Bullshit Free Guide to Iron Condors - Options trading IQ

I first start by entering the two spread orders; a bull put spread and a bear call spread. I set the starting price above the mid‐point and leave the trades in a
pending status. Depending on how close to the mid‐point I am, I sometimes leave the orders there for a few minutes on the off chance that they might get filled
at a really nice price.
From here, I gradually start bringing my price down until both the spread prices are right at the mid‐point. I now leave these trades as they are for 5 minutes or
so to see if they will fill. If the markets are moving around a bit, I might update the price to keep it in line with the mid‐point. You don't want to comprise too
much on your price.
Occasionally, you won't be able to get filled right at the mid‐point. If this happens and you have had the pending trade open for an hour or so, you can move
your price slightly below the mid‐point, but no more than 0.05. Sometimes, it's better to let a trade opportunity slip away rather than getting into a trade a bad
price. Patience is key in this business, just remember, there will ALWAYS be another trading opportunity. Don't force your trades.
Once one spread has been filled, you want to try and get filled pretty quickly on the other spread. The issue here is that if you only get filled on the one side and
the market moves against your open position, you may never get the chance to enter the other side of the spread. As a result you may need to move your strike
prices up (down) or compromise your price. So it's fairly imperative that once you get filled on the first side of the Iron Condor, that you get filled on the other
side pretty quickly. I would say within around 5 minutes or so, unless of course you are planning to leg into you trades as I discussed earlier.
ENTERING 4 LEGS INDIVIDUALLY
A lot of the same principals discussed above also apply to this method of entering your Iron Condor trades. However, using this method takes a little more skill
and experience, so I do no recommend it for beginners. The difficulty with this method is that you are trying to get filled on 4 legs, so the risk of the market
moving against you when you only have 1, 2 or even 3 legs on is quite high. One thing I would recommend for all traders, no matter what method you use, is to
avoid placing your trades within the first 30 minutes and the last 30 minutes of trading. During these times the markets are more volatile so the risks are higher
particularly with the 4 individual legs method.
You want to start by setting up the 4 trades individually and leaving them in an open or pending status with the price somewhere above the mid‐point. From
there, you gradually bring your prices down to the mid‐point and then leave them there for 5 minutes or so.
Once you get filled on the first leg, you want to make sure you get filled pretty quickly on the other legs to prevent the market running away from you. I would
say you would want all legs filled within 5 minutes of the first leg getting filled. Sometimes this might mean you have to compromise your price a little bit and go
below the mid‐point.
Another thing to keep in mind, particularly if you are trading a large position size, is that the market makers will know what you are up to and try to squeeze
every last penny out of you. For example if you have 4 option orders pending for the 4 legs of your Iron Condor, each for 20 contracts. The market makers will
assume this is one person trying to place an Iron Condor. Once your first trade gets filled they may be less inclined to take the other side of your 3 other trades
at the mid‐point of the bid / ask spread. They will know that you need to get your other trades filled quickly to limit your exposure and they will prey on that
fact.
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