never makes sense to me. Options is just a tool but you still need to be correct in your investment thesis, and that's a whole world of knowledge completely unrelated to just "options trading". Just like in poker there's only 3 views on an underlying at any given point in time, bullish, bearish, or neutral. So for example, let's say you were bearish or neutral on NVDA over the last 5 years, selling bearish spreads or delta neutrals...you'd be negative alpha. Let's say you were correctly bullish NVDA, however if you were selling bullish credit spreads or cash secured puts instead of just investing that capital in NVDA, you'd also be negative alpha because you missed all the rapid upside moves. In other words, the likely only way you'd have generated positive alpha with options was using leverage like synthetic longs, bullish risk reversals, or just long call (or ratio) type plays with uncapped upside. There are plenty of people pushing mechanical sell-delta neutral-mkt ticker-45 d exp-blah-blah that win 90%+ etc. blah blah or Tasty Trade sell-premium with high IVR that honestly make no sense to me. Also, if you're using your capital to trade and generate 10% to 20% selling premiums on margin you're losing money if your margin rate is 12% and the S&P return is 25% which it has been around for a few years. Plus trading income is taxed whereas just investing in that S&P isn't until you use it. Be smart. You're lucky you live in the age of AI, use that. Good luck.

OkOpportunity6986

ive always fucking said, never buy options, always sell when IVR is high preferably w deltas around 25, sweet spot for me personally, trade small, close at 25% profit, BOOM. youre welcome.

The_Glass_Book

If SPX spreads are too big for you, just go SPY, it's 10x smaller. Keep in mind it's not an index though, so it's physically settled, and you can get assigned shares. I'd stay away from XSP, the liquidity there is pretty rough. I don't have anything on the S&P right now myself (I do like selling 0DTE there though). Right now the interesting opportunities are mostly in energy and tech (for such a low vol regime). I've had trade chains going on CRM, INTC and URA for a while (strangles now, since they were actively managed). Closed a credit spread on TSLA two days ago (it used to be a calendar, but I had to roll it). If you've got no ideas on what to get into in such a low vol regime, I'd go with calendars and long vega strategies. For calendars right now, as of today check SLV (IVR 6, price \~$55), but also NVDA (IVR around zero, price \~$240), and take a look at IBIT and URA too. As for selling premium, don't force trades. In this kind of market we should be focusing on staying defensive.

The_Glass_Book

Credit spreads are very good strategy. If they suits you and your portfolio this is good starting point. You can also try short naked puts on smaller underlings (few from my list: UNG, KWEB, NKE, KWEB), as you said watch for volatility level - I prefer IVP (more accurate than IVR). BP for short put (for example) on UNG - only $250BP. Watch also liquidity. Naked strategies have greater theta retention than defined risk - you can manage and be defensive. Don't exceed 5-7% of BP per position. this is hard limit to diversify

OnlyComfortable8318

IVR and IVP are where free suddenly stops being simple because you need a clean historical volatility series, not just today’s chain. You can stitch data together yourself, but then corporate actions and bad prints become your problem. For the stuff I do on Moon I care more about clean underlying price action but options research is one area where decent data is probably worth paying for.

wilson0x4d

i sell covered calls against shares whenever i see the market topping out on something i hold, it's easy money and averages my effective trade price down.. but i only do this based on past performance and current trending showing that "it's not going to strike.. \*\*you have to be okay with losing your position. short your positions enough and eventually it will happen.\*\* 1. if i'm concerned about losing the position (rare) i long a call for a date sooner than my short (same strike, but cheaper, ie. a spread). going short with a call is leveraging your position to not have to hold a long leg -- that's all -- so ask yourself what's worth more to you --- the underlying or cost of the long leg? probably just smarter to get approved for spreads and trade those instead, at least then your risk is defined and usually quite small compared to the "opportunity loss" of having a profitable position assigned to someone else. 2. it's not that \`IV > HV\` that is attractive, it's that IV is expanded which reflects an increase in premium. high IV isn't enough to make the decision to sell a contract, for example high IV with a low IVR is a recipe for losing your position to a CC. 3. you said HV, but maybe you meant IVR? "IV > IVR" isn't meaningful, but IVR makes it easy to identify when an underlying is experiencing unusual IV and is likely to see IV collapse. that usually means you can take profits sooner, but... 4. IV isn't a reward for opportunity loss, it's a function of price action. the premium would not be more than the "lost opportunity cost" if the stock spikes up, goes deep ITM and your shares get assigned. if you read some books (to completion) you would eventually read that there is not a more profitable position than the 1:1 move of an underlying -- even with IV expansion, your underlying asset is worth more .. your option contract limits your profits and no amount of IV expansion will offset the "lost opportunity" of getting your position assigned -- and you receiving far less than it's worth. 5. the real premium is on theta decay, not IV, and not losing your position is a question of you knowing that the stock is not going to reach the strike by expiry, which is also not IV, not IVR, and not HV. once your contract goes ITM your position can be assigned at any time, the deeper it goes and the closer the expiry the more likely it is to happen. definitely agree with others that reading Hull would help you understand the mechanics better. CC's are often touted as "income" and "safe" but that's confirmation bias ... you're probably better off selling spreads, or, you're not really all that interested in holding the position long-term. TL:DR? no, you're not compensated enough. you do it only because you don't care if you get assigned and you're okay with a re-entry, probably at a higher price than you sold. what you want is "credit spreads" (and perhaps a good book.)

