ACondor Explains How Buying Power Reduction Sets Iron Condor Position Size
Oct 24, 2026
ACondor LLC explains what buying power reduction means on a defined risk iron condor, why a single trade's number is the wrong figure to plan an account around, and how its software for tastytrade accounts turns three buying power limits into a position size.
Las Cruces, United States, October 24, 2026 /NewsNetwork/ -- Buying power reduction is the figure an options broker sets aside while a position is open, and for premium sellers it is the number that decides how large any one trade can be and how many trades an account can carry. ACondor LLC, the company behind the ACondor options trading software for tastytrade accounts, has published an explanation of how buying power reduction works on an iron condor and how its software uses it to size positions before every entry. Account requirements are listed at https://acondor.com/requirements
According to the company, buying power reduction on a defined risk iron condor is simpler than on most short option trades. An undefined risk position such as a short strangle carries a margin requirement that moves with price and implied volatility. An iron condor has long wings that cap the worst case, and because the underlying can only finish beyond one side at expiration, the broker holds the risk of one side, not both. The requirement is the width of the wider spread times 100, minus the credit collected. A 10 point wide condor that collects $2.00 sets aside $1,000 less $200, or $800 per contract. On a defined risk trade that $800 is also the maximum loss, so the capital set aside and the worst case are the same number.
The company notes a consequence many newer premium sellers find counterintuitive: a richer credit on the same width uses less buying power, not more, because the credit is subtracted from the wing width. The second side of a condor adds credit without adding risk, which is why a full condor can tie up less capital than a single credit spread of the same width.
The harder question, in the company's view, is not what one condor costs but how many an account should hold. A systematic premium selling approach depends on many small occurrences spread across underlyings and expiration dates. An account that can afford one condor is not necessarily sized to run a strategy. ACondor answers that question with three limits, each of which binds at a different account size, and checks all three before any order is sent.
The first limit is risk per trade, set as a share of net liquidating value. ACondor's risk profiles set it at 3 percent (Conservative), 5 percent (Balanced), and 8 percent (Active). This is the limit that sets a practical account floor. A standard 10 wide index condor at 20 delta risks roughly $700 to $900 depending on the credit; the software plans around $900 so its position counts are never optimistic. At a 5 percent cap, a $900 condor needs about $18,000 of net liquidating value; at 3 percent, about $30,000. A dollar ceiling also runs the other way: no single trade may risk more than $1,000 regardless of account size, so a larger account takes more of the same small trade rather than a bigger one.
The second limit is allocation, the share of the account the software may deploy across all of its open positions at once: 20, 35, or 50 percent of net liquidating value by profile. This is what turns a per-trade figure into a position count. On a $30,000 account, a 35 percent allocation allows about $10,500 deployed, or roughly eleven condors at $900 each.
The third limit is an account-wide buying power ceiling. The allocation limit counts only positions the software opened. The ceiling counts everything in the account, including trades placed by hand, and is measured against the broker's own buying power figure. By risk profile, no more than 50, 70, or 80 percent of the account's buying power may be in use at once, and an entry that would cross that line is refused. The company's reasoning is that free buying power is what allows a tested position to be rolled or closed on the trader's terms rather than forced at the worst moment.
Before placing any order, ACondor asks tastytrade for a dry run of the trade, which reports the broker's own buying power effect and fees, and checks the result against all three limits. The software does not shrink a trade to make it fit. When a limit refuses an entry, the dashboard shows which limit fired and why. Risk profile limits re-derive only when account value moves 20 percent from where they were last set, so a strong or weak week does not quietly change position size.
In IRA and cash accounts, ACondor reads the account type from tastytrade and restricts itself to defined risk structures automatically, a restriction that cannot be overridden.
ACondor is software, not investment advice. Nothing here is a guarantee of any trading result, and options trading carries substantial risk of loss. Sizing limits control how much of an account is exposed to any one trade; they do not prevent losses.
Traders who want buying power limits enforced on every entry in a tastytrade account can request early access at https://acondor.com/early-access
Contact Info:
Name: Robin Lilly
Email: Send Email
Organization: ACondor LLC
Address: 2521 North Main Street, Las Cruces Unit 1-276, Las Cruces, New Mexico 88001, United States
Phone: +1-575-312-9326
Website: https://acondor.com
Source: NewsNetwork
Release ID: 89207264
In the event of any inaccuracies, problems, or queries arising from the content shared in this press release, we encourage you to notify us immediately at [email protected] (it is important to note that this email is the authorized channel for such matters, sending multiple emails to multiple addresses does not necessarily help expedite your request). Our diligent team will be readily available to respond and take swift action within 8 hours to rectify any identified issues or assist with removal requests. Ensuring the provision of high-quality and precise information is paramount to us.
Coach of China’s women’s football team leaves post eight months before World Cup
Ante Milicic has left his post as coach of China’s national women’s team, the football association said on Friday, eight months before the World Cup. The 52-year-old Australian had been in charge since May 2024 and led the team to the semi-finals of the Women’s Asian Cup in March. That finish earned them a spot at next year’s World Cup in Brazil. Milicic also recently took China to fourth place at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games in Japan after losing 2-0 to North Korea in the semi-finals. “After...
Matthew Cheung 36 holes from history after taking Hong Kong Open lead at halfway point
Matthew Cheung rode a wave of emotion and a little bit of luck to take a three-shot lead in the Link Hong Kong Open on Friday, leaving himself 36 holes from making history. Beginning the day two strokes back, Cheung carded a sensational eight-under-par 62 to move to 14 under overall, with Caleb Surratt alone in second on 11 under after also posting a 62. Overnight leaders Anirban Lahiri and Kevin Yuan could not match their first-round fireworks, with the former’s 68 leaving him in a tie for...
