181: This Week In Options Trading: What's Working Right Now

9 snips

Mar 30, 2026

Brian Terry, a conservative options income trader who specializes in income-oriented diagonal calls and poor man’s covered calls in energy names. He talks about rotating into strong oil stocks, using diagonal structures to stay neutral, and when sitting in cash is the best move. They also cover timing entries to avoid intraday reversals and shifting to shorter-duration SPX trades during headline-driven volatility.

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ADVICE

Rotate Strategy Into Strong Sectors

Do rotate your existing option strategy to stronger sectors rather than changing the structure of the trade.
Brian Terry moves his poor man covered calls into energy names like EOG, OXY, and PSX because they show relative strength amid the oil-driven rally.

ADVICE

Avoid Long Option Enhancements During High IV

Avoid adding symmetric long options when IV is elevated because volatility reversion can erode the longs' value.
Brian suggests waiting for implied volatility to calm before pairing diagonal calls with diagonal puts to create a neutral position.

INSIGHT

Shorten Durations On SPX When Signals Fade

Shorten durations and be selective when bullish credit spreads stop triggering in a headline-driven market.
Eric O'Rourke moved to 0DTE trend spreads and skips many standard 1–7 day setups when SPX signals fade.

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Brian Terry’s Conservative Options Income Group: https://www.stockmarketoptionstrading.net

Eric O’Rourke’s SPX Trading Community:

https://www.alphacrunching.com

Trading in a community gives you perspective, shared ideas, and support—far better than trying to figure it all out on your own.

In this episode, Eric O’Rourke is joined by Brian Terry to break down how they’re navigating a highly volatile, headline-driven market. With uncertainty tied to global events and sharp intraday reversals, both emphasize that sometimes the best trade is no trade at all—and that sitting in cash can be a strategic edge.

Brian shares how he’s staying active by focusing on strength in the energy sector, using diagonal call strategies and poor man’s covered calls on oil-related stocks showing relative strength. Rather than changing strategy structures, he explains how simply rotating into stronger sectors can maintain a bullish or neutral approach even in a weak market.

Eric contrasts this with his SPX-focused approach, where many bullish credit spread strategies are no longer triggering. He discusses why “flipping” strategies (e.g., turning put spreads into call spreads) doesn’t always work, based on backtesting results. Instead, he’s adapting through shorter-duration trades, including 0DTE trend-based spreads, while being more selective—especially on volatile gap days.

Check this Video: https://youtu.be/WLNR_5wf6YI

They also dive into:

The impact of extreme intraday reversals on short-term trading
Why timing (like the 10:30am window) can improve probabilities
Adjusting position sizing and exposure during uncertain conditions
Using moving averages (like the 100 and 200-day) to manage longer-term portfolios
The challenge of knowing when to re-enter after going to cash

The episode wraps with a key reminder: markets like this require flexibility, patience, and discipline. You don’t need to force trades—wait for conditions to improve and protect capital so you’re ready when opportunities return.