Live_Throat_5252

Since you want to be a dick (without reason), using IVR like that to decide to buy or sell and option is incredibly stupid

DarrenOTM

META is at highs right now and IVR is at 76. I am selling Iron condors as I see it trading in a range and at the top of it right now. All the cap Ex spend will hit the Earnings in 2027 providing a headwind.

funkinaround

You can access a database like https://www.dolthub.com/repositories/post-no-preference/options and you won't need to worry about rate limits. The `volatility_history` table will let you compute IVR and IVP. There is no volume information in this database.

klipsetrades

Current IV can be calculated from the chain, and IVR/IVP are just calculations on your stored IV history. You may be better off looking for free/cheap option-chain data rather than an API that specifically gives IVR/IVP

Trashlify

difference between Schwab and what? I don't use Schwab so i would not know what their API offers. You will have to go through the docs and see their endpoints. I think they will likely not have IVR and IVP though, because those are historically calculated.

nivek_123k

when IVR is high and premium is juicy = sell. when IVR is low and premium is thin = buy. it's beneficial to understand volatility and SKEW. avoid earnings & binary events, keep buying power in check, know when to exit, stay away from memes and firms you don't understand.

bdh2067

Whatchumean ? Its perfect for selling vol - just gotta look for high IVR names

_AntiSaint_

Just buy oil… how are you people this blind to the most obvious swing trade that’s been free cash for months now? CVX, XLE… MPC IVR is high now but it was a cash printer for like 3 months.

WorkingFriendship550

Depending on just how good the premiums are and how high the IVR is it might not matter a ton as long as he is able to continue rolling out and down. Perfect example happened to me last year- I started selling short puts on coreweave not long after IPO and continued rolling my puts out and up collecting more and more premium. Then the downfall- I had 154$ puts when it broke 180$, rolled my puts out and down when they were in the money for over 12 straight weeks because premiums allowed me to continue doing so at a credit. Rolled it down to \~105 when it was in the 80s… I was just about breakeven though. When it popped over 105 the next week I was able to realize 78k that week from the 12 weeks of management. That’s not normal or common by any means, but the manageability of high IVR stocks for naked puts makes it relatively easy to continue moving your cost basis down assuming the stock doesn’t continue to plummet. If I would’ve had defined risk spreads I would’ve been toast in 1-2 weeks

Teiagon

Over time I would definitely work on refining the strat for entries around TA (e.g. sell puts at support, avoid below 200d/50d MA), IVR, fundamentals and sector rotation. Personally, I tend to sell puts only on days when the stock is red, and (covered) calls only on days when the stock is green.

28-3_lol

What selection criteria do you use instead? I thought using IVR and liquidity were pretty standard criteria?

Teiagon

I would probably tweak the strategy to credit spreads like other commenters said. Also, I would time entries based on VIX and IVR ranking.

Environmental_Park_6

I prefer being long vega and gamma. Your strategy is working for you and if you're ok with the downside risk then go for it. I did just buy a AVGO call for Friday and losing the premium will annoy me but that's the totality of the risk. I'd rather look for low IVR and buy LEAPS with defined risk than accept exposure to the downside of the short position.

Earlyretirement55

You want to buy LEAPS 2+ years out and very deep ITM. Once you make 10-20% in a period of less than 30 days rinse and repeat. Also DO NOT open if IVR is higher than 20%.

CoconutAmbitious2580

I read a bunch of comments and it seems the consensus is: Don't do it! Don't buy the option you specified. IVR on NVDA is super low right now so a good buy for LEAPS most likely, I didn't look. But go with a smaller position and choose a strike at least at or near the current price and better still is DITM 80 delta or higher. Practice that with 1 contract and set your gain for a 50% gain.... Milk it and move to the next one.... Gather the experience by making smaller and more trades rather than large trades fewer times. It's safer and you'll learn more, quicker. I like the Jan 21s.

Dangerous-Block-4751

Cosa è IVR

ThetaEdgeHQ

Naming aside, you basically answered your own question in the post. The edge in a covered strangle is not capital efficiency, it is the variance risk premium: you get paid when implied vol prints higher than what the stock actually realizes. That is exactly what you meant by "unless stocks have a higher IVR than they should." That instinct is correct and it is the whole game. So it will not automatically beat buy and hold. In a strong uptrend the call caps you and the put just piles on more long exposure at the worst possible moment, so you lag. In flat or choppy tape you win because realized comes in under implied. The premium is not free yield, you are short vol and short gamma. If you screen for elevated IV rank on names you are neutral to mildly bullish on, the structure earns its keep. Run it on low IV stuff and you are capping upside to collect pennies, which is the case where just holding the shares wins.

LarryStink

Nvda IVR is only 25. In other words the options are pricing vol at only 25% its 52 week  range. Theres little to no expected vol going forward. Not an environment to sell options on,  you could buy them if you want to gamble on a exogenous event that the market is not pricing in. There is no expected value in trading this beyond pure speculation and gambling imo. Especially not a long straddle. 

CoconutAmbitious2580

I understand your frustration and I've experienced similar when buying or selling to open options positions. There is no guaranteed result. On the other hand, I've done quite well with LEAPS in general but they don't fit my personality.... LEAPS ate very slow... Currently I only buy Jan 2028 LEAPS at 60 delta... BUT... There are a lot of things I must look at for the right conditions so find out those basics and find the ones that work for you. Free hint, volatility by itself can not be your only tool..... 2nd free hint, IVR is a much better indicator is a much better indicator but you need more.... Go find them!

Teiagon

You can't just look at the deltas, consider basic chart analysis, where are past support/liquidity zones ? More importantly, what is the expected move implied on the premium, what is the current IVR. Is the stock/sector in a bull or bear trend ? What are the fundamentals ? Valuation compared to peers ? At what price would you be prepared to buy or sell ? Don't just rigidly sell at the same deltas all the time.

IndividualNo7155

52 weeks IVR 77

bostrovsky

I built something that shows the full lifecycle of the trade though multiple rolls and/or corp events and includes fees. I have a chart view that includes historical data for the underlying and a timeline. At the suggestion of some smart folks here I added realtime data for open positions where I grab the price, greeks and IVR throughout the trade history (opens/closes). The limitation is that it only works for Tastytrade. I also have a query engine that helps me refine my understanding of my trading history. It definitely helps.

