Dear Quant X Tribe,
One of the most common questions we hear around 0DTE trading is deceptively simple:
“Which strategy should I run?”
Sell premium?
Buy premium?
Iron condors?
Directional plays?
Most traders search for the best answer.
In quant work, that’s usually the wrong question.
Because strategies don’t exist in isolation.
They exist inside a portfolio — and portfolios behave very differently from individual trades.
0DTE strategies often look impressive on their own.
Short holding periods.
Fast feedback loops.
Strong short-term edges.
Run a clean backtest and you’ll often see:
High win rates
Attractive equity curves
Manageable drawdowns
Which naturally leads to the next thought:
“What if I just scale this?”
This is where many traders run into trouble.
Because 0DTE strategies rarely fail slowly.
They fail when:
volatility shifts
market tempo changes
assumptions quietly stop holding
And when you run one strategy, all of that risk concentrates into the same days.
From Strategy Thinking to Portfolio Thinking
Inside Quant X, we rarely ask:
“Does this strategy work?”
Instead, we ask:
“How does this strategy behave when conditions change — and what does it pair with?”
This is where portfolio construction starts to matter.
Not diversification across assets.
But diversification across behaviour.
The Core Observation: Volatility Changes the Edge
One simple truth underpins today’s breakdown:
Option pricing behaves differently at different volatility levels.
When volatility is elevated:
premiums expand
implied risk is overstated
selling options carries structural edge
When volatility is compressed:
premiums are cheap
selling edge diminishes
convexity becomes underpriced
Rather than forcing one strategy to adapt, we let volatility decide which tool to deploy.
This led us to a paired framework we now use frequently in our 0DTE research.
Two strategies.
Opposite volatility regimes.
Designed not to win together — and not to lose together.
(“Hulk” Mode)
When VIX expands overnight:
options are expensive
fear is priced in early
time decay accelerates
In this regime, we deploy a short premium structure (e.g. short iron condor):
defined risk
rules-based
entered early in the session
The edge here isn’t prediction.
It’s structural — harvesting inflated premium as volatility mean-reverts.
(“Iron Man” Mode)
When VIX compresses:
options are cheap
selling premium offers less margin for error
small moves are underpriced
In this regime, we switch to a long premium structure:
limited downside
asymmetric payoff
dependent on expansion, not precision
Losses tend to be small and frequent.
Wins tend to be fewer — but meaningful.
Why These Two Strategies Belong Together
Individually, both strategies have weaknesses.
Short premium struggles when markets trend aggressively.
Long premium bleeds when markets stagnate.
But together, something important happens.
They:
activate under opposite volatility conditions
respond differently to the same market day
rarely experience their worst outcomes simultaneously
This is what we mean by uncorrelated strategies.
Not different instruments.
Not different timeframes.
Different failure modes.
The Real Objective Isn’t Returns
It’s easy to focus on CAGR and win rates.
But in 0DTE trading, survivability matters more than smooth curves.
Portfolio drawdowns don’t come from one bad trade.
They come from loss clustering — when multiple strategies fail together.
Uncorrelated strategies reduce that risk by design.
Not by prediction.
Not by optimisation.
But by structure.
Why This Matters Now
Markets don’t announce regime shifts.
Volatility expands quietly — then violently.
Compression feels safe — until it isn’t.
Traders who rely on a single “best” strategy are often the most exposed when conditions change.
Those who think in portfolios have more room to adapt.
That’s the skill we aim to build.
Turning Understanding Into Execution
One last point matters.
Knowing what to do is only half the work.
The harder part is doing it consistently.
Monitoring volatility.
Checking conditions.
Switching strategies at the right time.
Executing without hesitation.
That’s manageable once or twice.
It becomes fragile when done manually, day after day.
This is why, inside Quant X Accelerator, we focus not just on strategy design, but on execution systems.
Where Quant Comes In
The Iron Man & Hulk framework works because the rules are simple:
If volatility compresses → deploy long premium
If volatility expands → deploy short premium
Quant allows that logic to be codified.
No staying up to watch VIX.
No second-guessing signals.
No emotional overrides.
When the condition is met, the strategy executes.
When it isn’t, nothing happens.
As simple as that.
Learn How to Build and Deploy This Properly
Inside the Quant X Accelerator, we teach you how to:
translate strategy logic into executable rules
automate regime-based strategy switching
test portfolio behaviour, not just single trades
deploy quant systems that run without constant monitoring
This isn’t about chasing signals.
It’s about building systems that behave the same way every day — whether you’re watching the screen or not.
Because the real edge isn’t speed.
It’s consistency.
Understanding compounds before capital does.
To your growth,
Quant X Team — Where Data Becomes Alpha
Editor: Dareen Tan
Disclaimer:
The views shared here are for educational purposes only and reflect our team’s opinions. They should not be taken as financial, investment, or legal advice. Please do your own due diligence before making any financial decisions.
