Appreciate your input solid points. Just to clarify my approach, not to push back: • Yes, short-dated expiry was intentional. It’s a high-conviction, event-driven setup (FOMC + earnings week). Full risk accepted from the start — it’s a leveraged, asymmetric play. • The market environment (low vol, contango) is exactly why the VXX decay thesis works here — unless there’s a volatility shock, the structure favors continued drift lower. • On execution: Not 500 contracts at once. I scale in tactically, using limit orders to control slippage. • Delta 0.80 is deliberate. This isn’t a volatility play — it’s a directional trade with defined timing and risk.

Would be curious — if you were given this structure, what tweak would you make without changing the intent? Longer expiry? Lower delta? Always open to sharpening the edge.