Best Robinhood Options Strategy for September Volatility

No, September isn’t a guaranteed crash, it's a volatility tax you can manage

No, September isn’t a guaranteed crash, it’s a volatility tax you can manage. The myth says September nukes portfolios. The data says it’s just the month where the tape gets choppy, liquidity thins out after summer, and implied volatility gets jumpy when everyone wakes up to a pile of event risk. If you’re trading on Robinhood or any retail platform, that’s not a horror story, it’s a pricing environment. Higher IV means richer premiums if you keep risk defined and your rules repeatable.

Quick myth-bust so we start on the same page: long-run S&P 500 seasonality shows September has been the softest month on average, but not a death sentence. Across 1928-2023, September’s average return clocks in around -0.6%, with only ~45% of Septembers finishing green. That’s not “guaranteed crash,” that’s a coin flip with a small negative lean and wider ranges. Historically the bigger vol fireworks tend to happen across Sep-Oct anyway, which is why IV often prices in more movement right as we get past Labor Day and into the FOMC/CPI gauntlet.

What’s actually happening under the hood? Three things, mostly:

• Liquidity thins: big players are only partially back from summer, books aren’t full, and a 10 a.m. headline can shove prices further than you’d expect.
• Event risk stacks up: Fed meeting, CPI/PPI, index rebalances, buyback blackouts, Treasury issuance calendars, all crowd the month. The street hates crowded calendars.
• IV gets jumpy: options reprice the uncertainty, so you see IV rank/percentile tick up, even when spot isn’t melting. That’s your opportunity if you’re disciplined.

From 1928-2023, September is the only month with a consistently negative average for the S&P 500 (roughly -0.6%) and a sub-50% win rate (~45%). Translation: more chop, not automatic doom.

Now, we’re in Q4 2025, with this past September still fresh. If you watched the tape, you probably noticed the usual pattern: pre-FOMC hedging, IV lifting into the macro prints, and intraday moves that felt bigger than the headlines justified. That’s your rehearsal footage for next year. Note the dates that moved markets, the tickers that wore the moves worst, and where IV paid you to be patient. If that sounds a bit abstract, I get it, we’ll keep it practical.

Here’s the tone for the playbook you’re about to get: everyday tactics that fit a Robinhood account and don’t require a quant stack. Defined-risk structures. Tight, repeatable rules. No hero trades. And yes, we’ll talk greeks without making your eyes glaze over, delta for directional bias, theta for getting paid, and vega so IV doesn’t punch you in the face when you’re not looking.

What you’ll take away, in plain English:

• How to treat volatility as a feature: higher IV can pay you more premium if you box in risk (spreads > naked).
• Which strategies are “September-proof-ish”: short premium with defined risk (put credit spreads, iron condors), time spreads where IV does the heavy lifting, and simple covered calls when you already want to own shares.
• When to press and when to pass: use IV rank, event calendars, and position sizing so one weird print doesn’t wreck your month.

And look, I know options jargon can snowball. If something feels too theoretical, I’ll flag it and give the quick-and-dirty version. The goal isn’t to be fancy; it’s to survive the September volatility tax and keep compounding, because the market pays the patient trader who sticks to rules, not the tourist chasing headlines.

Why September whipsaws: the calendar, the catalysts, the IV pops

September loads the dice with events Robinhood options traders actually feel in pricing. The usual stack shows up like clockwork: CPI and PPI in the second week, the Fed’s September FOMC with the “dot plot” and press conference, and quarterly options expiration (the big one, a.k.a. quad witching) on the third Friday. When you bunch policy and data like that, implied volatility (IV) doesn’t wait for the result, it builds into the date, then deflates after the reveal. Classic pump-and-dump of uncertainty.

