THE IRON CONDOR STRATEGY - KING OF TIME DECAY STRATEGIES

The Iron Condor Spread is one of the most  popular trades of all Options trades, and it is the undisputed "King of  Time Decay or Income strategies". It is special because you get to double  the premium collected, reduce your risk levels as compared to normal credit spreads,  double the amount of time decay, and maintain a delta neutral position, at  least when the trade is first put on. The negative with the strategy is that  it's a heavily Vega negative position. We dissect the Iron Condor in this  trade, put on a real trade on AAPL, and take it through a couple of weeks. We  analyze the risks, set adjustment points, and discuss suitable adjustment  strategies for different market situations as the trade develops. 

What  you will master

• How do we construct an Iron Condor

• Why choosing the right strike prices are important for the Iron condor

• Should we try to make it a delta neutral trade and why

• What are its special characteristics

• How is the premium doubled

• Why is the Iron Condor a popular trade

• Why are margin requirements less on an Iron Condor

• What should we watch for in terms of Vega exposure

• What are good adjustments for an Iron Condor

• When do we use the simple adjustments and when do we use the complex one

• Is Rolling an Iron condor leg a viable strategy

• What are the options if we don't want to roll a losing Iron condor leg

• Why is there an automatic profit component in an Iron Condor

• How can we optimize the entry of an Iron condor