STRATEGIES

QQQ Friday Calendar Spreads

Friday Calendar Spread — Long Tuesday / Short Monday

Open a calendar spread on Friday's close anticipating a big move on Monday or Tuesday. Buy a Tuesday-expiry option and sell a Monday-expiry option at the same strike. The short Monday leg decays quickly and subsidizes the long Tuesday leg. If nothing happens Monday, the short expires worthless and you still hold Tuesday's option for the anticipated move.

Instrument: QQQ ATM calls and puts (strike closest to Friday's close)
Entry: Friday EOD — buy Tuesday expiry (4 DTE), sell Monday expiry (3 DTE) same strike
Exit snapshots: Mon EOD (short expires) and Tue EOD (long expires)
Position size: $1,000 per calendar — contracts = floor($1,000 / (debit × 100))
Edge: Short Monday option decays to zero if the stock sits still; long Tuesday option captures any Mon/Tue move
Risk: A large Monday move leaves the short deeply ITM. If held through Tuesday, a reversal leaves you with a near-worthless long and a realized loss on the assigned short.

BACKTEST SUMMARY (6 FRIDAYS, $1K PER SPREAD)

WEEK-BY-WEEK RESULTS

Disclaimer: Historical backtest using database option marks at the Friday, Monday, and Tuesday EOD snapshots. Real fills will differ due to spreads, slippage, and early-exercise/assignment on the short leg. Past performance does not predict future results. Monday-EOD P/L assumes you close both legs at the Monday close; Tuesday-EOD P/L assumes you let the short settle at Monday's close intrinsic and held the long leg to Tuesday's close.