Good morning, traders…

Let’s say you bought an option this week that expires next Friday, July 18. 

The underlying stock hasn’t moved much yet. 

Now you have a critical decision to make.

Do you hold it until Monday and take the weekend risk?

Or close it now and take the stress off the table?

If you’ve traded weekly options, you’ve asked yourself this question. And you’ve probably faced this unfortunate scenario:

The stock hardly budged, yet your position lost a huge chunk of its value by Monday’s open. 

But time decay doesn’t take weekends off, even if you do… 

When you hold short-dated contracts over the weekend, you’re exposing yourself to hidden risks that can wipe out your position before you can even say “theta.”

Let’s Stop Time Decay From Ruining Your Trades…

There are three big risks to holding short-dated options over the weekend…

Accelerated Time Decay

Theta (time decay) ramps up dramatically over the weekend. Even though the market is closed, time decay continues to erode your option’s extrinsic value.

• Friday to Monday = 3 days of decay priced as 1

Theta doesn’t just tick away one day at a time. It compounds. Since the market can’t price in decay on Saturday and Sunday, Monday’s open often reflects a much larger drop in extrinsic value than any day before it. 

• Short-dated options suffer the most

The closer you are to expiration, the faster theta accelerates. By holding over the weekend, you’re essentially giving up three days of premium in one shot.

Weekend News Risk

Some of the biggest market-moving events happen when the market is closed.

This has been especially true during the second Trump administration. 

Just look at how many massive market-moving events have happened over the weekend in the first half of 2025:

April 2–3: “Liberation Day” Tariffs

• Weekend: April 2, 2025 (Saturday)
  
• Event: U.S. announces sweeping tariffs on nearly all imports.
  
• Monday Impact: S&P 500 gapped down 4.84% on Monday, April 3 in its worst single-day loss since March 2020. Over $3 trillion wiped from global equities.

April 12–13: Tech Tariff Relief

• Weekend: April 12–13, 2025
  
• Event: Tariff exemptions granted to U.S. tech products.
  
• Monday Impact: S&P 500 gapped up 0.8% on Monday, April 14, gaining 42.61 points on tariff exemption news.

May 9–11: Trade Talk Tensions

• Weekend: May 10–11, 2025
  
• Event: Positive signals emerged from U.S.–China trade talks over the weekend.
  
• Monday Impact: S&P 500 gapped up 1.88%, marking its highest level since early March. 

July 5–6: New Tariff Threats

• Weekend: July 5–6, 2025 (Last Weekend)
  
• Event: Trump floats steep new Asia tariffs via social media, sparking renewed trade war fears.
  
• Monday Impact: S&P 500 gapped down 0.8% on Monday, with exporters and tech hit hardest.

Plus, there’s always the possibility of:

• Unexpected company news: Merger and buyout rumors, CEO statements, unannounced press releases, or sudden FDA decisions for biotech names.
  
• President Trump’s weekend posts: Trade threats, tariff declarations, or foreign policy comments (any one of which can flip market sentiment by Monday).
  
• Geopolitical shocks: Surprise military moves (like the June Israel–Iran escalation), cyberattacks, etc.
  
• Policy surprises: Emergency Fed statements, rate leaks, or Treasury yield-control rumors floated in the press.

If any of these go against your trade, you’re completely powerless until Monday. 

By then, the damage is already done. Even a small morning gap against your position can obliterate your option’s value.

When Is It Okay to Hold Weeklies Over the Weekend?

I don’t want you to think you should never hold weekly options over the weekend. 

But you need to be extremely selective:

• High-probability setups only (e.g., huge Smart Money bets coming in on Friday could signal weekend strength).
• Trades with a clear catalyst (if you’re holding through the weekend, there better be a good reason for doing so). 
• Defined-risk trades (where your max loss is controlled).

When You Shouldn’t Hold Options Over The Weekend:

• Far out-of-the-money speculative lotto tickets.
• Low-delta contracts.
• High-IV contracts.

The market gives you a free pass to reset risk every Friday. Use it.

If you wouldn’t hold a trade through a major news event during the week, don’t hold it over the weekend. 

Happy trading,

Ben Sturgill

P.S. Don’t waste your weekend…

Join the great Danny Phee TOMORROW, July 12 at 4:00 p.m. EST for a LIVE OMEN WORKSHOP.

Space is limited — Click here to sign up before it’s too late. 

*Past performance does not indicate future results