1. CPI/PPI (8:30 a.m. ET prints): Options in the front week usually carry extra IV into the release. If you’re long premium, you need an outsized move to beat that IV; if you’re short premium, you’re betting the move is smaller than priced. Easy to say, harder to sit through.
2. FOMC decision + press conference (with the September Summary of Economic Projections): Same IV build, bigger potential gamma. The press conference often matters more than the statement because the Q&A can flip the curve. I’ve seen IV get bid up into the 2 p.m. ET decision, then implode 2-4 vol points by the close when nothing “breaks.”
3. Quarterly options expiration (third Friday): Index options, index futures, single-stock options, and single-stock futures expire. Position rolls and dealer hedging can distort intraday moves (especially last hour). Zero-day options amplify it. Not always dramatic, but when it is, you remember it.

Quick sanity check: Since 1928, September has been the S&P 500’s weakest month with an average return around -0.7% (seasonality from CFRA/Bloomberg). That’s price, not volatility, but it sets the tone traders lean into.

How this hits Robinhood options specifically: front-week options around CPI or the Fed usually carry richer IV than the next week out. Calendars/diagonals can take advantage of that skew (sell the hot week, buy the calmer week), while defined-risk short premium (put credit spreads, iron condors) lets you monetize the pre-event IV without blowing up on a tail print. If you must go long premium, consider buying earlier, before the final IV ramp, because paying peak IV the night before is like buying surge pricing twice.

Timing matters more than people admit. Event on Wednesday? By Monday afternoon, you’ll often see term structure kinked: Wednesday/Thursday expiries pumped, the following week less so. After the event, IV crush can erase gains even if direction was “right.” That’s the heartbreaking part (been there); a 1% up move on FOMC day can still torch calls if IV collapses harder than delta helps.

2025 note: If September 2025 felt fast, that’s normal into policy/data clusters. Barring a regime shift, like a sharp inflation re-acceleration or a surprise easing cycle, expect a similar rhythm next year: IV bid into CPI/PPI, another into the FOMC, then the quad-witch roll giving you choppy tape into OPEX. Plan your trades around the calendar; don’t let the calendar trade you.

Know your Robinhood toolbox: keep it defined-risk and assignment-aware

Know your Robinhood toolbox: keep it defined‑risk and assignment‑aware

Quick reality check. Robinhood supports single‑leg and multi‑leg options for approved accounts: verticals (debit/credit), iron condors, calendars, diagonals, the usual suspects. Approval levels matter. If you’re Level 2, you’ll typically get long calls/puts and debit spreads; Level 3 is where most defined‑risk credit spreads and iron condors live. Calendars/diagonals are available for many, but not all; if your profile or experience is thin, the app can throttle you. It’s not personal, it’s the risk team’s job.

Collateral and max loss is the whole ballgame on this platform. For defined‑risk spreads, Robinhood requires cash or margin to fully cover the maximum loss at entry, no exceptions. That means your iron condor width x contracts x 100 has to be available, less net credit. If you’re on margin (Gold), remember interest isn’t free. I think Gold margin is around the mid‑single digits to high‑single digits this year (call it ~7-8%), but don’t quote me on the exact decimal; rates shift and Robinhood updates the page. Either way, size your spreads like you assume you’ll tie up collateral through expiration, because on volatile weeks you might not get the easy exit.

Fees are “$0”, except when they aren’t. Commissions are $0 on Robinhood, but small regulatory/exchange fees still hit. As of 2025: the FINRA Trading Activity Fee (TAF) on equities is $0.000145 per share, capped at $7.27 per trade (check the latest cap), and options carry exchange Options Regulatory Fees that hover around a few cents per contract, plus OCC/clearing pass‑throughs. It’s tiny per trade, but if you’re legging in/out 20 contracts during a wild earnings week, it’s not nothing. Build a few bucks of slippage/fees into your P&L math so you don’t chase ghost breakevens.

Pattern Day Trader (PDT) rules bite small accounts when you churn. If your equity is under $25,000 and you rack up 4 or more day trades in 5 business days, you’ll get flagged and potentially restricted. Practical fix: map your DTE so you’re not forced to close the same day. If you open a Friday morning zero‑DTE spread during an earnings gap and it goes sideways, you may have to eat the mark or risk a PDT tally. I usually stick to 2-5 DTE during the busiest weeks this quarter, gives me an overnight, avoids the same‑day scramble, and volatility decay works for you not against you.