Fencing risks global divide as top official fires off world league threats
Days after the World Fencing League (WFL) said it would start its 2027 season in Hong Kong, the sport’s world governing body has warned athletes and officials against taking part in unauthorised events In an official statement released on Thursday, the International Fencing Federation (FIE) said the league was not an official competition and it had not sanctioned any of its proposed tournaments. Signed by FIE secretary general Gulnora Saidova, the statement also pointed to the federation’s...
Indian para swimmer sent home from Japan over misconduct allegations, could face life ban
Former world No 1 Indian para swimmer Mohammad Shams Aalam Shaikh has been sent home from Japan after being accused of molesting a female hotel employee during the Asian Para Games, and faces a potential lifetime ban. According to local media reports as well as The Times of India, the 40-year-old athlete was detained by Japanese police and released after submitting a written apology, before being sent back to India on Tuesday. Official sources said the incident occurred on Monday at the Four...
Asian Football Confederation endorses Gianni Infantino for another term as Fifa president
The head of the Asian Football Confederation said on Friday the regional body would support Gianni Infantino’s bid for re-election as Fifa president. Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa, the AFC president, had previously backed opposition to Infantino’s failed plan to sell off the commercial rights to Fifa tournaments, including the World Cup, to private investors. He had joined with the presidents of Uefa and Concacaf to pen an open letter calling the Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE) plan...
Local pair’s brush with Hong Kong Open history a sign the sport is flourishing
There was a moment on Thursday when history looked like being made at the Link Hong Kong Open, and while forgiving greens and some generous pins meant normal service was later restored, the glimpse on offer was of a local game in rude health. For the first time since the tournament began in 1959, two Hongkongers – Isaac Lam and Matthew Cheung – briefly sat at the top of the leaderboard at six-under-par. By the end of the day they were far from alone and further down the field than they might...
Asian Para Games: Hong Kong win gold again as swimmer Chan Yui-lam defends title
Hong Kong won a gold medal at the Asian Para Games for the second day in a row after swimmer Chan Yui-lam defended her 100m butterfly (S14) crown on Thursday. Chan, 23, stormed to gold at Nagoya City General Gymnasium in one minute and 5.19 seconds to finish ahead of host swimmer Aira Kinoshita, who finished in 1:05.56. Fellow Hongkonger Lau Chiu-yee took bronze in 1:07.39. The victory for the regional and Asian Para Games record-holder added to her success earlier this week when she took home...
Philippines’ Eala ousted as Rybakina moves into Ningbo Open last 8 on return from injury
Alexandra Eala crashed out in the Ningbo Open last 16 on Thursday as world No 1 Elena Rybakina reached the quarter-finals on her return from injury when opponent Polina Kudermetova retired. Top seed and defending champion Rybakina was cruising 5-0 in eastern China when the world No 105 from Uzbekistan called it quits because of injury. Earlier, Philippine history-maker Eala suffered a battling straight-sets defeat to Diana Shnaider, the Russian world No 13 winning 7-5, 6-4 to book a...
Local golfers briefly top Hong Kong Open leaderboard in strong start on day one
In the 67 years the Link Hong Kong Open has been in existence, the leaderboard has never featured two local players at the top – Matthew Cheung and Isaac Lam briefly changed that on Thursday. Out among the morning groups, the pair carded matching six-under-par 64s, a score South Korea’s Kim Mink-yu also posted, to sit one-stroke clear of a bunched chasing pack at Hong Kong Golf Club. The trio were later overhauled by Jazz Janewattananond and Poosit Supupramai, who shot 63s, while Anirban Lahiri...
David Hayes plans to tinker with winkers in Ka Ying Rising’s The Everest redemption bid
Still hurting from Ka Ying Rising’s agonisingly close The Everest defeat, David Hayes has flagged a gear change for the champion sprinter’s bid for redemption in the world’s richest turf race next year. Hayes was still adamant barrier 11 ultimately cost Ka Ying Rising when he finished strongly late after a wide run to finish a half-neck second to Tempted in last Saturday’s Group One sprint. It was the nine-time Group One winner’s first defeat since January 2024, ending his record streak for a...
Asian Para Games: mayor sorry for ‘painful’ mistakes after playing wrong national anthems
Officials at the Asian Para Games in Nagoya played the wrong national anthems three times this week, prompting the mayor to apologise just weeks after the city hosted the mishap-plagued Asian Games. The Asian Para Games are taking place in the central Japanese hub city through Saturday, featuring around 4,000 athletes and officials in 18 sports. Nagoya mayor Ichiro Hirosawa apologised on Wednesday for the latest error, which occurred despite officials’ pledges to implement steps to prevent...
David Eustace mulls Lightning Stakes aim with Colourful King ahead of key Sha Tin test
David Eustace is plotting a path towards the Group One Lightning Stakes (1,000m) at Flemington and Royal Ascot with super sprinter Colourful King, with his run at Sha Tin on Sunday being a fork in the road in terms of seasonal plans. The Blue Point galloper surged up to a rating of 110 when making a mockery of a smart field in the Group Three National Day Cup (1,000m) on return, flashing clear with the minimum of fuss in the closing stages. His higher rating means options are becoming more...
YOUR NEWS, OUR NETWORK.
Do you have Great News you want to tell the world?
Be it updates about your business or your community, you can make sure that it’s heard by submitting your story to our network reaching hundreds of news sites across 6 verticals.