# SPX Iron Condor Non-Opening Range Breakout (NORB) Backtest Results

> Is 0DTE dead? Part 3 backtests a 0DTE SPX iron condor that enters only when the opening range holds. It won 80% of trades in the 90 days before the video.

- URL: https://optionomega.com/blog/spx-iron-condor-non-opening-range-breakout/
- Published: 2026-03-20
- Author: Option Omega
- Topics: 0DTE, SPX, Iron Condor, Backtesting, Automation
- Video: [0 DTE is Dead? (Part 3) SPX Iron Condor Non-Opening Range Breakout — Backtest Results](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zjj8T8P9jw)

## Key points

- The NORB backtest sells a 0DTE SPX iron condor at 20 delta, 25 wide on each side, only when SPX has not broken out of its opening range.
- It trades every day except Thursday and enters almost always at 10:31 ET, occasionally 10:32. There is no exit; it is held to expiration.
- It collects roughly 25% of the width in credit, depending on VIX, and won 80% of the time in the 90 days before the March 2026 video.
- It had a drawdown that started in November 2023 and took until about the beginning of 2025 to recover.

You've heard of the opening range breakout, or ORB. Part 3 of the "0DTE Is Dead?" series tests the opposite: a NORB, or no opening range breakout. If SPX stays inside its opening range, the backtest sells a 0DTE iron condor and holds it to the close. In the 90 days before the March 2026 video, it won 80% of the time.

The other parts of the series cover [a power hour iron condor](https://optionomega.com/blog/spx-iron-condor-power-hour-backtest/), [a McRib iron butterfly with VIX and RSI filters](https://optionomega.com/blog/spx-iron-butterfly-vix-rsi-backtest/), and [all three as one portfolio](https://optionomega.com/blog/0dte-strategies-portfolio-backtest/).

## What a NORB is

An ORB trade waits for the market to break out of its opening range and then trades in that direction. A NORB does the reverse. It checks that SPX has not broken out of the opening range, and only then enters.

That fits an iron condor. An iron condor wants little movement. A day where SPX has stayed inside its early range is, at least so far, the kind of day a condor likes. The NORB is native in Option Omega and works the same way in backtesting as it does in automation.

## The setup

| Setting | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Underlying | SPX, 0DTE |
| Structure | Iron condor |
| Short strikes | 20 delta on each side |
| Width | 25 wide on each side |
| Days | Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday (no Thursdays) |
| Entry | Almost always 10:31 ET, occasionally 10:32 |
| Entry condition | SPX has not broken the opening range |
| Exit | None; held to expiration ("ride or die") |
| Credit | Roughly 25% of the width, depending on VIX |

The entry uses a couple-minute window to confirm the opening range has not been violated, which is why it's nearly always 10:31 and sometimes 10:32. Thursdays are skipped because, in the video's words, Thursdays have been crazy, at least since SPX daily expirations began.

## How it wins and loses

This is a no-touch trade. It collects the credit and holds to the close.

- **Full winner:** Lots of times the condor finishes at zero and the trade keeps the whole credit.
- **Partial winner:** The trade keeps part of the credit. One of these happened a couple of weeks before the video.
- **Full loss:** SPX runs through a whole side and the spread goes to its 25-point width. In one example from November, SPX moved almost 60 points after entry, and the trade went to the full 25.

The worst case is the full 25-point width (about $2,500 on a one-lot condor) minus the credit. That has happened. At the time of the video it just hadn't happened in a while, which, as the video points out, is part of why the recent chart looked so green.

## The last 90 days

Checking the last 90 days was the video's direct way to ask whether the strategy is dead. In the 90 days before the March 2026 recording, the backtest won 80% of the time, with what the video called a decent capture rate. The video didn't show how many trades that window included.

The video also points out who might like it: for traders who've struggled with headline spikes, exits and execution, this might be something to look at. The trade still carries the full width as risk.

## Don't forget the drawdown

It's easy to look at a strong equity curve and a good start to the year and get excited. The video warns against that.

The NORB had a weak 2024. Its drawdown started in November 2023, and it took until about the beginning of 2025 to climb out. Viewed on a log scale, the picture looks about the same.

The video raised this because, at the time of recording, a lot of traders were struggling. A strong full-history curve can still include a long losing stretch like this one, and it's the reason given in the video for preferring backtests that are robust and not curve fitted.

## Is it curve fitted?

The video's answer is no. The rules are short:

1. Skip Thursdays.
2. Check that the opening range holds.
3. Sell a 20-delta, 25-wide iron condor.
4. Hold to the close.

Other parameters hadn't been backtested at the time of the video, though the video notes they easily could be. For example, bringing the short strikes in a little would collect more credit, and there are many other ways to tweak it. Those are ideas to test, not results shown in the video.

## Simple to automate

The fixed entry window and lack of an exit make this easy to automate. With the trading package in Option Omega, it is one click to activate and connect to a broker. For more on how the ORB and NORB options work, see the docs or ask in the [Discord](https://discord.gg/s5HG3ECUE4).

## Key takeaways

- A NORB enters only when SPX has not broken out of its opening range.
- This version sells a 0DTE SPX iron condor at 20 delta, 25 wide per side, every day except Thursday, entering at 10:31 ET (sometimes 10:32), held to expiration.
- It collects roughly 25% of the width and won 80% of the time in the 90 days before the March 2026 video.
- The worst case is the full 25-point width minus the credit received. It has happened, including on a nearly 60-point move in November.
- Its drawdown from November 2023 lasted until about the beginning of 2025, a reminder that a strong recent run doesn't show the whole history.

## Test your own NORB

This was the original test shown on the Option Trading Show (formerly the OO show). In Option Omega you can [backtest](https://optionomega.com/features/backtesting/) the NORB with your own deltas, widths and days, then [automate it](https://optionomega.com/features/trading/) with the same rules.

**[Start a free trial](https://optionomega.com/pricing/)**

*Watch the full video: [0 DTE is Dead? (Part 3) SPX Iron Condor Non-Opening Range Breakout — Backtest Results](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zjj8T8P9jw).*

*Backtest results are hypothetical and do not guarantee future performance. Options trading involves substantial risk.*