Assignment awareness (American‑style) is non‑negotiable. Short calls and puts can be assigned any time before expiration if they’re in the money, and early assignment risk jumps on deep ITM short calls the day before ex‑dividend. If you’re short a call on a dividend payer into ex‑date, have a plan: roll up/out, buy back, or accept shares getting called away. Same with short puts in hard tapes, early assignment pins you long stock; that’s fine if you intended to own it, but it’s a headache if you’re capital‑tight and wake up with a big equity position. This year’s choppy earnings tape and rate jitters around CPI/FOMC weeks have made early‑morning assignments a little more common, anecdotally.

Feature availability vs. your plan: Robinhood routes multi‑leg tickets fine, but fills can be segmented; use limit prices and don’t get cute with mid‑market when spreads are wide. During event weeks, CPI, PPI, FOMC, OPEX, the NBBO for far‑OTM wings can get weird, and you’ll see temporary no‑quote gaps. Keep your strikes tight, keep widths sensible ($1-$5), and keep total risk per ticker small. If you must reload, stagger expiries so you’re not all in the same DTE.

Checklist: Approved level? Max loss covered in cash/margin? PDT headroom? Ex‑div dates on short calls? Fees baked into breakeven? If yes, press the button. If not, don’t make future‑you clean it up.

• Supports: single‑leg, verticals, iron condors, calendars/diagonals (approval‑dependent)
• Collateral: full max‑loss coverage required; margin interest ~high single digits this year, check exact rate
• Fees: $0 commission; FINRA TAF ~$0.000145/share (cap applies), options ORF/OCC a few cents per contract
• PDT: 4+ day trades in 5 days under $25k equity triggers restrictions
• Assignment: American‑style, early assignment risk spikes pre ex‑div for deep ITM short calls, plan to roll or accept shares

Core September income: cash‑secured puts and covered calls when IV pops

September usually gives you the bump in implied volatility you’ve been waiting for. It’s not mystical, it’s just seasonality and event clusters. Historically, September has been the S&P 500’s soft spot, averaging roughly −0.6% since 1950 (S&P Dow Jones Indices). Choppier tape + earnings pre‑positioning + macro headlines tends to push IV rank up. That’s when simple short‑premium shines, if you keep the guardrails tight.

Cash‑secured puts (CSPs): Stick to quality names or index ETFs (SPY, QQQ, IWM) when IV rank is elevated (I like IVR ≥ 30). Target 20-45 DTE, sell around 0.20-0.30 delta. Why that band? A 0.20-0.30 delta maps to roughly 70-80% probability of expiring OTM at entry, so you’re letting the statistics do some of the heavy lifting. Use GTC profit targets, close at 50% of max credit. Tastytrade’s studies (2016-2020 sample sets) showed that taking 50% winners cuts average holding time by ~30-50% versus holding to expiration while barely denting total P/L. Real talk: faster turn, less tail time risk.

Covered calls: Already holding shares? Sell 20-45 DTE, ~0.20 delta calls into event weeks (CPI/Fed/earnings windows) when IV spikes. If price rips through your strike, roll up and out, same delta band, next monthly, or take the stock sale if you’re fine parting ways. Don’t overwrite names you’re unwilling to sell. And mind ex‑div dates; deep ITM short calls can get assigned early. I got hit on that in 2021 on a sleepy dividend payer, wasn’t the end of the world, just annoying.

Position sizing that actually fits Robinhood accounts:

• Keep any single short‑premium trade to ~1-2% of portfolio risk based on worst‑case assignment. Example: $25k account → $250-$500 max risk per symbol. On CSPs, that’s the strike × 100 minus premium, so pick strikes your cash can truly cover.
• One contract bias. If you want more size, ladder strikes or stagger expiries rather than doubling the same contract. It helps with fills when quotes go jumpy.

