0DTE is the most unforgiving corner of the options market: max gamma, max theta, and a hard expiration a few hours away. Survive it with rules, not hope.
Size for zero
Assume any single 0DTE trade can go to zero, and size so that outcome is survivable. Risking a small, fixed fraction of the account per trade is what keeps a bad streak from ending you (position sizing, risk of ruin). Oversizing a 0DTE position is the fastest account-killer in all of trading.
Hard stops and time-stops
Two exits matter most. A hard stop caps the loss on a trade that goes against you. A time-stop cuts a trade that isn't working, because on 0DTE, a position that's flat for 25 minutes is still bleeding theta even when direction is neutral (theta decay). "Right but stalled" is still a loser at 0DTE.
On 0DTE, time is a risk factor. A trade that isn't working isn't neutral — it's losing, quietly, every minute.
The force-flat close
Never hold a 0DTE option into expiration hoping it comes back — that's how a manageable loss becomes a total one, and how a winner round-trips to zero on a close reversal. Flatten before the bell. NoVo keeps a live read into the final minutes, so the decision to get flat is made with the structure in front of you. This isn't caution for its own sake — it's the rule that keeps 0DTE from becoming a lottery ticket. See 0DTE sizing and common 0DTE mistakes.