Jacob_Billingsley

I’m sure this misses a couple of points since you deleted your other comment, but posting as a response anyway. 1. Mechanical is a rule that fires the same way regardless of context: sell X delta every day, full stop. Systematic is a consistent process that still reads conditions before acting. Same inputs evaluated the same way every day, but the output isn’t fixed. That’s why I don’t trade on days where premium doesn’t justify the setup. If I traded a fixed delta blind to conditions every single day, that’d be mechanical. We all know bollinger bands, rsi, (pick your indicator), are insignificant if used alone - I get it. You’re beating a dead horse, we’ve already established gamma is the risk on short term options. Delta is a reference point and I usually will end up under 20 delta, but I also look at % move away, where we are in a range, ivol premium/discount, etc. 2. You’re not making the right comparison. I’m not choosing to invest capital between this and a T-bill, I already own the equity. The options yield is incremental to the equity return that I already own, not a substitute for it. Full annual return over past year is 27% as posted, which is inclusive of options and equity return. 3. I’m not hedging anything, said that already. It’s a premium overlay on a book I hold regardless. Selling premium against a related but not identical index isn’t a flaw if correlation was never the point. Re: cheap vs expensive comment - don’t claim to know what I do or don’t know. Yes, I know what IVR, ivol premiums, discounts, etc are. I’ve been using options for a decade, I’m not new to vol pricing lol. It is something I look at but not heavily weighted in the trade decision unless it’s extreme in one direction or another. 4. That’s using my total return, not the options yield, to make the point. Different number, different claim.

Good_Character_20

Cadence: 45 DTE is the canonical answer per TastyTrade research. Weekly ICs put you in gamma hell every Wednesday; monthly leaves too much theta on the table per trade. 45 DTE entries, manage out by 21 DTE, repeat. That's the bread-and-butter loop. Entry: don't use technicals. Selling premium is a vol bet, not a directional one. The relevant filter is IV rank. IVR > 30 is the minimum I'd consider, IVR > 50 is where the math actually works. Picking ICs based on Bollinger bands or 50MA is using the wrong tool. The underlying being "overbought" doesn't tell you whether premium is rich. Premium being rich tells you whether premium is rich. Management: the 21 DTE rule is the right default. Close at 21 DTE regardless of P&L, OR at 50% max profit, whichever comes first. For a breached side: don't roll mechanically. Roll only if IV is still elevated post-move because rolling collects meaningful credit only when there's still premium to sell. If IV crushed post-move, rolling sells cheap premium against a now-naked side. Make pennies, accept more risk. Just close and redeploy. One nuance: if both sides are still safe but one has gone deep ITM in profit (price moved away), consider closing just that profitable side to free up risk and let the threatened side ride. Reduces correlated exposure.

Canafornication

IVR, MPT, NWL, WEN are cheap CAG, MARA, NOK bit more expensive, F level Liquidity sucks especially in those inexpensive ones, requires patience with orders But you'll have fun with a tiny portfolio and learn how the options mechanics work 45DTE, 30 delta don't no need for weeklies

Less_Gap_7507

It's interesting you bring up the CNDR index. It highlights the biggest issue with iron condors: they're a short volatility bet dressed up with extra legs. You're basically selling theta while hoping the market stays rangebound, but it doesn't account for the fact that equity indices have a persistent upward drift. That's a structural headwind for a strategy designed for a flat market. My key rule is to only sell options in a confirmed trend. It's simpler and capitalizes on that drift. I work on PutYield, and our approach is just selling weekly ES puts but only when the market's confirmed to be in an uptrend. Since 2020, it's had a 99% expiry rate because you're selling into momentum, not against it. A simpler trend following setup like that often outperforms trying to pick a range. For condors, you'd probably want to look for periods of extremely high IVR and fading that, but even then it's a tough trade.

Lost_Return7298

Delta neutral is a massive term that gets thrown around a lot, but in practice, it is often more of a byproduct of good management rather than a standalone "strategy" you just set and forget. If you are trying to gamma scalp while delta hedging, be careful because commissions and spreads will eat your profits alive. Most people I know who make consistent money selling premium focus on high IVR environments and managing at 40-60% profit instead of holding to expiration. The key is just keeping your size small enough that a bad move does not force you to panic-close the position.

TradeVue

Credit spreads work for steady income, yes. Defined risk, theta on your side, right idea. What actually matters: sell when IVR is elevated not crushed, use liquid tickers like SPY/QQQ/SPX, enter 30-45 DTE, and close early on winners. A lot of people myself included close somewhere in the 40-60% max profit range rather than holding to expiration. The thinking is you’ve captured most of the easy theta and the remaining time just adds risk without proportional reward, therefore your win rate and overall consistency improves significantly over a large number of trades Also I think the main reason people or new traders blow up doing this isn’t the strategy is simply sizing too big or too far ITM chasing credit. Keep positions small until you actually understand how they move. Delta neutral is less of a strategy and more of a byproduct of managing your positions well over time.

FigIndividual8074

Price at open/close, IVR, IV percentile, greeks, DTE, underlying ATR, and IV crush after earnings are huge. Also track *why* you entered the trade and your confidence level. The psychology + setup context becomes way more valuable than people expect after 100+ trades.