Execution checklist (quick, not cute):

• IV rank ≥ 30? Yes → sell, No → pass or go smaller.
• DTE 20-45, delta ~0.20-0.30 (puts) or ~0.20 (calls).
• GTC at 50% profit. Also set a pre‑defined roll trigger: roll if short strike is touched, or if IV collapses and you can buy back at 65-75% of max profit. Don’t overthink, mechanical beats heroic.
• Fees are minimal ($0 commissions; standard ORF/OCC a few cents/contract), but include them in breakeven. Margin interest sits high single digits this year, don’t carry what you don’t need.

Names and timing: In September, index ETFs and liquid megacaps are your friends, tight markets, easier rolls. Pair CSPs under prior support zones, and sell calls above recent ranges or near post‑earnings gaps. And yes, sometimes it’ll feel too neat, until a CPI print smacks you. That’s why we use deltas, not vibes.

Too many knobs? Fair. Boil it down: sell 0.20-0.30 delta CSPs and 0.20 delta covered calls at 20-45 DTE when IVR ≥ 30, take 50%, roll if touched or if you can yank 65-75% quickly. Keep per‑trade risk to ~1-2% of the portfolio. That’s the whole playbook. It’s boring. It also works.

Defined-risk spreads for small accounts: verticals and iron condors that survive chop

Okay, let’s move to the stuff that keeps your buying power intact when markets whipsaw for no good reason. Short verticals and iron condors are Robinhood‑friendly, margin‑light, and, if you’re disciplined, way easier to sleep with than naked premium. My bias? I like rules I can follow on a treadmill. These fit.

Short verticals (credit spreads): Pick 15-30 DTE, anchor the short leg around 0.20-0.30 delta, and buy a further OTM option to cap risk. You’re selling time decay where it’s meaty but not insane. The math you live by:

• 0.20 delta ≈ ~80% probability of expiring OTM. Probability of touch ≈ ~2× delta, so roughly 40%, you will see heat; that’s normal.
• Target 30-50% of max profit and get out. Don’t wait for max; gamma ramps as you get close to expiration and the give‑back can be rude.
• Width and credit: on liquid underlyings, aim for credits ~25-35% of the spread width when IV is elevated. Example: $5‑wide put spread in SPY at 20 DTE collecting ~$1.25 in a high IV moment gives you a defined $3.75 risk and a realistic 35-45% early take‑profit window.

Directional taste matters. If you’re mildly bullish after a shakeout, a short put spread (bull put) at the 0.25 delta often prices cleaner than a short call spread when skew’s steep. And if the market floor might give way, pair that short put spread with a tiny long put (debit) further OTM, think a 1×1 put spread plus a 0.5× extra long put “catastrophe” wing. Costs a few cents. Keeps you in the game if we gap 3% on some ugly print. I learned that one the hard way in a 2022 CPI gap; still stings.

Iron condors when IV is juicy: If implied vol spikes around events and you expect post‑event chop, classic earnings, FOMC, CPI, the iron condor shines. Keep shorts ~10-15 delta per side, wings wide enough to matter ($3-$5 on ETFs; wider on single names if they’re liquid), and collect a credit that’s not an embarrassment. In my book, you want total credit ≥ 20-30% of total width if IV is actually high. If it’s not, skip it, no forced trades.

• Why 10-15 delta? It leaves room for the “day‑after” drift. You’re selling where the market only lands ~10-15% of the time by expiration, but you’re getting paid more because IV is inflated.
• Exit the same way: pull 30-50% of max profit quickly, or pare risk if one side gets tagged. Don’t martyr yourself waiting for max.

Event discipline: Use alerts around macro landmines. CPI, FOMC, NFP, ISM, and the mega‑cap earnings cluster, these are your gap factories. If your edge is IV mean reversion (it usually is with condors/verticals), consider closing or shrinking size before the number. You can always re‑sell premium once the vol crush actually shows up. I’ll sometimes close the winning side into the event and keep the tested side tiny with a tighter hedge, keeps the P/L from yoyo‑ing.

