Tom Preston Explains When to Hedge With VIX or SPX

On a fast paced Confirm and Send, Chris Vecchio and Tom Preston take viewer questions, and one of the best is a classic: are VIX calls the same hedge as SPX puts? Tom's answer is a clean framework. If you are protecting equity exposure against a steady grind lower, SPX puts or a put spread do the job. If you are worried about the violence of a sudden crash, that is when VIX calls earn their keep, because volatility can spike when a decline turns disorderly. They also walk through how ratio spreads actually work, using Apple as the example, and a subtle risk in newer AM settled index expirations that spread traders should know about. It is real options education pulled straight from live questions. Views are the speakers' own. Education, not a recommendation. 📊 tastylive: https://www.tastylive.com/ 📰 Get Tom's pre-market analysis every morning: https://www.tastylive.com/newsletters 📘 FREE Options Strategy Guide: https://tinyurl.com/bp9ms763 📱 Follow tastylive on X: https://x.com/tastyliveshow Chapters 00:00 Send in your questions 00:40 What will the Fed do next 03:00 Managing an Apple position 06:00 How ratio spreads really work 08:30 VIX calls versus SPX puts 11:00 Hedging a crash vs a grind 13:00 Risks in AM settled expirations 15:30 Reading skew for upside risk #tastylive #vix #spx #hedging #optionstrading #ratiospreads #tompreston #chrisvecchio #confirmandsend #optionseducation tastylive is a real financial network, producing hours of live programming every day. Follow along as our experts navigate the markets, provide actionable trading insights, and teach you how to trade. With over 120 original segments, and over 25 personalities, we'll help you take your trading to the next level, whether you are new to trading or a seasoned veteran. tastylive content is created, produced, and provided solely by tastylive, Inc. ("tastylive") and is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not, nor is it intended to be, trading or investment advice or a recommendation that any security, futures contract, digital asset, other product, transaction, or investment strategy is suitable for any person. Trading securities, futures products, and digital assets involve risk and may result in a loss greater than the original amount invested. Investment information provided may not be appropriate for all investors and is provided without respect to individual investor financial sophistication, financial situation, investing time horizon or risk tolerance. Options, futures, and futures options are not suitable for all investors. Prior to trading securities, options, futures, or futures options, please read all applicable risk disclosures, including, but not limited to, the Characteristics and Risks of Standardized Options Disclosure and the Futures and Exchange Traded Options Risk Disclosure Statement found at https://tastytrade.com/disclosures/. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Performance is not presented net of all commissions, fees, and expenses. Multi-leg option strategies incur higher transaction costs than single leg trades as they involve multiple commission charges. Examples provided are for illustrative, informational, and educational purposes only and are not intended to be reflective of results you can expect to achieve. Supporting documentation for any claims, including claims made on behalf of options programs), comparisons, statistics, or other technical data, if applicable, will be supplied upon request. tastylive, through its content, financial programming or otherwise, does not provide investment or financial advice or make investment recommendations. tastylive is not a licensed financial adviser, registered investment adviser, or a registered broker-dealer.