The Binkus 0DTE Operating System
How I combine SPX, VIX, momentum, volatility, options positioning, the Greeks and a little organized chaos
0DTE options are often compared with lottery tickets.
That comparison is fair—if your trading plan consists of buying a cheap option and asking the universe to do something dramatic before 4:00.
That is not how I trade them.
My approach is built around a collection of tools that perform different jobs:
• SPX shows price.
• VIX measures the market’s anxiety.
• My red and blue indicators identify trend, momentum and stretched conditions.
• Multiple timeframes expose the market’s smaller waves.
• ATR and options positioning establish likely boundaries.
• The Greeks tell me how the option itself is behaving.
• SmartDCA provides a framework for position sizing.
• Time determines when I trade—and when I leave the market alone.
This is not one magic indicator.
It is an operating system.
Start With the Market’s Weather
Before looking for an entry, I want to know what kind of market I am trading.
Is SPX trending? Is it range-bound? Is volatility expanding? Are dealers positioned to suppress movement or amplify it?
A trade that works beautifully in a calm, positive-gamma market may be carried out on a stretcher in a short-gamma volatility spike.
My broader VIX filter includes the relationship between its 10-day and 21-day moving averages.
When the 10-day VIX average rises above the 21-day average, I treat that as a broader sell or risk-off signal. It does not dictate every intraday trade, but it changes the weather forecast.
I can still take bullish scalps, but I know I may be swimming against a stronger volatility current.
The intraday chart tells me when to enter. The larger VIX signal reminds me what may be waiting outside.
SPX and VIX: Price Meets Fear
I do not trade SPX without watching VIX.
• SPX rising while VIX falls supports a bullish trade.
• SPX falling while VIX rises supports a bearish trade.
If SPX rises while VIX also rises, traders may be buying protection beneath the rally. The index looks calm, but someone in the options market is checking the location of the emergency exits.
If SPX falls and VIX refuses to rise, the decline may lack fear and could be vulnerable to a rebound.
VIX is not a mechanical signal. It is a second witness.
How I Use SPX and VIX Together to Time Intraday Trades
The First Red-and-Blue System: Trend and Momentum
My primary trend system uses the blue Linear Regression Curve and the red Time Series Forecast.
The blue line identifies the underlying trend. The red line reacts more quickly and identifies changes in short-term momentum.
I think of the blue line as the road. The red line tells me whether the car is accelerating, slowing or preparing to make an illegal U-turn.
Bullish Trend
• The red TSF is above the blue Linear Regression Curve.
• Both lines are rising.
• SPX is above both lines.
Bearish Trend
• The red TSF is below the blue line.
• Both lines are falling.
• SPX is below both lines.
Stretched
When the red line moves unusually far from the blue line, the market’s rubber band may be stretched. That is generally not the time to chase.
Choppy
When the lines are flat, tangled and repeatedly crossing, I stay out.
Flat blue line, no trade.
This single rule has probably saved more money than several of my cleverer ideas.
The Second Red-and-Blue System: Overbought and Oversold
I also use a separate pair of custom red and blue indicators to identify stretched conditions. These are not the TSF and Linear Regression Curve.
Oversold Bullish Setup
• The custom red indicator is below zero.
• The custom blue indicator is above zero or turning upward.
• VIX is flat or falling.
• A completed SPX candle confirms the reversal.
Overbought Bearish Setup
• The custom blue indicator is below zero, under this model’s definition.
• The custom red indicator is above zero or turning downward.
• VIX is rising.
• A completed SPX candle confirms the turn.
The trend system tells me which direction the market is traveling. The overbought/oversold system tells me whether it may have traveled too far.
Quantum Chaos and Micro Sine Waves
I have described intraday SPX trading as resembling quantum chaos and micro sine waves.
I do not mean that SPX is literally a subatomic particle—although it occasionally behaves as if observed by an easily frightened physicist.
The market contains movements inside movements: a small reversal inside a five-minute trend, a one-minute burst inside that reversal and a 30-second wave that produces the actual entry.
That is why I monitor the 30-second, one-minute and five-minute charts. I prefer at least two of the three to agree.
