CCS
CENTURY COMMUNITIES, INC.
stock NYSE

***Happy Friday everyone!***
I'm a 0DTE credit spread trader with a focus on SPX.
* 7640/7620 PCS
* 7650/7630 PCS
* 7700/7720 CCS
* 7715/7735 CCS
P/L: **+$550**
[SPX 5-min chart, August 21, 2026](https://preview.redd.it/x0eikrnqwskh1.png?width=1544&format=png&auto=webp&s=6a0029b4610453b2022b43e74ac4ae08be411809)
***The market doesn't care what my morning thesis was. Once price gave me a reason to change it, my job was to change with it.***
# Morning Thesis
I came into the session cautiously bearish. Elevated oil prices and bond yields were still on my radar, and my initial thought was that I might spend another day primarily working the CCS side.
But SPX opened with the same kind of messy structure we've been seeing lately — overlapping candles, chop, and nothing particularly clean. **So I waited**.
Then Iran headlines hit suggesting an increased chance of peace negotiations. SPX reacted immediately, broke the initial morning high, pulled back, and pushed higher again. At that point, the original bearish thesis no longer mattered as much as what price was actually doing.
# My First Trade
On the breakout, I opened my heaviest position of the day with a **6-lot 7640/7620 PCS for $.60**, then added another contract of the same spread. SPX continued higher, and with some distance still available below price, I added a more aggressive **2-lot 7650/7630 PCS for $.45**.
Both positions moved into profit quickly as SPX continued toward the 7700 area.
The important part for me wasn't predicting that move before it happened. I started bearish, remember? What mattered was recognizing that the market had given me enough information to change my mind.
# The 7700 Reversal
SPX then reversed hard near the psychological 7700 level. I probably missed the best CCS premium during the initial move down, but I hesitated and in that hesitation I decided that chasing a move already extended wasn't worth it. The reversal also started putting pressure on my PCS, especially the closer 7650/7630.
About 20 minutes into the decline, once things started slowing down, I added **one 7650/7630 PCS at $1.00** and immediately put an order out at **$.70** to capture some of that inflated premium.
*I got some luck on this one.*
Another Iran peace-negotiation headline hit roughly 10 minutes later and gave SPX enough of a bounce to fill my **$.70 exit for a $30 profit**. That's not something I could have planned or repeated. The repeatable part was keeping the position small and having the exit already working.
# Finally Getting the CCS Setup
SPX continued chopping lower before eventually giving me a cleaner downside break, retest, and hold.
That was the structure I had been waiting for. I opened **2-lot 7715/7735 CCS at $.25**. I intentionally kept the initial size small because I wanted the opportunity to scale into a larger anchor if SPX pushed back up and offered better premium. That scale-in never came, so I left it alone.
# Afternoon
SPX eventually started rebounding pretty aggressively. During roughly a 40-minute push higher, I used the move to scalp **one 7700/7720 CCS at $.30** and closed it shortly afterward at **$.10 for a $20 profit**.
SPX then made one more push higher late in the session before rejecting hard again. My remaining 7640/7620 PCS and 7715/7735 CCS stayed comfortably OTM and expired worthless.
# Key Takeaway
I've said this repeatedly lately, but the lesson keeps being reinforced: ***be patient.***
SPX has consistently made me wait an hour or more before I see something I'm actually interested in trading. The early chop can make it tempting to trade a setup that isn't there.
Today I started cautiously bearish. Then SPX gave me a legitimate reason to become bullish, so I changed with it. Later, price gave me structure to work the bearish side again.
***A thesis is useful. Being attached to it isn't.***
Wait for price to give you something worth acting on, and when the evidence changes, be willing to change with it 👍🏼
*Have an amazing weekend traders! See you all next week.*

8/17 (EXP: 8/19) 7850/7855 CCS (+$30k)
8/19 (EXP: 8/20) 7780/7785 CCS (+$9k)
8/20 (EXP: 8/21) 7775/7780 CCS (+$23k)

