Educational only, not financial advice or a strategy recommendation. Options strategies carry risk, including of substantial loss. The strategies here are explained for understanding, not endorsed.
A 0DTE call credit spread (bear call spread) sells a call and buys a higher call — collecting premium and profiting if SPY stays below the short strike. It’s the bearish-or-neutral mirror of the put credit spread.
How it works
Sell a call above the market, buy a further-OTM call for protection — net credit. If SPY stays below the short call into expiration, both expire worthless and you keep the credit. You profit from a falling, flat, or even slightly rising market — you just need SPY to hold below your short strike. The long call caps the loss.
Why and when
Traders use it for a bearish-to-neutral view with resistance above (short strike placed above the call wall). It profits from decay and doesn’t need a big down-move. The risk: a sharp rally through the short strike loses multiples of the credit — and a vanna melt-up can do that faster than expected on 0DTE.
A call credit spread gets paid for SPY not rallying — bearish, neutral, or mildly bullish all work, as long as price stays below your short call.
Reading it against the dealer map
A credit spread is a bet on where price won’t go, which is the question dealer positioning speaks to most directly. The short call usually sits beyond the call wall, where hedging flow has tended to slow a rally, so the map tells you where the resistance you’re leaning on actually is, and that it is structure, not a signal. Combine it with a put credit spread and you have an iron condor.