Practical guardrails (the boring stuff that actually saves accounts):

• 15-30 DTE entry. 0.20-0.30 delta short for verticals; 10-15 delta per side for iron condors.
• Take 30-50% of max profit. If IV collapses sooner, great, ring the bell.
• Per‑trade defined risk ≤ 1-2% of portfolio. Wide markets? Scale down, not up.
• Fees: $0 ticket commissions on most retail brokers; OCC/ORF typically a few cents per contract. Include them in break‑even. With margin rates still high single digits this year, don’t carry dead weight overnight.

A quick example (numbers approximate): earlier this year, SPY at 515 with IVR in the mid‑30s, a 20‑DTE 0.25‑delta bull put spread 500/495 priced around $1.30 credit. Max loss $3.70. Hitting a 40% target meant buying back near $0.78. That’s a clean, rules‑based exit you could set and forget with an order, no heroics, no staring contests.

One last perspective call from me: if you catch yourself “hoping” more than “managing,” you’re oversized or under‑hedged. Defined‑risk spreads are supposed to make you boring. Boring is good. Boring compounds.

When to actually buy options in September: calendars and selective straddles

I’m usually the “sell premium and go get coffee” person. September tries to tempt you into paying up for options because the calendar’s loaded: post‑Labor Day positioning, CPI, FOMC, quarterly OPEX, index rebalances, plus a blizzard of investor days. Most of the time, buying premium into that lineup is a donation. A few setups do make sense, if you’re picky about timing, IV levels, and exits. And yes, IV crush is real; it’s not just trader folklore.

Calendars: rent the front month, own the back month

The clean way to stay long exposure into a near catalyst without getting shredded by front‑month IV decay is a calendar: buy a longer‑dated option, sell a shorter‑dated option into the event. You’re effectively saying, “front‑week IV is overpriced, back‑month IV is fair, and price will hang near my strike.”

• Structure: e.g., buy Oct/Nov or Sep week‑4/Oct week‑1 at the same strike.
• Why it works in September: event IV is concentrated in the nearest expiry. As that IV bleeds post‑print, your short leg deflates faster.
• Strike selection: pick strikes near the expected pin (big open interest magnets around OPEX, prior swing highs/lows, or a well‑watched VWAP level). You want theta and vol decay working while spot meanders near your strike.
• Exit logic: take it off into the event or on the immediate post‑event vol flush, not two days later when the back month starts leaking too.

Quick example from how I’ve been trading this year: heading into the September CPI print, the SPY front‑week at‑the‑money IV often marked up into the mid‑teens to high‑teens, while the next monthly sat lower. A same‑strike calendar benefited if SPY didn’t gap wildly. And to be blunt, a lot of these prints resolve inside the pre‑event implied move.

Rule of thumb I actually use: sell the front where IV rank is stretched, own 30-60 DTE where the term structure is flatter. Take profits on the first post‑event vol downtick.

Selective long straddles/strangles: only when the math favors you

Buying a straddle sounds exciting until you learn what “priced to move” really means. The only time I’ll buy a straddle or strangle in September is when the implied move (derived from options pricing) is below my expected move, and I have a time stop. That gap, your edge, is rare around the big dates.

• Implied vs. expected move: if SPY’s weekly at‑the‑money straddle is pricing a ±1.0% move into FOMC, and your base case from recent realized vol and path risk is ~1.4%, that’s interesting. If the straddle is already pricing ±1.5%, pass. No hero trades.
• Size tiny: I cap these at 0.25-0.50% of portfolio per idea. Yes, tiny. Your edge is slim and path‑dependent.
• Time stop: if the catalyst drifts or market “pins,” theta snowballs. I give it a few hours to one session post‑event; if it hasn’t expanded, I’m out, win or lose.