***Happy Friday everyone!***
I'm a 0DTE credit spread trader with a focus on SPX.
* 7640/7620 PCS
* 7650/7630 PCS
* 7700/7720 CCS
* 7715/7735 CCS
P/L: **+$550**
[SPX 5-min chart, August 21, 2026](https://preview.redd.it/x0eikrnqwskh1.png?width=1544&format=png&auto=webp&s=6a0029b4610453b2022b43e74ac4ae08be411809)
***The market doesn't care what my morning thesis was. Once price gave me a reason to change it, my job was to change with it.***
# Morning Thesis
I came into the session cautiously bearish. Elevated oil prices and bond yields were still on my radar, and my initial thought was that I might spend another day primarily working the CCS side.
But SPX opened with the same kind of messy structure we've been seeing lately — overlapping candles, chop, and nothing particularly clean. **So I waited**.
Then Iran headlines hit suggesting an increased chance of peace negotiations. SPX reacted immediately, broke the initial morning high, pulled back, and pushed higher again. At that point, the original bearish thesis no longer mattered as much as what price was actually doing.
# My First Trade
On the breakout, I opened my heaviest position of the day with a **6-lot 7640/7620 PCS for $.60**, then added another contract of the same spread. SPX continued higher, and with some distance still available below price, I added a more aggressive **2-lot 7650/7630 PCS for $.45**.
Both positions moved into profit quickly as SPX continued toward the 7700 area.
The important part for me wasn't predicting that move before it happened. I started bearish, remember? What mattered was recognizing that the market had given me enough information to change my mind.
# The 7700 Reversal
SPX then reversed hard near the psychological 7700 level. I probably missed the best CCS premium during the initial move down, but I hesitated and in that hesitation I decided that chasing a move already extended wasn't worth it. The reversal also started putting pressure on my PCS, especially the closer 7650/7630.
About 20 minutes into the decline, once things started slowing down, I added **one 7650/7630 PCS at $1.00** and immediately put an order out at **$.70** to capture some of that inflated premium.
*I got some luck on this one.*
Another Iran peace-negotiation headline hit roughly 10 minutes later and gave SPX enough of a bounce to fill my **$.70 exit for a $30 profit**. That's not something I could have planned or repeated. The repeatable part was keeping the position small and having the exit already working.
# Finally Getting the CCS Setup
SPX continued chopping lower before eventually giving me a cleaner downside break, retest, and hold.
That was the structure I had been waiting for. I opened **2-lot 7715/7735 CCS at $.25**. I intentionally kept the initial size small because I wanted the opportunity to scale into a larger anchor if SPX pushed back up and offered better premium. That scale-in never came, so I left it alone.
# Afternoon
SPX eventually started rebounding pretty aggressively. During roughly a 40-minute push higher, I used the move to scalp **one 7700/7720 CCS at $.30** and closed it shortly afterward at **$.10 for a $20 profit**.
SPX then made one more push higher late in the session before rejecting hard again. My remaining 7640/7620 PCS and 7715/7735 CCS stayed comfortably OTM and expired worthless.
# Key Takeaway
I've said this repeatedly lately, but the lesson keeps being reinforced: ***be patient.***
SPX has consistently made me wait an hour or more before I see something I'm actually interested in trading. The early chop can make it tempting to trade a setup that isn't there.
Today I started cautiously bearish. Then SPX gave me a legitimate reason to become bullish, so I changed with it. Later, price gave me structure to work the bearish side again.
***A thesis is useful. Being attached to it isn't.***
Wait for price to give you something worth acting on, and when the evidence changes, be willing to change with it 👍🏼
*Have an amazing weekend traders! See you all next week.*

8/17 (EXP: 8/19) 7850/7855 CCS (+$30k)
8/19 (EXP: 8/20) 7780/7785 CCS (+$9k)
8/20 (EXP: 8/21) 7775/7780 CCS (+$23k)

