What Is the Best 0DTE Strategy? A Trader’s Guide to Managing Zero-Day Expiration Options

You’re watching the S&P 500 hover near a key level, and a thought crosses your mind: what is the best option strategy for 0DTE trades today? The appeal is obvious—options that expire in a few hours are cheap, and a sharp move in the right direction can produce outsized returns. But for every trader who walks away with a win, several others watch their premium vanish as theta accelerates through the afternoon.

Zero-days-to-expiration (0DTE) options now account for more than half of daily SPX option volume . That’s a staggering figure, and it reflects a market-wide shift toward intraday exposure. Yet with this popularity comes a hard truth: 0DTE strategies are fundamentally different from trading weekly or monthly options. The compressed timeline changes everything—gamma spikes, theta accelerates exponentially, and small price moves can turn a position from neutral to catastrophic in minutes .

So what is the best 0DTE strategy for most traders? The answer depends on your risk tolerance, time availability, and execution capabilities. But across the board, one principle stands out: defined-risk structures paired with real-time position monitoring outperform naked directional bets over the long run .

Understanding the 0DTE Playing Field

Before diving into specific strategies, it’s worth stepping back to understand the tools available. The most popular underlying for 0DTE trading is SPX—the S&P 500 index—due to its deep liquidity, favorable Section 1256 tax treatment, and cash settlement that eliminates assignment risk . SPY offers a smaller notional exposure, making it more accessible for smaller accounts, while QQQ caters to traders seeking tech-heavy exposure .

Each underlying has its own character. SPX option spreads are often penny-wide on near-the-money strikes, making execution efficient. But that efficiency comes with a catch: the gamma risk on SPX 0DTE options is brutal. A 1% move in the underlying can shift an option’s delta from 0.50 to 0.95 within hours . If you’re not monitoring your positions closely, you’re effectively flying blind.

The Best 0DTE Strategies by Trade Type

For Premium Sellers: Credit Spreads and Iron Condors

If you’re asking what is the best option strategy for 0DTE selling, the answer consistently points to defined-risk credit spreads. Iron condors and bull/bear put spreads let you collect premium while capping your maximum loss . With theta working in your favor—time value erodes fastest in the final trading day —these structures can profit even if the underlying trades sideways.

The key is strike selection. Selling options with a delta between 0.10 and 0.15 aligns with an approximately 85–90% probability of expiring worthless . For a 0DTE iron condor on SPX, that means placing your short strikes about 1% out-of-the-money on both sides . Research suggests that a disciplined 1% OTM covered call strategy on SPX generated annualized returns exceeding the buy-and-hold benchmark—14.2% vs. 12.4%—with reduced downside volatility .

But selling 0DTE premium is not passive. Gamma risk means a sudden move can blow through your strikes in minutes. Many traders close their positions by 2:30 PM ET to avoid the gamma explosion in the final hour .

For Premium Buyers: Directional Bets and Straddles

Buying 0DTE options is a high-wire act. Theta decay works against you from the moment you enter the trade. A 0DTE option bought at 10:00 AM can lose 40–60% of its value by midday if the underlying moves sideways . That’s the reality of zero-day trading.

The best 0DTE strategy for buyers often involves event-driven setups—FOMC announcements, CPI releases, or earnings reports that create immediate volatility . Long straddles or strangles can capture explosive moves, but they require both the right direction and timing. If the market meanders, your position will likely expire worthless .

One practical approach is gamma scalping: buying an at-the-money 0DTE option and dynamically hedging the directional exposure as the underlying moves. This requires near-continuous monitoring and fast execution—capabilities that most retail traders simply don’t have .

Where Most Traders Go Wrong

The biggest mistake in 0DTE trading is position sizing. Individual contracts are cheap—often $0.30 to $2.00—so it’s tempting to buy 20 or 50 contracts. But 50 contracts at $0.50 each is $2,500 in premium, and if you’re selling spreads, the maximum loss is multiples of that . Most professionals cap single-trade risk at 1–2% of total capital .

Another common error is underestimating gamma. A credit spread that looks safe with the underlying $4 away from your short strike can become a full loss in 30 minutes if the market moves sharply . That’s why many institutional desks use automated delta-hedging systems that execute in milliseconds—manual hedging simply can’t keep pace .

Finally, trading 0DTE into major news events is a game of negative expectancy. CPI prints and FOMC announcements can easily exceed the width of a credit spread, turning a small premium collection into a maximum loss .

Bringing It Together: The Trader’s Workflow

The best 0DTE strategy is not just about the trade structure—it’s about the workflow around it. You need to monitor implied volatility, track your Greeks in real time, and be ready to exit without hesitation. That’s a lot to manage, especially if you’re also running a MetaTrader terminal with charts and execution windows open.

This is where a tool like Camovia Tray can help reduce friction. It turns your MT5 or MT4 into a tray utility, letting you check live quotes and manage open positions right from the system tray—without keeping the full trading platform visible on your screen. For traders who need to stay on top of intraday positions while avoiding distraction, that’s a practical advantage. The data stays local, the interface stays minimal, and you can quickly see your current exposure without cycling through multiple windows.

Because in 0DTE trading, speed isn’t just about execution—it’s about awareness. If you can’t see your risk in real time, you can’t manage it. And in a market where positions can shift from safe to dangerous in minutes, awareness is everything.

So what is the best option strategy for 0DTE? It depends on your risk appetite. But for most traders, defined-risk sellers who monitor positions closely and size conservatively will outlast the buyers who chase big moves. The data is clear: most long 0DTE positions expire worthless . The winners are those who treat 0DTE not as a lottery ticket, but as a disciplined risk management exercise—every minute, every tick, every screen counts.