EEM Iron Condor Red Day: Stay or Exit?

By Juri von Randow · 27 September 2026 · Free Lesson · 5 min

One red day takes a tenth of the max profit off my EEM condor, and I walk through why I probably stay in.

Reading the Red Day

In the clip my EEM condor prints minus 700 dollars while implied volatility falls, so there is no reason for that red. It is 10 percent of the maximum we can make, gone in one day. I had thought about getting out; the swing flips my mind, and I probably stay in.

Small Windows, Day 16

We put these on short, 35 to 45 days out, and in the call we are 23 days from maturity, so the windows are small: one bad day puts the P/L down there. The usual exit is day 18 to 21; these shorter ones I want to ride to day 16 while still avoiding a loss.

Risk 2, Return 1

We set them up defensive, risk two and return one, so the profit over the money at risk is smaller. With a one-to-one condor I would normally be fifty percent up. Slow is the price, and it is a little annoying.

Size and Steady Growth

If I put them on this defensive, I would move the size from five percent to six or seven. We are in no rush; as long as the portfolio climbs steadily, we are fine. Big wins bring big losses, and how much of that ride you want is a matter of personality.

What the clip covers

• This 700 is a lot, this is like 10% of the maximum we can make, just by one day
• We are at 23 days before maturity; we put them on relatively short, like 40, 45, 35 days
• These shorter iron condors we wanna ride a little longer, not only until day 21 or 18, but maybe even until 16
• We put them on more defensive with the risk two and return one ratio, so the profit over the money at risk is smaller
• Normally I would be fifty percent up now if it was a one-to-one risk return iron condor
• Instead of five percent, maybe I would do six or seven percent in the future if I put them on more defensive

Every Wednesday we run a session like this on a real portfolio. One free lesson a week lands here; the full calls and the archive are part of the Elite Trader Plan.

EEM · Iron Condor