Strikes
Updated Jul 11, 2026
Below a backtest position's Position Overview fields, you'll find fields for Entry Conditions (entry timing and strike selection). Those fields are explained below.
Target DTE (Required)
Target days to expiration for each new trade. The backtest will find and select the expiration closest to this number of days to expiration at entry.
Minimum DTE (Optional)
If you would like to ensure that all trades are at least a certain number of days to expiration, enter that here. If your target is more than 5 DTE and you do not specify a minimum, the backtester will accept any days to expiration that is within 50% of your target.
Maximum DTE (Optional)
If you would like to ensure that all trades are no more than a certain number of days to expiration, enter that here. If your target is more than 5 DTE and you do not specify a minimum, the backtester will accept any days to expiration that is within 50% of your target.
Put Position Strike Selection
For positions that include put options, the following fields are available to determine which strikes to select.
Put Strike Target
Delta
Select a put strike that is closest to a certain delta value
% OTM
Select a put strike that is closest to a certain percentage out-of-the-money relative to the current underlying price
Premium
Select a put strike that is closest to a certain premium (MID/MARK) amount. This is the premium only for this strike, not total premium for multiple legs.
GEX Call Wall / Flip Level / Put Wall
If this is an SPXW position, you can align your strike with one of these three key GEX levels. You can also apply an optional offset percent to the GEX level. If the GEX call wall is at 7000, and you'd like your strike 0.5% above the GEX call wall, you can use a 0.5% offset, which would place your strike at the nearest price to 7035 (7000 + 0.5%). If you'd like your strike below a key level, use a negative value for for offset %. GEX levels are published once daily here and maintained for the full backtest history.
Put Spread Strike Selection
Any put that includes a spread, including Credit Spreads, Debit Spreads, Iron Butterflys, and Iron Condors, use the following fields to configure how to set up the spread.
Spread Strike Target Type
This controls how the long strike of a Put Credit Spread is selected or the short strike of a Put Debit Spread is selected.
% From Main Strike
Closest strike that is a certain percentage away from your main strike. This would be a percentage distance between strikes for the put spread.
Delta
Strike that is closest to this delta value
Premium
Strike with a MID/MARK price closest to this value. If you use this setting, you can also optionally provide a maximum width for the spread so that the backtest only goes so wide on the spread while looking for a certain premium target on the spread strike.
Width
Strike that offers a total put spread width closest to this value
Call Position Strike Selection
For positions that include call options, the following fields are available to determine which strikes to select.
Call Strike Target
Delta
Select a call strike that is closest to a certain delta value
% OTM
Select a call strike that is closest to a certain percentage out-of-the-money relative to the current underlying price
Premium
Select a call strike that is closest to a certain premium (MID/MARK) amount. This is the premium only for this strike, not total premium for multiple legs
GEX Call Wall / Flip Level / Put Wall
If this is an SPXW bot, you can align your strike with one of these three key GEX levels. You can also apply an optional offset percent to the GEX level. If the GEX call wall is at 7000, and you'd like your strike 0.5% above the GEX call wall, you can use a 0.5% offset, which would place your strike at the nearest price to 7035 (7000 + 0.5%). If you'd like your strike below a key level, use a negative value for for offset %. GEX levels are published once daily here.
Call Spread Strike Selection
Any call that includes a spread, including Credit Spreads, Debit Spreads, Iron Butterflys, and Iron Condors, use the following fields to configure how to set up the spread.
Spread Strike Target Type
This controls how the long strike of a Call Credit Spread is selected or the short strike of a Call Debit Spread is selected.
% From Main Strike
Closest strike that is a certain percentage away from your main strike. This would be a percentage distance between strikes for the call spread.
Delta
Strike that is closest to this delta value
Premium
Strike with a MID/MARK price closest to this value. If you use this setting, you can also optionally provide a maximum width for the spread so that the backtest only goes so wide on the spread while looking for a certain premium target on the spread strike.
Width
Strike that offers a total call spread width closest to this value