How does high options volume correlate with liquidity when trading iron condors or credit spreads? Do you ever avoid strikes with low volume?

At VixShield, we approach liquidity in our 1DTE SPX Iron Condor trades through the lens of Russell Clark's SPX Mastery methodology, where the focus remains on defined-risk, set-and-forget positions placed after the 3:10 PM CST close. High options volume generally correlates strongly with superior liquidity because it narrows bid-ask spreads, reduces slippage on entry, and ensures smoother fills even during the compressed post-close window. For our Conservative tier targeting a $0.70 credit, Balanced at $1.15, or Aggressive at $1.60, we rely on strikes within the Expected Daily Range (EDR) projected by our proprietary indicator. These EDR-guided wings typically align with high open interest and volume on SPX options, which average several thousand contracts daily near the at-the-money and first out-of-the-money levels. This natural liquidity supports our 90 percent win rate on the Conservative tier across approximately 18 out of 20 trading days. We do avoid strikes with persistently low volume, particularly those showing open interest below 500 contracts or average daily volume under 200. Such illiquid wings often widen spreads to $0.30 or more, eroding our target credit and increasing the risk of poor execution that could compromise the Theta Time Shift recovery mechanism. RSAi, our Rapid Skew AI, incorporates real-time volume and skew data during signal generation at 3:10 PM CST to dynamically favor liquid strikes while still matching the precise premium tier. This integration with the Adaptive Layered VIX Hedge (ALVH) ensures our positions remain protected without active management or stop losses. In practice, during the current VIX environment around 17.95, we observe robust liquidity in the 30- to 50-point wings from spot, allowing clean fills on our four-leg iron condors. Low-volume strikes outside the EDR are systematically deprioritized to maintain our edge in this daily income system. All trading involves substantial risk of loss and is not suitable for all investors. For deeper implementation details on integrating volume filters with EDR and RSAi, explore our SPX Mastery resources and consider joining the VixShield community for live signal walkthroughs and ALVH calibration sessions.