The small wave offers the opportunity. The larger wave determines whether I should trust it.
Quantum Chaos and Micro Sine Waves: Why I Think Day Traders Have the Edge
Wait for the Candle
I do not enter on an unfinished crossover. The red line may cross the blue line in the middle of a candle and reverse before the bar closes.
On a five-minute chart, I wait for the five-minute candle to complete.
If price is trapped between the indicators, I am in no-man’s-land. There is no prize for being the first person into an unclear trade.
ATR, Wide Levels and Options Walls
Indicators help determine direction, but they do not tell me where SPX may encounter a wall, magnet or pothole.
• ATR-based ranges
• Call walls and put walls
• Gamma levels
• Large strikes
• Expected-move boundaries
• My midday and 1:30 levels
A bearish signal with a major put wall below has a logical target. A bullish signal with a call wall above has a likely ceiling.
The signal tells me which direction to travel. The levels tell me where I might want to get out of the car.
Directional Scalps Versus Credit Spreads
When trend, momentum, VIX and the shorter timeframes align, I may use a directional 0DTE option for a quick scalp.
When SPX approaches the outer edge of a wide projected range—particularly early in the session—I may consider a defined-risk credit spread outside the expected trading area.
The directional scalp seeks movement. The credit spread seeks containment.
One says, “SPX should move toward this level.” The other says, “SPX probably will not travel beyond that level.”
The Greeks Are My Dashboard
Delta
Delta tells me how strongly the option responds to SPX. A cheap, far-out-of-the-money contract may require a much larger move before it becomes useful.
Gamma
Gamma measures how quickly delta changes. Near expiration, a small SPX move can create a large percentage change in the option.
When SPX moves my way, gamma is delightful. When it doesn’t, gamma behaves like a waiter who has decided I need the check immediately.
Theta
Theta measures time decay. With 0DTE, the clock is not running. It is sprinting.
That is why these are scalps—not long-term relationships.
Implied Volatility
Implied volatility determines how much excitement is already priced into the contract. I watch both direction and the price being charged for that direction.
SmartDCA: Sizing, Not Salvation
My SmartDCA approach adapts the idea of varying position size rather than committing the entire position at one price.
Traditional dollar-cost averaging assumes time. A 0DTE option has none.
If I scale into a trade, the additions must be:
• Planned before entry
• Limited to a predetermined maximum
• Supported by the original indicators
• Confirmed by SPX and VIX
• Made while enough time remains
• Abandoned if the trade thesis is invalidated
I am not adding simply because the option became cheaper. Sometimes an option becomes cheaper because the market is helpfully informing you that you are wrong.
SmartDCA is a position-sizing method—not a rescue mission.
SmartDCA Meets 0DTE: A Smarter Way to Size SPX Trades
My Complete 0DTE Checklist
1. What is the broader VIX regime?
2. Is SPX trending, stretched or chopping?
3. Do the TSF and Linear Regression Curve agree?
4. Do the custom overbought/oversold indicators confirm?
5. Has the candle closed?
6. Are at least two timeframes aligned?
7. Is VIX confirming the direction?
8. Are the Bollinger Bands expanding or contracting?
9. Where are the ATR range and important options levels?
10. Does the setup call for a directional option or a credit spread?
11. What are delta, gamma, theta and IV doing?
12. Where are my stop, target and time stop?
13. If I add, what is the absolute maximum position?
If I cannot answer those questions, I do not have a trade.
I have a hunch wearing an options symbol.
The Bottom Line
0DTE is not a strategy. It is an instrument.
No individual indicator is expected to predict the market. Each one answers a different question.
The edge comes from alignment.
When trend, momentum, volatility, timeframes, levels and the option itself tell the same story, I have a trade worth considering.
When they disagree, I wait.
When the blue line is flat, I go get coffee.
0DTE removes time from the option. It should not remove thought from the trader.
Inspired in part by “Zero Days to Expiration” by John Devcic, published in Technical Analysis of Stocks & Commodities, Volume 44, Issue 8, pages 32–35.
This article is for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, investment or trading advice. Options trading involves substantial risk and is not suitable for every investor. A 0DTE option can lose its entire value on the day of purchase.