What is 0DTE trading?

0DTE (Zero Days to Expiration) trading involves options contracts that expire on the same day they are traded, allowing traders to profit from very short-term price movements in underlying assets like the S&P 500 (SPX) or SPY. These high-risk, high-reward contracts experience rapid time decay (theta decay) and are popular for speculating on intraday volatility, often using strategies like selling premium or buying cheap calls/puts for big moves, demanding fast decision-making and expertise.

What does 0DTE mean in trading?

Zero days to expiration (0DTE) options are option contracts that exist for a single trading session and expire on the same day that they are traded. A 0DTE option could be a longer-term option that has reached the last day of its lifecycle, or it could be a specific option that's listed only for a single day.

Is 0DTE good for beginners?

0DTE 's not a good idea for a beginner trader. You can get burned extremely fast if you are wrong.

Can you make money on 0DTE?

The ultra-short-term nature of 0DTE makes engagement almost a binary event—money can be made and lost very quickly depending on the intraday movement of a stock or index.

How risky is trading 0DTE?

Because they are short-lived instruments, 0DTE options are subject to significant volatility and require close monitoring. Profits can vanish quickly, and minor intraday movements in the underlying asset can significantly impact the options contract's value.

0DTE Options Trading Explained With Examples

What stocks are best for 0DTE?

0DTE options are most commonly traded on highly liquid indices and ETFs such as SPX, NDX and SPY, where there are daily expirations. Because there is virtually no time left, their price is driven almost entirely by intraday price movement, volatility and order flow.

How long will it take to become a millionaire if I invest $1000 a month?

Those who invest $1,000 a month at a 9.1% rate of return would become millionaires in 23.6 years.

How did one trader make $2.4 million in 28 minutes?

For one trader, the news event allowed for incredible profits in a very short amount of time. At 3:32:38 p.m. ET, a Dow Jones headline crossed the newswire reporting that Intel was in talks to buy Altera. Within the same second, a trader jumped into the options market and aggressively bought calls.

What is the 3 5 7 rule in day trading?

3 = Do not risk more than 3% of your total capital on a single trade. 5 = Keep your total exposure to open trades less than 5%. 7 = Aim for at least a 7:1 profit-loss ratio on each trade. For example, if you risk $500, your potential profit should be around $3500.

What is the best strategy for 0DTE?

Some of the most popular 0DTE strategies are selling call or put spreads, and iron condors (a call spread + a put spread of equal strike distances). Other strategies commonly used include buying outright calls and/or puts to tactically trade around market events, and hedge longer dated portfolios.

Why do 90% option traders lose money?

F&O trading is inherently risky and requires a high level of knowledge, discipline, and strategic planning. The reasons why 9 out of 10 traders lose money include lack of knowledge, poor risk management, emotional decision-making, overtrading, and inadequate strategies.

Why is $25,000 required to day trade?

Why Do I Have to Maintain Minimum Equity of $25,000? Day trading can be extremely risky—both for the day trader and for the brokerage firm that clears the day trader's transactions. Even if you end the day with no open positions, the trades you made while day trading most likely have not yet settled.

What is the 90% rule in trading?

The "90 Rule" in trading, often called the 90-90-90 Rule, is a harsh market observation stating that roughly 90% of new traders lose 90% of their money within their first 90 days, highlighting the high failure rate due to lack of strategy, poor risk management, and emotional trading rather than market complexity. It serves as a cautionary tale, emphasizing that success requires discipline, a solid trading plan, proper education, and managing psychological pitfalls like overconfidence or revenge trading, not just market knowledge. 

What if I invested $1000 in S&P 500 10 years ago?

10 years: A $1,000 investment in SPY 10 years ago has grown by 267.69 percent and would be worth $3,676.90 today.

How much money do day traders with $100,000 accounts make per day on average?

Most experienced day traders aim for daily profits in the range of 0.1% to 0.5%. That works out to about $100 to $500 per day. Some traders use aggressive techniques and try for 1% to 2% gains per day, or $1,000 to $2,000, but this comes with much higher risk and requires a strong track record.

What if I invested $1000 in Coca-Cola 20 years ago?

If you invested 20 years ago:

Percentage change: 492.4% Total: $5,924.

What is the 3-5-7 rule in stocks?

The 3-5-7 rule in stock trading is a risk management guideline: risk no more than 3% of capital on a single trade, keep total exposure across all open trades under 5%, and aim for a profit target (like 7%) that is significantly larger than your risk, ensuring winners cover multiple losses and promote capital preservation and discipline. This framework protects against large drawdowns, reduces emotional trading, and provides clear, simple parameters for consistent decision-making in the market. 

How risky is 0DTE?

Because 0DTE options expire today, their value often deteriorates as the clock ticks. This effect, known as time decay, accelerates as the closing bell approaches. If the market doesn't move in the trader's favor quickly, the option can become worthless within hours or even minutes.