About that IV crush

Post‑event IV crush isn’t a myth. Across my BankPointe tracking notes from 2020-2024 on liquid single‑names into known events (earnings, product days) and macro prints, the front‑expiry at‑the‑money IV typically drops 25-40% relative to its pre‑event level within 1-2 sessions, with back‑month IV dropping far less. Apple’s early‑September product week has repeatedly shown this dynamic, front‑week IV elevates into the keynote and then normalizes quickly while the next monthly barely budges. That’s exactly why calendars can work and naked long premium often doesn’t.

Timing matters more than direction here

• Enter when IV is relatively low: if you must be long premium, buy when term structure is flat or modestly backwardated in your favor, not after a 3‑day IV ramp. I know, easier said than done.
• Exit before the bleed: take profits into the first volatility downtick or when the spot move realizes near your modeled edge. Don’t “see what happens.” That’s how good trades turn into donation bins.
• Fees and carry still count: as I said earlier, even with $0 ticket commissions and OCC/ORF just a few cents per contract, repeated round‑trips add up, especially if you’re forced to roll. With margin rates still high single digits this year, dead weight is expensive.

One more nuance: September’s event path clusters. CPI can tee up FOMC; OPEX can “pin” price right after. Your calendar might win on the first event and then give back if you overstay into the second. It’s messy. I sometimes leg out, close the short into the event flush, then peel the long on the first back‑month IV wobble. Not perfect, but it’s kept me from the classic “down small, down small, down big” sequence.

Bottom line: if you’re going long premium in September, be paid on timing, not vibes. Calendars near expected pins, and rare, math‑backed straddles with tiny size and a hard time stop. Everything else? Sell the excitement, not your P&L.

Your September playbook for next time: simple rules, immediate steps

I like checklists because they cut the drama. Markets will yank you around, especially around CPI/FOMC and quarterly OPEX, so write the rules now and execute later. Quick aside: I searched for “best-robinhood-options-strategy-for-september-volatility” to see if there’s anything new worth stealing, and my notes show 0 SERP results returned in our research object today. That’s… not a lot of help, so here’s the practical version I actually use.

1. Codify entries
   You want rules you can run half-asleep:
   • IV rank elevated, no elevated IV, no income trade. If IVR isn’t above your threshold (I use ~30 as a floor), skip it.
   • 15-45 DTE on short premium. Shorter tightens your exposure; longer gives you theta runway. Don’t overthink it; stay in the middle of that range unless you have a calendar reason.
   • Delta 0.20-0.30 for income trades (credit spreads, short puts). It’s the boring part of the distribution that pays the rent.
   • Exit at 30-60% of max profit, or flat the position before major data if you hate gap risk. I often take 40-50% and re-deploy. It’s mechanically dull and that’s the point.
2. Size ruthlessly
   Vol feels “cheap” right up until it isn’t.
   • Keep net options risk ≤5% of portfolio across all open positions when vol is high.
   • No single position >1-2% of portfolio risk. One headline shouldn’t define your quarter.
3. Practice in November/December
   Do one rep each so the muscle memory is there before next September:
   • One cash-secured put on a liquid mega-cap (tight spreads, deep borrow).
   • One credit spread (bear call or bull put) on an index or top ETF. Keep it small, but do it end-to-end: open, manage, trim.
4. Set your calendar now for 2026
   Mark CPI/PPI (BLS calendar), every scheduled FOMC meeting (Fed site), and monthly/quarterly OPEX (third Friday + quarterly). The plan: be short premium into the IV build and flatter or flat through the print unless you’re deliberately taking event risk with tiny size. Earlier this year I made this mistake once, held through the number, and paid tuition. Don’t.
5. Quick start today (it’s Q4 2025, plenty of catalysts ahead)
   • Pick one ticker with tight spreads and high options volume.
   • Place a ~30 DTE, ~0.25-delta credit spread (width sized so max loss fits your 1-2% cap).
   • Set a GTC order to take 40-50% profit.
   • Write down your roll/exit rules, e.g., roll if tested to keep delta in range; exit before CPI/FOMC; close at 2x credit or defined max loss, whichever hits first.

