The SPX 0DTE Strategy That Solves “What Do I Trade Today?”

One of the biggest challenges traders are facing right now isn’t strategy—it’s consistency.

Markets have been choppy, headline-driven, and unpredictable. Many swing strategies that worked well in the past simply aren’t triggering as often… or they go long stretches without a trade.

So the question becomes:

What do you trade right now?

In this conversation, Alpha Crunching founder Eric O’Rourke sat down with Matt from Option Omega to break down the Trend Spread Engine and how it’s being used to test and refine SPX strategies in real time.

In this video, you’ll get a behind-the-scenes look at the framework, the data, and how it all comes together.

The Problem With “High Probability” Alone

A common approach in options trading is to sell high-probability spreads—delta 15, delta 20, somewhere around the expected move.

The issue?

That alone doesn’t create an edge.

If you simply sell the same spread at the same time every day, the results tend to flatten out over time. You might even lose money depending on the period.

But when you zoom in, something interesting happens…

There are periods where the exact same setup works really well, followed by periods where it doesn’t.

That’s the insight that led to building the Trend Spread Engine.

The 3-Part Framework

The Trend Spread Engine (TSE) is built around three simple components:

1. Time of Day
2. Intraday Trend
3. Strike Selection

Instead of guessing when to trade, we track these variables every 15 minutes throughout the day.

How the Trend Spread Engine Works

From 10:00am to 3:00pm ET, the system evaluates the SPX every 15 minutes.

At each interval:

• If trend is up → record a put credit spread
• If trend is down → record a call credit spread

Each alert tracks two trades:

• Trade 1 → ~Delta 20 short strike
• Trade 2 → ~Delta 15 short strike

We then store every one of these trades in a database and track:

👉 Did it expire worthless or not?

Turning Data Into an Edge

Each week, we generate a report using a rolling 90-day lookback.

This tells us:

• Which timeframes have performed best recently
• Where win rates are highest
• How performance is shifting over time

For example, one week 10:30am might be the top performer…

Then a few weeks later, 11:30am takes over.

That shift matters.

Instead of trading blindly, we can focus on the time window currently showing the strongest edge.

Why This Matters in Today’s Market

In volatile conditions, many longer-duration strategies (1DTE, 7DTE) don’t trigger often—especially if they’re long-biased.

But with 0DTE:

• You can trade both directions
• You get more frequent opportunities
• You can stay engaged without forcing trades

The goal isn’t to trade all day.

It’s to identify:

When to show up, what direction to trade, and which strikes to focus on

From Research to Execution

To actually test and refine this approach, I use Option Omega for both backtesting and execution.

That allows me to:

• Pull specific dates based on TSE conditions
• Test different deltas, widths, and management styles
• Validate whether the edge holds up over time

If you want to try it yourself, you can use code SMOT for a discount.

How to Apply This

There are a few ways to use the Trend Spread Engine:

1. Fully Mechanical

• Trade the top-ranked time each week
• Follow the trend direction
• Use defined strike selection

2. Semi-Mechanical

• Use the top timeframes as a guide
• Add your own filters (gap size, levels, etc.)

3. Discretionary

• Use TSE levels as probability zones
• Look for better entries around those levels

Final Thoughts

This isn’t about finding the “perfect” trade.

It’s about building a system that:

• Adapts to changing market conditions
• Gives you consistent opportunities
• Removes the guesswork

And most importantly…

Helps answer the question:

What should I be trading today?

Want Access to the Full System?

Inside Alpha Crunching, you’ll get:

• Weekly TSE reports
• Real-time 0DTE alerts
• Trade setups and forecasts
• Discord access and live discussions

You can use code SPX50 to get 50% off your first year.

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