Iron condors are a go-to strategy for traders looking to collect premium from range-bound markets with defined risk. Whether you’re selling volatility, expressing a neutral bias, or building a passive income system, iron condors offer an efficient way to profit from time decay and stable prices.
Option Samurai makes trading iron condors easier with powerful predefined scans and a fully customizable options screener. Below, we’ll explore six ready-made iron condor strategies you can start using today, each tailored to a different market condition or trading style.
The image below shows the different predefined scans available for the iron condor strategy:
Iron Condor with 20 Delta Sold Legs
This scan finds iron condors where both the call and put sold legs are around the 20 delta mark. That means you’re selling options far from the current stock price, giving the trade a high probability of expiring worthless.
It’s ideal for:
- Traders who want a mechanical strategy with good return-to-risk
- Neutral market environments
- Building a systematic premium-selling portfolio
You can use this scan as a plug-and-play setup, or as a base to build your own. Just duplicate it and edit the legs, strikes, or expirations to match your style.
Iron Condors With Profit Zone Within +1/-1 ATR on S&P 500
This scan on Option Samurai’s advanced options screener is perfect for traders who want tighter trades based on historical volatility. The idea is to sell iron condors with a profit zone of at least 1 ATR in both directions, so even if the price moves, you still have a solid buffer.
Best used when:
- You’re trading in a tight range
- You want data-driven setups with measurable odds
- You’re combining it with a backtest or trading journal
This scan pairs well with the Option Samurai blog post on ATR-based iron condors and helps quantify edge with smart risk zoning.
Riskless Down Iron Condor
This scan is designed to sell an unbalanced iron condor where you can’t lose on the downside. The trick? The puts are set so far OTM that even if the market tanks, your loss is capped at zero or less.
It works well when:
- You expect a decrease in volatility
- You’re mildly bearish
- You want to boost premium collection on the call side
The trade is asymmetric, but that’s intentional. You’re using a slight directional view (bearish) to build a safer credit spread while collecting more upfront.
Riskless Up Iron Condor
This one uses the same logic as before, but in a mirrored way: it’s an unbalanced setup that can’t lose on the upside. In this case, the calls are far enough OTM that even a rally won’t trigger a loss.
Great for:
- Slightly bullish but cautious traders
- Low-volatility conditions
- Building capital-efficient spreads that favor the downside
Again, the premium collected will typically exceed the max loss on the opposite side, which makes this a compelling way to lean your condors directionally with minimal added risk.
Earning Play – Sell Iron Condor
This scan is built for bold traders who want to sell premium during earnings—but with structure. It filters for stocks with upcoming earnings before expiration, a return on risk of at least 30%, and a price range of 3 ATRs to either side.
Consider it when:
- You’re comfortable with volatility spikes
- You want to sell volatility before it collapses post-earnings
- You’re building a short-term income strategy with strict rules
This is a high-risk, high-reward setup, best used with liquid tickers and small position sizing. Still, it’s a professional-grade way to trade earnings using defined-risk plays.
High Probability Iron Condors
This scan is all about math. It filters for iron condors with:
- Over 70% probability of profit
- Positive expected value
- At least 30% return on risk
- A profit zone of 2 ATRs or more in both directions
It’s a great fit if:
- You want repeatable setups with high win rates
- You’re looking to automate a strategy with edge
- You like letting numbers do the heavy lifting
The scan is conservative but effective. You won’t see explosive returns—but you’ll get steady, controlled income potential with clear logic behind every trade.
Build Custom Iron Condors with Option Samurai’s Custom Screener
With Option Samurai’s Custom Options Strategy Screener, you can design your own iron condor setups from scratch. Here are a few use cases for iron condor fans:
- Open a reversed iron condor
- Combine a long or short stock position with an iron condor
- Increase the number of options you buy in the classic iron condor
You can do all of that—and more. This tool lets you define every leg of the trade, choose expiration dates, delta ranges, implied volatility criteria, even technical filters like RSI or trend direction.
To get started:
- Click “Compose new scan”
- Choose “Custom”
- Set your legs, filters, and logic
It’s a tool designed for real traders who want control, creativity, and edge.
Wrapping Up: Trade Iron Condors with Precision Using Option Samurai
Iron condors are all about balance, between risk and reward, range and volatility, precision and patience. With Option Samurai’s iron condor scans, you get structured setups for every market condition, whether you’re trading earnings, selling volatility, or looking for high-probability income plays.
Explore the predefined scans, or build your own with the custom screener, and start trading with smarter risk controls, deeper analytics, and professional-grade logic.
Try Option Samurai free today (no credit card required) and see how much more powerful your iron condor strategy can become.
