120k>50k>250k Cashed out, I'm out
byu/Puzzleheaded_Back_96 inwallstreetbets
0DTE stands for zero days to expiration. It refers to an options contract that expires today, not tomorrow, not next week, but on the same trading day it was opened. No rollover. No overnight exposure. If you are right, the payout is immediate. If not, the contract expires worthless by market close.
When someone drops $120,000 into a 0DTE trade, they are making a high velocity wager on what the market or a specific stock will do within hours. Traders use these contracts to bet on intraday moves in indexes like SPX or ETFs like QQQ and SPY. Some aim to ride post economic data swings. Others play the open and close spread. The most aggressive try to scalp volatility minute by minute.
What makes 0DTEs unique and dangerous is time decay. With each passing minute, the value of the contract falls unless the underlying price moves favorably. Traders are working against the clock. They are banking on sharp directional movement to overcome the decay and juice the premium.
The payoff can be wild. Some trades return 300% in minutes. Others implode to zero just as fast. That is why these trades get compared to lottery tickets. High reward. Higher risk.
0DTE options are not new, but they have exploded in popularity since the exchanges began offering them daily. They now account for over 45% of all S and P options volume. Hedge funds and institutions use them for hedging and gamma exposure. Retail traders chase fast gains. Volume is deep. Liquidity is strong. But one bad move and the entire premium is gone.