What is IV Crush?
IV crush is sharp IV decline after uncertainty resolves — hurts long vol, helps short vol.
Formula
IV Crush Example (Earnings): Before Earnings: Stock: $100 ATM Call IV: 80% Call Premium: $8.00 After Earnings (Stock moves to $105): Stock: $105 ATM Call IV: 35% (IV crushed!) Call Premium: $6.00 Expected: $8.00 + $5 intrinsic = $13? Actual: $6.00 due to IV crush You were RIGHT but still LOST money! Lost $2.00 per contract despite correct direction.
Indian market context (NSE)
Reference levels: Nifty 50 at 24,300, Reliance Industries at ₹1,300, Bank Nifty futures at 55,000 (lot size 30). Examples below show how IV Crush shows up on Indian index, equity, and futures books — update to live quotes in your journal.
Nifty 50 perspective
Nifty at 24,300: weekly/monthly option chains centre on round strikes (24,000 / 24,500). IV Crush on ATM Nifty options shifts quickly into expiry — India VIX and event risk (RBI, budget) reprice premiums independent of spot.
Bank Nifty futures perspective
Bank Nifty futures at 55,000: hedging with options or trading iv crush on Bank Nifty weekly contracts — theta and gamma rise sharply into Thursday expiry; futures leg has no time decay but carries overnight gap risk.
How to validate
- Validate IV Crush separately for index weeklies vs stock options.
- Stress-test with expiry-week and event-week subsets (RBI, budget, results).
- Confirm margin and tail-loss scenarios are logged for short premium books.
- Discard readings polluted by untagged discretionary adjustments.
How to track in TradeLyser
- Tag every leg: structure, DTE, moneyness, and whether IV Crush was a primary driver.
- Log planned max loss ₹ on entry for short premium strategies.
- Weekly: list open short ITM/ATM legs before expiry with a written roll/close rule.
- Separate F&O account tags from cash equity for IV Crush statistics.
Best practices
- Size IV Crush trades with margin headroom for gaps and assignment.
- Prefer defined-risk structures when learning a new options concept.
- Roll or close based on written DTE rules, not convenience.
- Keep weekly index and monthly stock books in separate tags.
Common pitfalls
- Short premium without defined max loss while IV Crush risk builds.
- Holding illiquid stock options into expiry without a plan.
- Blending index and stock gamma exposure in one tag.
- Ignoring margin spikes on gap opens.
How to use this in TradeLyser
Record IV entry and next-day IV; review event vol trades separately.
Related terms
Earnings play structures trades before or after quarterly results for anticipated move.
Implied volatility backs out expected future volatility from current option premiums using pricing models. It can diverge sharply from recent realised volatility.
Long straddle: buy ATM call and put. Short straddle: sell both — opposite risk profiles.
Vega estimates premium change per one-point move in implied volatility. Long options benefit from vol expansion; short options suffer.
FAQ
Crush on beat and miss?
Both can crush — direction separate from vol.
Sell vol before event ever?
Defined risk only — log structure.
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