I'm a 0DTE credit spread trader with a focus on SPX.
Positions traded today:
* 7675/7695 CCS
* 7690/7710 CCS
* 7700/7720 CCS
P/L: **+$615**
[SPX 5-min chart, August 20, 2026](https://preview.redd.it/d4d4z171plkh1.png?width=1577&format=png&auto=webp&s=1fa97b5189b076974fa622ac13b76037f07954b0)
***Going closer to price wasn’t the lesson today. Knowing exactly where I was wrong was.***
# Morning Thesis
I came into the session with a bearish bias after going through my morning prep. Weak Walmart earnings were part of it, but I was also watching oil and Treasury yields. Both stayed elevated, SPX was trading below yesterday’s close, and there was also a potential gap-fill area from a couple weeks ago that kept me interested in the downside.
I pretty much only looking for CCS positions today.
This is also why I think it’s important to mark levels and treat them as **zones** instead of exact prices. I use those areas along with market structure to help visualize what SPX is likely trying to do next.
At the open I was basically looking for one of two things: a clean break and hold below the morning opening range, or enough evidence that an attempted move higher was failing.
Initially, SPX almost gave me the downside break. Then Scott Bessent started speaking and delayed that plan... SPX ground back higher and pushed almost perfectly into the **7700 psychological level**.
That became ***signal #1.***
Price rejected hard. SPX moved lower, made another attempt to push back up, and then started forming another lower high.
That became ***signal #2.***
Combine that with SPX remaining below yesterday’s close, elevated oil and yields, and the potential gap-fill below, and I felt the developing trend was increasingly pointing down.
# My First Trade
This is where I broke slightly from how I usually like to enter. Normally, I would have waited for the morning low around 7676 to break and hold before getting involved. Instead, as SPX approached that area, I opened a **5-lot 7700/7720 CCS for $0.75**.
So yes, this was a little more bias-driven than my normal confirmation-heavy trade. But I wasn’t just guessing. I already had the 7700 rejection, another lower high developing, SPX below yesterday’s close, elevated oil and yields, and weakening intraday structure.
More importantly, because I was entering earlier, I kept a very tight invalidation area — roughly 5–10 SPX points depending on the entry. If the structure changed, I wanted out quickly.
# Adding As Structure Confirmed
SPX then broke the morning low, retested it, and pushed lower. That gave me the confirmation I normally wait for, so I added a **4-lot 7690/7710 CCS for $0.45**. Later, after another failed attempt higher and continued weakness, I added a **1-lot 7675/7695 CCS for $0.90**.
That last position was easily the into to [the lava](https://www.reddit.com/u/klipsetrades/s/WdUF7FYq6x). But I also treated it that way. It was only one contract, and I wasn’t interested in letting it turn into a large problem if SPX reversed.
# Afternoon Management
The afternoon became much more sideways. SPX chopped near the lows without giving much meaningful movement in either direction, but theta continued working on the spreads. My two larger positions had enough distance that, after checking the 1-hour and 4-hour charts for confirmation, I was comfortable letting them expire worthless.
The aggressive 7675/7695 was different. Rather than hold it for another hour and a half just to squeeze out the remaining premium, I bought it back at $0.30 and took the **$60 profit**.
# Key Takeaway
The lesson wasn’t simply that it’s okay to take more aggressive positions when your bias is working. It’s that **more aggressive positioning should come with tighter risk controls.**
I moved into [the lava](https://www.reddit.com/u/klipsetrades/s/WdUF7FYq6x) today, but I kept my sizes at half or less, identified clear invalidation points, and only added risk as the bearish structure gave me more evidence.
I wouldn’t call today an A+ environment. But the market was increasingly developing the way I had anticipated, so I allowed myself to lean into the thesis without giving those trades permission to do unnecessary damage if I was wrong.
***More aggressive strikes don’t have to mean more aggressive risk.***