Premium_Lover

What are you talking about? The IVR's and IV%'s have been VERY low in the last two months. Look at the VIX.

thetradingfenix

IVR and greeks at open/close are solid. I'd also log entry/exit reasoning in plain text—even a one-liner like 'IVR spike + vol crush setup' or 'tested support.' Six months later when you're reviewing a string of losses, the raw numbers won't tell you if you broke your own rule or if the setup was actually there. For daily snapshots, delta exposure and theta decay help you spot if you're holding too long or closing winners early out of fear. If you trade earnings or defined events, flag those explicitly so you can isolate event performance vs. baseline. I built therisingfenix.com/journal after realizing my spreadsheet captured everything except the psychology—what I was thinking, what I ignored, why I adjusted. The AI coach cross-references your notes with actual outcomes so patterns you didn't notice (like always losing discipline above 3 concurrent positions) surface automatically. Worth considering if you want the tool to do the pattern recognition instead of running queries manually every week.

clawd_m17

solid setup with IVR and greeks for tracking

shortvol_trader

QQQ is a solid choice for calendars — liquid, tight spreads, predictable IV behavior around macro events. For entry criteria on calendars specifically: term structure is the key filter. You want back month IV higher than front month IV by at least 2 vol points. When that spread is narrow the calendar doesn't have enough room to profit even if you're right on direction. IVR above 45 on the front month is the second filter. You're selling expensive front month premium and buying cheaper back month — that spread only works when the front is genuinely elevated. DTE: front month 25-35 days, back month 55-70 days. That window captures the steepest part of theta decay on the short leg. Those three filters alone will eliminate most bad calendar entries.

shortvol_trader

Thanks for the context on SOXL — spreadsheet error changes the picture completely. The part worth thinking about: "no entry rules, strategy based on rolling" works until you hit a position that can't be rolled out of profitably. SOXL going from 90 to 180 is exactly that scenario — every roll would have been chasing the move. Rolling is a powerful tool but it's not a universal fix. It works when the underlying eventually reverts. On leveraged ETFs and high-momentum names it can turn a manageable loss into a much larger one. The results are genuinely good for 3 years of trading. Adding systematic entry criteria — even just IVR minimum and no earnings within DTE — would make the edge more repeatable and less dependent on rolling saving you.

JourneymanInvestor

Now that the SpaceX IPO date has been released I expect IVR to skyrocket for all the space names so buying calls is going to get really expensive from now until then

dominic_l

go to google ai mode and type this "make 30 day historical IVR chart for $SNDK"

dominic_l

yeh 90% IVR definitely wont contract

shortvol_trader

SNOW at IVR 82 / IV percentile 100 is legitimately rich. 8 DTE IC makes sense for a vol crush play but check if earnings are within the window — SNOW reports late May and that could be why IV is this elevated. BIDU setup is clean. China macro tailwind is real but headline risk is binary — any trade policy news can gap it overnight. 1-2 contracts with tight management is the right sizing. One thing on both: 8 DTE means gamma is running. A 50% profit target at this DTE usually hits in 2-3 days or not at all. Set your alerts and be ready to move fast.

Altruistic-Pin3207

Fellow builder here, went through this exact journey. Your feature list is solid but I'd push you on a few things based on what actually moves the needle once you scale past \~50 trades: \*\*What's missing from your list:\*\* \- \*\*Win rate by strategy AND by DTE bucket.\*\* Aggregate win rate is a vanity metric. Win rate split by "wheel vs CSP vs spread" combined with "0-7 DTE vs 8-21 DTE vs 22+" is where the real insights live. I found my own data was strongest in 8-14 DTE wheels and bleeding in short-dated naked puts. \- \*\*IV rank at entry.\*\* Tagging the IV environment when you opened each position is huge. Most of your "losing trades" are probably entries at low IV that didn't have enough premium cushion. Without this data point you can't measure if your edge is real or you're getting lucky on high-vol windows. \- \*\*Profit factor (avg win $ / avg loss $).\*\* Win rate without this is meaningless. A 70% win rate at 1:3 reward:risk is a losing strategy. \*\*Pain points you'll hit at scale:\*\* 1. Multi-leg attribution — when you close one leg of a spread early, how do you attribute P&L? Decide your model now (trade-level vs position-level), it's painful to refactor later. 2. Adjustments (rolling). Most tools treat a roll as "close + open" which destroys your hold-time data. Treat it as a single continuous trade with a roll event. 3. Multi-account consolidation if you trade IRA + cash + margin. Same ticker, different tax treatment. The dashboard is the easy part. The data model decisions you make now will determine whether you can answer questions like "what's my win rate on covered calls when IVR > 30 at entry on tech names?" 6 months from now. Plan for that question even if you don't surface it yet.

Salty_Wasabi2893

> The IV on contracts is priced so you can't figure out what stocks actually have tradable action based on the options chain. This makes no sense. IV comes from the price of options, based on market demand and supply, not the other way around. Looking at IV term structure, skew, IVR, and IV percentile tells us tons of information about price action of the underlying, historical and implied. People are down voting because it seems you are getting lost in hypotheticals and a misunderstanding of the basics.

ThetaEdgeHQ

The piece that took me longest to figure out is that watchlist construction and scan logic are two different problems. Most people solve the scan (IV rank above 50, liquid options, earnings proximity) but skip the watchlist question. If you run a scan across 500 random tickers you end up with names you do not know well enough to manage when they move against you. What worked for me was working backwards: build 25 to 40 names you understand well enough to own on assignment, then run IVR and earnings calendar filters on top of that. You end up with a smaller universe but every setup is actionable. One underrated filter is IVR relative to its own sector history. A name at IVR 60 in a sector that has been at IVR 80 for three weeks is a different trade than a standalone IVR 60. The former is vol normalizing from an elevated period. The latter might still be an inflated event premium that has not resolved. Running sector context alongside absolute IVR catches those gaps.

gob_magic

To expand on this. Look at market cap and options volume. Then check 26 and 53 week IVR and IVP. Gives an idea if the current IV is usually elevated or because of an event. Finally try to keep a handful of options (pun). Don’t over extend yourself. Like I know AAPL pretty well and know the company well. Like that I have five or six as my main tickers. This also includes companies I’d like to own. Unless it’s INTC or AMD which I bag held for 3 years and sold it last year when they recovered (don’t ask) and haven’t traded them until recently.

Salty_Wasabi2893

The AI is doing the thinking here, and got it wrong bad. For UPWK, max IVR and IV percentile is the exact opposite time to sell premium. UPWK is - 20% right now. All those words from the AI, but take one look at the daily chart and no rational person should sell premium with such a strong downtrend, even before the earnings drop. Awful AI content. Downvote.

