Summary of "How to Trade the 111 Strategy - Complete Guide to the 111 Trade"
Overview: The “111 Strategy” (Original Gangster / OG)
The video explains the “111 strategy” (also called the Original Gangster / OG trade), an options-based, systematic income + semi-hedge strategy. The payoff is built around:
- A put debit spread (long put spread)
- A further-out short put to shape a defined upside/downside profile
The speaker emphasizes:
- Mechanical rules
- Limited monitoring
- Portfolio and risk sizing
Instruments / Underlyings Mentioned
Options / indices / ETFs / futures
- SPX (S&P 500 index)
- SPY (S&P 500 ETF)
- ES (E-mini S&P 500 futures)
- MES (Micro E-mini S&P 500 futures)
- QQQ (Nasdaq 100 ETF)
- Futures mentioned generally (besides ES/MES)
- Oil (used as an example for a futures version)
Single-name tech examples (as illustrations)
- Amazon (AMZN)
- Tesla (TSLA)
- Microsoft (MSFT)
- Google / Alphabet (GOOG)
Core Payoff Construction (How the “111 Trade” Works)
The strategy combines three elements:
- Buy an out-of-the-money put debit spread
- Sell an additional farther-out out-of-the-money put
- Choose strikes so that the sold put premium finances the debit spread, resulting in a defined net payoff (often framed as net credit overall)
Purpose
- Primarily income generation via option premium
- Acts as a “semi-hedge” (not a full hedge), because in the “trap” scenario the trade can profit more than the initial credit.
- If price falls far enough, assignment risk may cause you to buy the underlying at a discount, framed as a wheeling / owning-stock pathway.
Methodology: Step-by-Step Framework
As presented:
-
Select underlying
- The speaker prefers large index/futures: SPX/ES/SPY/MES/QQQ.
-
Choose days to expiration (DTE)
- Typically 45–60 DTE
- Speaker preference: around ~60 DTE
- Original version used: around ~45 DTE
-
Build the put debit spread
- Use out-of-the-money strikes
- (Width/debit examples appear below.)
-
Finance with a farther OTM short put
- The sold put strike is far enough OTM that the premium helps achieve:
- positive net credit overall
- a “trap” zone where maximum profit becomes possible
- The sold put strike is far enough OTM that the premium helps achieve:
-
Manage exits mechanically
- Stop loss at ~1× max profit (described as “One X the max profit”)
- Assignment / wheeling is treated as an alternative planned outcome
- Exit guidance depends on whether price is in:
- tail
- trap
- or beyond a “point of no return” (far-risk area)
-
Portfolio and risk sizing rules
- Risk ≤ 2% of portfolio value per trade
- Allocation ≤ 30% of total portfolio to this strategy (or any one strategy)
Key Targets, Ratios, and Performance Claims
Return & timeframe goals
- Stated goal: ~6% monthly incoming roughly every ~60 days
- Re-stated: “three percent a month”
- Framed annualized: ~36% per year
- DTE references:
- 45 DTE used in some calculations/examples
- 60–65 days referenced in rationale (and in oil examples)
“Tail” vs “Trap” Outcomes (Profit Multipliers)
The strategy can profit in two main ways:
-
Tail
- Options expire worthless
- You keep the initial credit
-
Trap
- Price moves into the region associated with the spread
- You reach maximum profit
How max profit is framed
- Trap max profit includes:
- Keeping the initial credit
- Capturing the width of the debit spread
- Speaker claims potential “four times or more” the initial credit (depends on setup)
Numeric Examples (As Given)
Example A: ES (futures) illustrative trade math
Structure example
- Debit spread: 4310 / 4260
- About ~50 wide
- About ~$10 debit
- Short put farther OTM (financing credit)
- Example around ~4110–4150
- So net credit is ~$10
Multipliers / dollars
- Tail profit: stated as ~$500 on a ~$10 credit
- Using ES 50 multiplier
- Trap max profit: stated as:
- Debit width ($50) × multiplier (200 mentioned) + $500
- Total: $3000 max profit
- Max loss: also described as $3000 (defined-risk framing)
Buying power / risk sizing
- Example buying power: ~$6400
- If it expires in tail: described as about ~8% in 45 DTE
Assignment / “point of no return” concern
- Example concern passing a level around ~4100
- Mentioned as roughly ~300 points drop (example context: market near ~4400)
- Speaker emphasizes a slow decline is desired to “build” the trap gradually.
Example B: SPY (ETF) performance framing
- Similar structure on SPY
- Described as less attractive, mainly due to buying power/return differences
- Rough estimate mentioned:
- About ~2% return on buying power over ~45 days
- Earlier mention: around ~1.5%
- Not framed as “fantastic” versus futures.
Example C: “Optimal 111” strike selection heuristic
A claimed “optimal” configuration:
- Put debit spread width: 25–30 points
- Debit / spread cost: ~$6
- Short put credit: ~$11 (farther OTM)
- DTE comparison:
- “Closer to 60 days” vs “30 wide” notes
- Speaker suggests 60 DTE helps reduce gamma effects and improves safety/credit while keeping ROI similar
- Historical claim:
- No losing trades in 2020–2021 using this method
- Then moved to 112 in 2022
Example D: TSLA options strike example
Speaker describes a thinner version on TSLA:
- Debit spread: buy/sell around ~210 / 205
- About ~$1
- Sell farther put around ~180
- About ~$2
Approximate results:
- ~$130 winner
- Margin roughly ~$5300
- ~2.5% return in ~60 days
Notes on outcome framing:
- If TSLA drops into trap range, you could effectively “buy at a discount” (assignment framed positively)
- If it stays up, you take smaller tail profit.
Example E: Oil (futures) with explicit ROI framing
Illustrative oil setup:
- “Safety” zone around $60
- Tail:
- Winner: ~$350
- Tail return: ~8% in ~65 days if oil stays higher / moves higher
- Trap:
- If oil drops into trap:
- “Dead in the middle of the trap” yields about ~$2350 on ~$4700 margin
- Claimed as ~50% return
- If oil drops into trap:
Greeks / Risk Notes Emphasized
-
Delta
- Starts slightly positive
- If underlying rises, delta can become more negative (speaker says this can still be favorable)
-
Theta
- Positive theta initially
- Time decay benefits as the short puts lose value
-
Vega
- If implied volatility rises significantly, put prices increase
- Speaker notes it’s not helpful; you should be aware
-
Gamma
- If underlying rises, delta falls quicker (good)
- If underlying drops, delta can increase quickly (could be bad)
Disclosures / Cautions
- No explicit “not financial advice” disclaimer appears in the provided subtitles.
- However, the speaker repeatedly stresses:
- Mechanical rules
- Defined max loss and stop-loss logic
- Sizing constraints:
- ≤ 2% risk per trade
- ≤ 30% allocation
- Assignment risk if the market drops far enough
Key Recommendations / Explicit Actions
- Prefer large underlyings (index futures like ES/MES) for stronger economics
- Use around ~60 DTE (or original ~45 DTE)
- Tune strikes to create:
- a tail where you keep credit
- a trap where you can reach max profit
- Apply strict sizing:
- Risk ≤ 2% per trade
- ≤ 30% portfolio allocation to this strategy
- Manage exits mechanically:
- stop-loss relative to max profit
- treat assignment as part of the plan (wheel/owning underlying)
Presenter / Source
- Subtitles appear to come from a single presenter (name not shown).
- Source referenced: “How to Trade the 111 Strategy - Complete Guide to the 111 Trade” (channel name not specified in the excerpt).
Category
Finance
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