Good morning, traders…
I was scanning the options flow yesterday when something strange caught my attention.
Massive money was flowing into October 9 calls — an odd-week expiration — instead of the standard October 18 monthly options.
We’re talking $2.3 million in premium on contracts most retail traders don’t even know exist.
Then I remembered: I’ve seen some insane moves from odd-week expirations recently.
The Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC) October 3 $26.50 Calls that delivered 1,233% overnight?* That was an odd-week expiration.
Most traders stick to monthly options because they’re familiar and liquid. But institutions think differently.
When Smart Money chooses inconvenient expiration dates, that’s a clue. They know something we don’t about the timing.
Let’s Break Down Why Odd-Week Expirations Often Signal The Smart Money’s Best Ideas (And How Recognizing This Could Transform Your Options Trading)…
What Are Odd-Week Expirations?
Standard monthly options expire on the third Friday of each month. Weekly options expire every Friday.
But odd-week expirations don’t align with monthly options cycles.
They’re the first Friday, second Friday, and fourth Friday of the month.
Less liquidity. Fewer retail traders. More institutional focus.
When Smart Money chooses these obscure expirations over convenient monthly options, they’re telling you something important.
Why The Smart Money Loves Odd Weeks
Precision timing — The Smart Money trades around specific catalyst dates. Earnings announcements, FDA approvals, product launches, press conferences, etc. They match their expiration to the expected event timing.
Less retail noise — Fewer retail traders means cleaner price discovery. No day traders jumping in and out based on momentum.
Lower implied volatility — Often cheaper than monthly options due to reduced demand. Same exposure, lower cost.
Signal strength — When Smart Money chooses odd weeks over monthly expirations, it suggests conviction in both direction AND timing.
Why would an institution accept lower liquidity (and wider spreads) unless it had a strong conviction about when something would happen?
The 1233% Move That Opened My Eyes
Remember my Intel October 3 $26.50 Calls? The ones that exploded 1,233% when NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA) announced its $5 billion investment?
Why was this trade on the October 3 contracts instead of the monthly October 18 expiration?
Because Smart Money was hammering those October 3 calls for weeks.
The announcement came on October 2, suspiciously perfect timing for the October 3 expiration.
Coincidence? I think not…
4 Common Odd-Week Scenarios
Earnings plays — Companies reporting outside standard monthly cycles need precise timing.
Biotech catalysts — FDA approval dates (PDUFA dates) rarely align with monthly expirations.
Fed meetings — FOMC announcements have specific dates that Smart Money targets.
Tech launches — Apple events, Tesla deliveries, quarterly guidance updates.
When events have known timing, institutions use odd-week options for precision.
How To Spot These Patterns
Volume analysis — Compare odd-week volume to monthly options on the same strike. When odd-week volume exceeds the monthly … it’s time to pay attention.
Open interest building — Watch for sustained accumulation over multiple days, not just single-day spikes.
Smart Money confirmation — Look for block trades, repeater bets, above-ask activity, and institutional-sized orders in these obscure expirations.
Catalyst calendars — Match odd-week dates to earnings announcements, FDA decisions, Fed meetings, and product launches.
Tips For Trading Odd-Week Options
Market makers price odd-week options less aggressively due to lower volume. Your competition consists of fewer uninformed traders.
Don’t randomly choose odd-week options just because they’re odd.
When you see odd-week activity, ask yourself: What event might they be targeting? What do they know about timing that I don’t?
Use odd-week accumulation as confirmation for your existing analysis, not as a standalone signal.
Most traders miss this edge because they stick to convenient, liquid monthly options. But odd-week expirations can be breadcrumbs leading to some of the Smart Money’s best ideas.
Want to learn how to trade these setups LIVE?
I’ve finally cracked the code on how retail traders, like YOU, can turn Wall Street’s blind spots into an undeniable trading edge.
I call it The “Dumb Money” Double … a setup that’s generated +57% AVERAGE GAINS and a 93% WIN-RATE this year.*
Join us for a FREE “Dumb Money” WORKSHOP … TOMORROW, September 25 at 4 p.m. EST
Happy trading,
Ben Sturgill
*Past performance does not indicate future results