Financebro30150

for IC setups the ETFs make sense, spreads are tight and you're not taking directional risk on a single name. SPY/QQQ are fine for that. but for CSPs where i actually want to potentially get assigned and run the wheel, i go individual names. MSFT, META, AMAT, AMZN, occasionally GOOGL. IV is higher, the credit is actually meaningful, and if i end up holding shares i don't mind. ETF IVR rarely gets high enough to make the pure CSP math compelling vs what you can collect on a single name after an earnings move or sector flush.

Metarazzi

As a beginning trader, stick with a defined risk strategy. This makes it affordable (if you're cash limited) and less risk (caps max loss). I'd suggest sticking with ICs until you really get a good feel for the mechanics and Greeks (not just definitions, but what does it mean to put shares on or call shares from someone, is IVR or IV%% more important, whats the difference in positive and negative delta and where do you want it, what does theta do for me, why is it always changing, and how does vega impact theta, should I roll or close a losing side, what makes it worth rolling, etc.). After you open an IC, think about it from that point on as two separate trades—because it actually is a vertical put spread and a vertical call spread—and manage each side independently, not as a full IC, unless you're closing the full IC. Are you following a specific teaching method? YouTube? The "tasty" way? Udemy? Some other trading firm?

Fluid-Membership1356

0.14 delta with cash reserved at 310 is the right framework for this. what i watch before entering: IVR. semis have had elevated baseline IV from all the macro/tariff noise so the actual post-earnings crush might be smaller than you'd expect if IV is already rich heading in. tend to prefer shorter dated on cyclicals too - july is a long time for that BPR to sit when theta's your only friend

Fluid-Membership1356

IV is fat rn so the premium looks nice but MU is a semis name that moves on macro and NAND pricing — not just momentum. i'd go 20-25 delta max, strike well below the recent run support, and ONLY if you'd hold at that price through another drawdown. elevated IVR doesn't mean the risk went away.

esInvests

I would avoid getting sucked into any specific structure and focus way more on the strategy, profit mechanism, and what's optimal. A strangle is just a combination of options, that does specific things. There is zero edge in it itself. Your edge as a trader lies in your ability to identify market effects you can monetize - profit mechanisms. In general, for those seeking to short strangles, they're directly (or indirectly) expressing a view on volatility - namely that it's expensive relative to what you expect the realized move will be. Sometimes, a strangle might fit best. Sometimes a straddle. Sometimes a skewed strangle, a ratio, diagonal, calendar, etc. The focus point is on the profit mechanism itself aka how are you deciding if volatility is expensive (and please for the love of christ don't say "because IV is high" or "because IVP/IVR are high"). Once you have that refined, you'll be able to more easily determine what structures fit that specific opportunity the best.

Aigpil

for theta sellers the tricky part is correlation � five big names in 3 days. if META misses, MSFT sells off in sympathy before it even reports, and your short premium on both bleeds simultaneously. size each position knowing they can all move against you at once. mechanics: sell 1-2 DTE to capture the earnings IV crush directly. use IVR vs each ticker's own earnings history, not raw IV � AAPL at 40 might be completely normal for its cycle while TSLA at 80 is also normal for its own. spread width should track the ATM straddle price (the market's implied move) for each name separately. TSLA just gave a clean example tonight � barely moved vs its implied, IC holders should be collecting the crush. MSFT/META earnings vol has been less consistent lately so check each name's own history before sizing in.

No_Band_8150

The thresholds I have landed on after tracking this across a few thousand entries: * Below IVR 30: basically skip. Premium is too thin to cover directional risk on a .30 delta short. You are selling vol that is already cheap and hoping it gets cheaper. Expected value drops hard in this bucket and the expired worthless rate looks great right up until one name moves 2 sigma and eats six months of premium. * IVR 30-50: tradeable but be selective. Works best when IVR is *rising* into the entry, not drifting down. Direction of IVR matters almost as much as level. * IVR 50-70: the sweet spot for 30-45 DTE premium selling. Market is paying you enough for the vega exposure and the expected move tends to overstate realized. * IVR 70+: rich but there is almost always a reason. Earnings, guidance, M&A chatter, sector rotation. I still take these but I size smaller and check the catalyst calendar first. Blind IVR chasing into a known event is how people blow up. One more variable worth pulling in if you have it: IVR percentile relative to the underlying's own history versus absolute IV. A stock like SMCI at IVR 40 is a completely different animal than KO at IVR 40. Normalizing matters. Phew.

Perfect-Loquat-7791

Diagonals look cheap in low IVR but they’re fragile when price moves fast. A lot of risk is really in timing, not structure. Early delta expansion can quietly shift edge against you.

timmyd79

https://www.schwab.com/learn/story/how-to-hedge-your-portfolio I’ve found this article that gives a 1M example. It puts the cost at 2% roughly. But the IVR it uses is lower than the IVR today at 18 and IVR mid march was elevated significantly at like 27. I assume this translates to higher premium. It is interesting but it appears in all my foolishness even the cost of an appropriate hedge would have costed me similar to my own amateur fumbling. Schwab example puts the cost at 40k when the IVR was 17.

123phi

That makes sense, I do want to incorporate IVR and IVP into the dashboard soon. Thanks for the nudge

esInvests

Few things: 1. You’re floating between IVP and IVR - to not confuse newer folks, these are different things. They’re similar most of the time but IVR is more prone to skew (it uses high and low end of the annual range vs IVP which is a simple percentage of days above / below current levels). 2. In no way is IVP (or IVR) terrible, they’re simply metrics. While I understand you label it that way for the post to gain traction which is totally cool, still worth noting. 3. Generally aligned on the remainder, solid post. 4. Risk premia or VRP is a useful metric, how has IV trended relative to realized vol. This needs to be lagged slightly to align them properly. 5. One of the most useful tools is actually creating a model to forecast your own vol. this will never be better than the market but it will provide a solid comparison to monitor changes and measure.

