BUSTED BY COSTS
Bi-weekly iron condor with delta adjustments backtest: does it work after costs?
We coded the bi-weekly iron condor with delta adjustments strategy exactly as taught in a public video and ran it on NIFTY weekly (2-week), 2019-07 to 2026-10, with real charges. Our test: −₹13,714 after real costs. As taught, the rules lost about ₹13.7k per lot over Jul-2019 to Oct-2026, winning 35% of 83 weeks traded.
- Net after costs
- −₹13,714
- Win rate
- 35.0%
- Worst drawdown
- −₹19,073
- Reality Score
- 15/100
The rules, as taught
On Friday at 15:15, only when India VIX is below 13, sell ~0.20-delta calls and puts on the expiry two weeks out with wings 200 points away, skipping weeks where credit is below 4% of capital. Target +1% and stop −1% of capital, otherwise exit next Friday 15:00, with four adjustment rules that close and re-sell a side. Assumptions: wings move with a rolled short, 'event weeks' not coded, checks every 5 minutes.
What the video claims, and what we found
Claim: Mostly +1% winning weeks, shown on three hand-worked weeks of Nov-2025; no backtest.
Our Nov-2025 strikes were within one strike of the video's examples; one of its weeks fell below the 4% credit filter and was skipped, and the two weeks we traded each made under ₹1k.
See the full results, charts and every tradeQuestions people ask
Does the Bi-weekly iron condor with delta adjustments strategy work?
Not as taught, once real charges are included. As taught, the rules lost about ₹13.7k per lot over Jul-2019 to Oct-2026, winning 35% of 83 weeks traded. Tested on NIFTY weekly (2-week), 2019-07 to 2026-10, after real costs. Reality Score 15/100.
What is the win rate of the Bi-weekly iron condor with delta adjustments strategy after costs?
35.0% of 83 trades made money after real charges in our test (2019-07 to 2026-10). A high or low win rate alone says little; the net result was −₹13,714 with a worst drawdown of −₹19,073.
How much did it make or lose in the backtest?
Our test: −₹13,714 after real costs. Over 2019-07 to 2026-10 (1 lot (historical lot size)), the net after charges was −₹13,714 and the worst fall from a peak was −₹19,073.
What exact rules were tested?
On Friday at 15:15, only when India VIX is below 13, sell ~0.20-delta calls and puts on the expiry two weeks out with wings 200 points away, skipping weeks where credit is below 4% of capital. Target +1% and stop −1% of capital, otherwise exit next Friday 15:00, with four adjustment rules that close and re-sell a side. Assumptions: wings move with a rolled short, 'event weeks' not coded, checks every 5 minutes.
How was the Bi-weekly iron condor with delta adjustments backtest done?
On 1-minute exchange data since 2017, signals filled at the next minute's open, with real broker charges, STT, exchange fees, SEBI fee, stamp duty and GST, and the lot size of each date. Rules exactly as taught; gaps we had to fill are stated. Full method on our How we test page.
Run it yourself — coming soon
These rules use features our public backtester can't express exactly yet, so we won't pre-fill an approximation. Build your own idea in the meantime.
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