Rolled SPX Oct 2026 7000 put to Dec 7100 put @79.1

buying two more months, and the new strike is around 21 day ema.
Before this, I had rolled multiple times in the last 3 months, first from 7000 to 6800 and then 6500, recently in April back up from 6500 to 6800 then 7000.

The premium from the short legs hasn’t been enough to offset the loss on the long leg. In April, my account gave back 1/3 of the profit made this year (up 85% by end of March), largely due to the crazy run up, partly due to that I didn’t have time to mange the rolling each day and had to roll out multiple days often.

Still feel there is enough time to make it back before year end.

BTO Mar-30-26 6610/Mar-27-26 6600 Call Diagonal @ 6.15 Limit
A small potential bounce trade. Will start scaling out at $8.

Other than that, I trimmed a few positions, just to have fewer tickers to follow. When things are becoming more correlated, trading the index is just as good. 2/3 in cash.

Rolled Apr-17-26 6800/Mar-20-26 6675 to Sep-18-26 6500/Mar-24-26 6550 in 2/1 ratio, @39 credit.

STC Mar-23-26 6810/Mar-20-26 6800 Call Diagonal @ 4.55
Opened Friday @ 3.5. cut down the risk.

Mar-17-26 6730/Mar-18-26 6700 Put @ 0.9 credit.

In spirit of sharing and learning, from each other’s success or mistake.

Near the close of Monday, I did a roll up, at 3:37 Mar‑13‑26 6650 to 6775 @32.5 credit.

Earlier to day, I rolled Mar-13-26 6775 to Mar-17-26 6730 Put @ 2.2

The Monday pm roll was an emotional trade, exactly buying the top. Even Monday evening I was thinking to reverse it on Tuesday, but when Tuesday came, part of me just didn’t want to admit I was wrong, and started the hoping game…. as how well that usually ends…

The whole structure still made money this week, but if I hadn’t done that roll on Monday pm, rolling Mar-13-26 6650 to Mar-17-26 6730 this evening would have pulled in 107, for $72 extra net profit per! ouch!

Although without that action, it’s highly unlikely that I would have rolled to Mar-17-26 6730 today, more likely to Mar-16-26 6600 or lower, a much better structure (pairing up with the long Apr 6800 put) if SPX keeps going lower, still…!

“The market has a funny way to catch the trades’ mistakes”.

BTO Mar-23-26 6810/Mar-20-26 6800 Call Diagonal @ 3.5

A trade for a potential bounce, it doesn’t have to run all the way back to 21 EMA.

Max risk 13.5 (If SPX charges way beyond 6810 at expiration). Will start scaling out @6.0 (~30%)

BTO Mar-20-26/Dec-15-28 100 Put Calendar @ 16.6
BTO Mar-20-26/Jun-18-26 100 Put Calendar @ 6.7
BTO Mar-20-26/Mar-27-26 100 Put Calendar @ 1.7

More of a theta trade. No idea where oil will be priced at in the next few months.

Starting position from Friday: Apr‑17‑26 6800 / Mar‑10‑26 6740 Put Diagonal @ 145.65

12:30 Rolled Mar‑10‑26 6740 to Mar‑13‑26 6650 @2.9 credit, the new strike effectively removed downside risk.
3:37 Rolled Mar‑13‑26 6650 to 6775 @32.5 credit. Total credit from both rolls: 35.4

Ending position: Apr‑17‑26 6800 / Mar‑13‑26 6775 Put Diagonal, now marked @98.6. Small negative delta, breakeven range 6620 – 6935.

If I hadn’t rolled, the original position would be worth 145.45 – basically unchanged.

If I had rolled Mar‑10 6740 to Mar‑13 6775 directly at the close, the credit would’ve been 46.8.

Rolling intraday, anytime, would’ve been a lot better… the usual coulda, woulda, but that’s trading.

Apr‑17‑26 6800 / Mar‑10‑26 6740 Put Diagonal @ 145.65

I’d like to give a short summary of my main trade this year, for general information and discussion. I’ve been running a systematic SPX short‑strangle approach, usually 1DTE or a few days out. My hedge is a longer‑dated strangle a few months out, with strikes roughly 100 points above/below then SPX price. At least one side of the short strangle typically expires worthless, and I aim to roll for a net credit, targeting about $20/day in total net credit.

When an expiring leg goes deep ITM, I try to roll it as close to ATM as possible as long as I can still collect a small credit. The credit from the opposite side helps offset the cost a little. This rolling method naturally builds in mean‑reversion, and it has worked well in this range‑bound market. Occasionally I’ll pay up to roll the hedge up or down – only on the side that has become significantly cheaper after a large move (today that would be rolling down the call hedge). This adjustment pays if SPX reverses and also helps reduce margin. The trade is up 57% YTD on the average carrying risk.

Today, I initially looked to roll down the April 7000 call to 6900 or lower, but ultimately decided to close that side entirely. I did add a few units to the put side. The new put diagonal costs $145, with a breakeven range of 6610 – 6850 and a max profit around $5,500. The structure is currently -2.2 delta, essentially neutral. When rolling, I may lean slightly based on market conditions at that moment. The carrying cost of this diagonal is fully covered by profits accumulated so far.

In another account, I have been trading the SPX double diag (Friday/Monday expiration), 100-200% on every trade in the last few weeks. I think the success has much more to do with the market condition than the strategy itself or the trader, and we need to adjust based on market condition.

I have a few small option positions on other stocks, but for the two accounts I’m now 50% in cash. My sense is that the market is setting up to break out of this range – likely sooner rather than later.

Trade well and be safe.