Equivalent-Ticket-67

IVR on individual names vs VIX is the right framework. most people just look at VIX and assume everything is expensive which is lazy. we track this exact thing at WormholeQuant, scoring per-ticker IV vs expected move instead of relying on broad VIX. way more signal that way

Aigpil

VIX 25+ is where selling premium gets fun but the key is not treating every spike the same. I've had way better results filtering by IVR on individual names instead of just watching VIX — some stocks are at IVR 80 while VIX is only 22, and those are often cleaner setups than blindly selling into a VIX spike. your calendar idea on relative strength names is solid though, that's basically buying cheap back-month vol and selling expensive front-month which is the textbook play when term structure is steep like right now

Aigpil

this is the real answer. I've seen people obsess over their delta and gamma on a single position while having zero concept of how their portfolio-level risk looks. greeks are just a language for describing what your position does — they don't tell you IF you should take the trade. knowing that IVR is above 50, sizing at 1-2% of portfolio, and having a mechanical exit plan will make you more money than calculating charm on a weekly spread

Aigpil

nice, 30 delta puts / 20 delta calls with 2:1 ratio is interesting — basically skewing for the upside risk on gold. makes sense given how gold has been behaving lately. VIX strangles are the dream when IVR cooperates, the mean reversion is so reliable compared to individual names. what DTE do you usually run on VIX?

hadim33

I got XLE I hate as well lol . Bought a few put debit spreads turned them into credit spreads. Closed one today for a scratch. Two more to go. Put Debit spread strike 50P-48P jun18 paid 0.48 will start adjusting later if needed. 🤞 GDX for me is easy to handle. When rolling I adjust my strikes according to delta. While making sure I’m receiving credit. I believe the delta moves with IV. For GDX I usually trade delta 30 on the put side & delta -20 on the call side. Two to one contracts. Was trading 2-2 when IVR was over 100 . It’s been printing money. Forgot to mention the VIX it’s definitely my favorite.

Aigpil

solid list. I'd add XLE to that with oil vol where it is right now — better liquidity than USO for strangles and the IV term structure is steep so front month premium is fat. one thing I've noticed is GDX strangles can get tricky around FOMC dates, gold tends to gap more than the IV implies on rate decisions. do you adjust your strikes based on IVR level or just stick with a fixed delta?

RegalPepper

Make sure that you sell options on only liquid underlyers with high IVR. Plan your exits and defensive moves ahead of time and STOP BEING GREEDY. Not losing money is the name of the game, so at least you aren't too far off on that front. Keep studying. The TastyTrade videos are a great resource.

LarryStink

Chase oil at 100$ a barrel and 100% IVR or buy wheat futures/calls after a multi year bottom with fertilizer and shipping prices going apex shit? Already 10$ and 15$ itm on the two tranches respectively with 50dte. 

Meile13

Still digging in, so can't say 100% for sure. But based on my more methodological (as opposed to deep big data) analysis so far, we're seeing BOTH directions in these underlyings have outsized moves more than we'd expect. And again, it's like an order of magnitude more. So to compensate for that, we'd have to see LARGE premiums. Lots of this comes from the fact that the underlying "likelihood" of tail events from these assets doesn't really change over time, since we can't predict Black Swans well (direction or timing), nor can we model for them well. So when tail options in underlyings that seem to rarely move, but in actuality have black swans FAR more than they should, we should strive to purchase these tail options when they are cheap (low IVR, no panic), and eventually get whacked with a Black Swan at a good price by doing so. As well, the commodities markets are acted on by much different forces. Much fewer market makers, commercials (check the COT report sometime, it's kind of enlightening where the "smart money" mostly is). That said, if my data takes me a different way as I go, will adjust.

ra__account

They're very well known in the AI space (a company with a 3.5 billion dollar market cap is not a "nobody") but that doesn't make them a good investment. I wouldn't put money into them because for the vast majority of their existence their product line was focused on a music recognition app, nothing to do with AI phone ordering. They rebranded to jump on the AI hype wagon and who knows, maybe years of programming music recognition software carries over well enough to IVR, but I can't see them having much of a moat. They're losing money and have revenue in the 10s of millions of dollars while having an obscene valuation. Doing a SPAC merger is another warning sign.

Aigpil

This is the right take. IV spikes after a drop so the premium looks attractive, but that's the market pricing in more downside risk — not giving you free money. I look at IV rank vs IV percentile in these situations. If IVR is above 50 but the stock has a history of mean reverting after drops, that's when the setup actually has edge. Selling blindly into every -5% day is how you end up a bagholder with 'premium collected' as a consolation prize.

microfutures

IVR of 36.9 and IVx for the March 20 contract is 44.5%. IV is elevated, I would normally long sub 30 IVR to benefit if IV expands.

ebay94568

Well the fair value is subjective based on your valuation model and method. IV IVR etc are not subject value.

USMCActiveToReserve

The IVR is 108% according to E-Trade.

vrtra_theory

If you're opening "safe" put credit spreads, I go by the delta of the selling (closer to money) leg as a ballpark. For example, you open a $2 wide spread at 36 delta, you want to be making 36% of the $200 in profit, or $72. If the credit is $80, that's a "good deal"; if the profit is $50, that's a "bad deal". Typically if you're looking to sell credit spreads and seeing bad deals, you might be able to find better payouts adjusting the strikes and dates but it's probably just IV/IVR too low. In contrast if you're opening a super safe $5 spread at 10 delta, it's not realistic to expect much more than 10% of the spread in profit, or $50.

ydoyouask

I sell a lot of Tasty-style premium. I don't use OCO, I just roll (for a credit if at all possible) if I'm ITM a week or so before expiration. Set my closing order at 50%-ish. I think the difficulty you're having may be that looking for stocks with such high IV in such a generally low IV environment, you're going to be choosing only the real high-flyers. I might look for stocks with IVR more in the 25-30% range with overall IV so low. When trading stocks with really high IV, I choose a lower delta. Hell, I almost always choose a lower delta than Sosnoff. I'd look for closer to one standard deviation. A one-standard deviation position is going to give you a lot less premium up front, but a lot more wins.