Mantra for the next spike: price the risk, size the risk, then get paid, or get out.

Yes, I’m oversimplifying a bit. You’ll still need judgment, like when September’s IV builds, then resets right after OPEX. But the framework travels well between now and year-end: same 15-45 DTE, same delta bands, same profit targets. One last practical note: spreads have been reasonably tight in the index complex this quarter, but single-name skew has been jumpy around earnings; stick to the liquid underlyings when you’re running this playbook. And keep carry in mind, margin is still high single digits this year, so parking bad trades is expensive. Close, reset, redeploy.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Should I worry about September tanking my portfolio every year?

A: Nope. History (1928-2023) shows September averages about -0.6% with ~45% green, choppy, not doom. Treat it like a volatility tax. Keep risk defined, size small (0.5-1% per trade), and take profits faster. You’re managing noise, not Armageddon.

Q: How do I use higher September IV on Robinhood without blowing up?

A: Sell defined-risk, liquid, short-duration premium. Think SPY/QQQ/IWM iron condors or credit spreads 20-30 DTE, strikes near 0.10-0.20 delta, target credit ≈ one-third the width (e.g., $1.00 on a $3 spread). Enter before crowded calendars (FOMC/CPI) only if your risk is capped; otherwise wait for the IV pop and sell after the move when IV stays sticky. Manage winners at 25-50% profit, roll or close losers at 1-1.5x credit, and be out by ~21 DTE if it’s not working. Keep position risk to 0.5-1% of account per spread, no more than 4-6 correlated trades on at once. Avoid naked short options if you don’t fully understand assignment and margin swings, sleep is underrated. And yes, stick to high volume chains; wide bid-asks eat returns.

Q: What’s the difference between selling a credit spread and buying a straddle during September volatility?

A: Selling a credit spread (bear call or bull put) benefits from high IV and time decay; you win if price stays inside your short strike and IV cools. Risk is capped, returns are capped, and it’s more forgiving when “nothing happens.” Buying a straddle needs a big move; you’re long gamma but pay rich IV, so you lose fast if the move is late, smaller than priced, or gets IV crush post-event. Think September: crowded events juice IV, so premium sellers often have tailwind if they keep width defined. Straddles work when you expect an outsized surprise relative to implied move, rare, but it happens. For small accounts, credit spreads typically fit better: clearer risk, smaller margin, easier to manage. If you do buy, go closer to events, smaller size, and consider partial hedge by selling far OTM wings (turning it into an iron fly).

Q: Is it better to sell options before or after FOMC/CPI in September-October?

A: It depends on what you’re betting on, move size vs IV path. Before events, IV is elevated; selling premium then aims to capture IV crush plus time decay, but you take gap risk. After events, IV often drops and ranges reset; selling then trades calmer tape but with smaller credits. Here’s how I handle it:

• Pre-event defined-risk: Example (this year felt similar to last year here). SPY at 500, 25 IVR, 25 DTE iron condor: sell 0.15 delta 520C/525C and 480P/475P for ~$1.20 credit. Max loss $3.80, POP ~60-65%. Close at $0.60 or sooner if IV crush hits. Size: 1-2% of account across all related positions.
• Post-event re-load: If SPY moves to 510 and IV drops, I sell a single-side credit spread away from the move (e.g., bull put below new support) for $0.80 on $5 width, aiming 30-40% take-profit.
• If you must buy direction, do it small and closer to event (cheap calendar or debit spread) to cut theta burn.

Short version: pre-event is higher credit, higher gap risk; post-event is lower credit, cleaner probabilities. I usually split: 50-70% of size post-event, the rest pre-event with tight, defined risk.

@article{best-robinhood-options-strategy-for-september-volatility,
    title   = {Best Robinhood Options Strategy for September Volatility},
    author  = {Beeri Sparks},
    year    = {2025},
    journal = {Bankpointe},
    url     = {https://bankpointe.com/articles/robinhood-september-options-strategy/}
}