EmpathyFabrication

If your broker isn't showing you all the greeks, you need to switch to a broker that does show them. You can calculate it on your own using various programs like R, etc. or use OptionStrat online but you don't really need to because your broker should be showing it to you in real time. It depends on how you trade but generally I do consider overall time value and IVR (how volatility at time of trading compares to past vol).

trebuchetguy

IVR stands for "IV Rank" and it represents the percentage of time over the past year the IV for a stock has been lower than the current IV. It's a relative measure of how volatile a particular equity is compared to all its IVs over the past year. IIRC the timeframe is a year. Might be 2. Easily researched. A quick and dirty way to get a feel for how options will be priced. Since IV is mean reverting (another topic all on its own) it also gives you a rough idea of whether there will be pressure for it to rise or drop in the coming weeks. I'm not familiar with RH, but the marketchameleon website will have it on their stock quote detail even if you don't subscribe.

Ocilla

I agree with the malicious law fare against J Pow, it’s disgusting. Can you tell me more about IVR? I know what about IV, but it doesn’t show me IVR in Robinhood and not sure what the correlation is to IV.

trebuchetguy

I just couldn't be less excited about selling premium this week. NVDA has an IVR of 27, so sucky premiums. You have a malicious Federal prosecution of the FED chair emerging because JPow wouldn't bend the knee. That's truly uncharted territory. Futures are indicating a sharply lower opening tomorrow. Fair chance we see a rising VIX this week and you really don't want to be selling premium on a sub 30 IVR into a rising VIX. I would sit on this for a while and let things settle a bit. Then you said you don't want to have your shares called away. I never CC an equity if I don't have the option of letting it go and I think that's a good policy in general.

microfutures

It looks like price has been in a range for the past 5 years. Even with good news I'm not expecting anything extraordinary in the long run. I haven't looked at the liquidity rating or the IVR, but the spread between the bid-&-ask on the longer dated options kind of wide. I saw one contract that was ITM by 1-strike and the spread was $1.

Wood_Ring

If I recall correctly, Cem Karsan had some research indicating that it was net profitable to sell vol at the extremes– high IV and low IV– and the worst time was actually when IV is around the mid-point. Low/high and cheap/expensive are relative terms. Low IV is not synonymous with cheap vol, just as high IV is not necessarily the same as expensive vol. Options markets are much more nuanced than that.  Something like high or low IVR should only be a starting point in assessing whether vol is over/underpriced, not the determinative metric; otherwise you become a prime target for adverse selection.

Wood_Ring

If you’re selling volatility mechanically based on something like an IV rank >50, which is more or less what Tasty espouses, then you need it to be true that there is such a thing as a volatility risk premium; that this premium is sufficiently high to be worth the time, risk, and effort; that the optimal time to try to capture this premium is when IVR is high; that the variance of this strategy is not so high that you are at risk of blowing up your portfolio; that all of this is true for the specific underlying(s) you are trading; and that all of this will continue to be true in the future.  There is evidence to suggest that a volatility risk premium does generally exist, and it’s conceivable that it will persist into the future, but it’s much less clear that this is true across all underlyings, that the optimal way to trade this is by selling volatility in general, and puts specifically, in a mechanical fashion based on IVR, and/or that this will all be true going forward. So the rough patches would come from variance, as well as instances where your underlying assumptions are either not correct from the start, or (maybe worse) your underlying assumptions were correct at some point but no longer hold true, but you don’t realize it until you’ve sustained significant losses.  All of this is to say that trading options requires a lot more reflection and attention to detail than one might come to believe based on Tasty’s content alone. Again, that’s not to say it’s impossible to be profitable by just selling puts mechanically, but that’s a riskier proposition than it might at first seem.

Frequent-Sympathy663

IVR has nothing to do with RV so you can sell Gamma and still make money (and usually VRP high in a low vol environment

Dumbest-Questions

Sorry, what does R in IVR stand for?

ImpressiveAd1518

Thanks for the reply, where could I go to see IVR of my options? I typically use Robinhood for buying/selling and Tradingview for charting. I have an IV rank suite indicator I looked at on Tradingview but it didn’t seem the most accurate compared to what I’ve been observing on Robinhood.

Ok_Butterfly2410

Yeah, thats what im saying. IVR means nothing. You gotta track the IV surface of the specific options you trade.

thekoonbear

Sure that’s what IVR is. But it does not necessarily mean that it’s too high or too low.

Ok_Butterfly2410

Knowing when IV is high or low is what IVR is. But, if you don’t map it out yourself for your specific options, the underlying IVR means nothing. You just gotta start tracking it everyday is where im at with it lol. You’ll see days where IV and underlying price both fall, days where they both rise, and days where they move inversely like normal. Days when underlying price and IV are falling are good days to buy. Days when underlying price and iv are both rising are good days to sell. In between is normal chugging dont do anything.

teddyevelynmosby

Super, I will look it up. I have Schwab checking account for intl travel but haven’t touched on investing. If they have IVR IVP type of tracking that will be amazing. One thing that fidelity ATP is missing. And the way they display price always bugs me. That is why I went with RH.

External-Band-414

# Here are the indicators, provided by algorithm I developed-->SPY The SPY ETF exhibits a bullish sentiment as it shows strong momentum and positive technical indicators, suggesting potential opportunities for call options. Algorithmic Consensus # STRONG BULLISH BIAS Based on 7 technical & volatility metrics 6 Bullish 1 Bearish # Moving Average (50-day) Current price is above the 50-day MA bullish A price above the 50-day moving average indicates a potential uptrend, signaling options traders to consider bullish strategies. # RSI (Relative Strength Index) RSI level at 65 bullish An RSI above 50 suggests that SPY is in a bullish phase. However, caution is warranted as it approaches overbought territory. # VWAP (Volume Weighted Average Price) Current price is above VWAP bullish Trading above the VWAP indicates strong buying interest, making it a favorable condition for bullish options strategies. # MACD (Moving Average Convergence Divergence) MACD line is above the signal line bullish A bullish MACD crossover suggests upward momentum, providing a signal for traders to consider long positions or call options. # Bollinger Bands Current price is near the upper band bearish Being near the upper Bollinger Band may indicate a potential pullback, suggesting traders should be cautious with aggressive bullish positions. # Implied Volatility Rank (IVR) IVR at 30% bullish A low IVR indicates relatively cheaper options premiums, allowing traders to buy calls at a lower cost, potentially increasing profit margins. # Put/Call Ratio Current ratio at 0.5 bullish A low put/call ratio reflects bullish sentiment among traders, suggesting a higher likelihood of price increases, making it attractive for call options.

External-Band-414

# GME The current market sentiment for GME suggests a cautious bullish outlook, driven by recent price recoveries amid high volatility. Algorithmic Consensus # STRONG BULLISH BIAS Based on 7 technical & volatility metrics 5 Bullish 2 Bearish # Moving Average (50-day) Current price above MA bullish The current price being above the 50-day moving average indicates a potential upward trend, which can be a signal for traders to consider bullish options strategies. # RSI (Relative Strength Index) RSI level at 65 bullish An RSI level above 60 suggests that GME is in a strong upward momentum, indicating that options traders might look for call options or bullish spreads. # VWAP (Volume Weighted Average Price) Current price above VWAP bullish Trading above the VWAP means that the majority of the trading volume is at lower prices, signaling bullish sentiment and suggesting favorable conditions for buying calls. # MACD (Moving Average Convergence Divergence) MACD line above signal line bullish The MACD being above the signal line indicates positive momentum, which could present a good opportunity for traders to enter long positions or calls. # Bollinger Bands Price near upper band bearish While price nearing the upper Bollinger Band suggests potential overbought conditions, options traders should be cautious and may consider protective puts or spreads. # Implied Volatility Rank (IVR) IVR at 70% bearish A high IVR indicates elevated options premiums, making selling strategies like covered calls attractive, but may also suggest caution due to potential price corrections. # Put/Call Ratio Current ratio at 0.5 bullish A low put/call ratio indicates that bullish sentiment is prevalent among traders, suggesting that options traders may want to focus on bullish strategies like buying calls.

External-Band-414

Here is for TSLA from the algorithm i developed-->Moving Average (50-day) Current price above 50-day MA bullish A price above the 50-day moving average indicates a potential upward trend, suggesting that call options may be favorable. # RSI (Relative Strength Index) RSI at 62 bullish An RSI above 50 suggests bullish momentum; traders might consider buying calls or bullish spreads. # VWAP (Volume Weighted Average Price) Current price above VWAP bullish Trading above the VWAP indicates that the stock is being bought at higher prices, which may signal a bullish trend for options traders. # MACD (Moving Average Convergence Divergence) MACD line above signal line bullish A bullish crossover in the MACD suggests upward momentum; options traders might look for bullish positions. # Bollinger Bands Price touching the upper band bearish While touching the upper band indicates upward momentum, it also suggests potential overbought conditions, cautioning against aggressive bullish options. # Implied Volatility Rank (IVR) IVR at 30% bearish A low IVR indicates that options are relatively cheap; traders might consider selling options or using spreads as a strategy. # Put/Call Ratio 0.7 bullish A low put/call ratio suggests bullish sentiment among traders, making it a favorable environment for bullish options strategies.

External-Band-414

# Moving Average (50-day) Current price is above the 50-day MA bullish A price above the 50-day moving average indicates that the stock is in a short to medium-term uptrend, making call options more attractive. # RSI (Relative Strength Index) RSI level is 62 bullish An RSI above 50 indicates bullish momentum, suggesting that the stock may continue to rise, which is favorable for bullish options strategies. # VWAP (Volume Weighted Average Price) Current price is above VWAP bullish Trading above the VWAP suggests that the stock is being accumulated, making it a favorable environment for buying calls. # MACD (Moving Average Convergence Divergence) MACD line is above the signal line bullish A bullish MACD crossover indicates that upward momentum is likely, which could lead to price increases, benefiting options traders with bullish positions. # Bollinger Bands Current price is near the upper band bearish Being near the upper band may indicate overbought conditions, suggesting a potential pullback, which requires caution for aggressive bullish strategies. # Implied Volatility Rank (IVR) IVR at 40% bullish A higher IVR suggests that options are relatively more expensive, which can benefit traders selling options or using spreads to maximize returns. # Put/Call Ratio Current ratio is 0.6 bullish A lower put/call ratio indicates bullish sentiment among traders, suggesting that more traders are betting on upward price movement, which supports bullish options strategies.

Krammsy

I took notes on every trade going back to 2008, where it felt necessary to document my mistakes to learn from them. Once I got into options, it was a new tier of failures, so I kept going back through my trade notes to no avail, there was nothing to learn. With options it turns out the things that were killing me were the things I didn't even know to note. The Greeks. If you're trading options & taking notes, those notes are worthless if you haven't recorded IV vs HV (or IVR), position net Delta, Theta & Vega - and how you're hedging. That's a bit much, though possible, what's more important is actually knowing the current value for each of those, what to expect and how to protect yourself. .

Krammsy

I don't think you know what Vega is, Tasty has a plethora of earnings strategies, those are Vega plays....IV. What bugs me is the way they completely depend on IVR without discussing Vega hedging.