For spread & condor traders

Stop guessing structure, score the trade with directional VRP and skew.

Directional VRP decomposes premium into put and call sides, skew shows where the richness is, and key levels frame the wings, so you pick the structure with the real edge.

Get Your API Key View the docs

Free tier, no card required · Cancel anytime · Live in 60 seconds

Implied vs realized vol SPY

Implied vol (IV)22.4%

Realized vol (HV20)15.1%

VRP +7.3 · 86th pct rich: selling favored

📘 Complete guide Complete Guide to Options Spreads & Iron Condors Iron condors, credit spreads and calendars — mechanics, directional VRP, skew, worked SPY examples, and every kink. 16 min read Read the guide →

Same JSON live & historical

No lookahead bias

REST + Python/JS/C#/Go/Java SDKs

6,000+ tickers, computed per-tick

The problem

What the usual options data leaves you fighting

Iron condors assume symmetric volatility; the skew usually says otherwise.

You pick a structure by feel, not by where the premium actually sits.

Walls and levels shift your short strikes after you're already on.

What FlashAlpha gives you

Score the structure before you place it: directional VRP tells you which side is rich, skew confirms it, and key levels mark where to set the wings.

The endpoints you'll call

Volatility risk premium GET /v1/vrp/SPY Alpha Vol & skew GET /v1/volatility/SPY Growth Key levels GET /v1/exposure/levels/SPY Free

One call, ready to use

curl -H "X-Api-Key: YOUR_KEY" \
  "https://lab.flashalpha.com/v1/vrp/SPY"

{
  "symbol": "SPY",
  "vrp": 2.9,
  "directional_vrp": { "put_side": 3.6, "call_side": 1.4 },
  "structure_scores": { "put_credit_spread": 0.81, "iron_condor": 0.42 }
}

Go deeper

Structure selection 3 articles

Directional VRP: why iron condors are often wrong Scoring VRP to pick the right structure Max-pain & pin-risk expiration setups

Backtests 4 articles

SPY put-credit-spread: an 8-year backtest Short put spreads: an honest 7-year VRP backtest Put-credit-spread matrix: theoretical vs realized The fill model is the edge: VRP backtests

Vol & timing 2 articles

Volatility skew trading strategies on live data IV rank vs IV percentile: which to use

Add it to your AI assistant

FlashAlpha ships a persona-scoped MCP connector tuned for this workflow. Add it to Claude, Cursor, or any MCP client and ask in plain English — it exposes the same full FlashAlpha toolset, framed for this trading style.

OAuth (claude.ai web, Cursor)

https://lab.flashalpha.com/mcp-oauth/spreads

apiKey (Claude Desktop, CLI)

https://lab.flashalpha.com/mcp/spreads

Connect in 3 steps

claude.ai (web/desktop): open Settings → Connectors → Add custom connector, paste the OAuth URL above, click Add, then sign in (email/password or Google) and Allow.
Cursor: click Add to Cursor below (OAuth completes in-browser, no key paste).
Claude Desktop / CLI: use the apiKey URL with your FlashAlpha key, e.g. claude mcp add flashalpha-spreads --transport http https://lab.flashalpha.com/mcp/spreads.

Need the full walkthrough with screenshots and troubleshooting? Read the step-by-step setup tutorial. No key yet? Grab a free one on the pricing page.

Add to Cursor Open Claude Connectors Setup tutorial All connectors

Live in three steps

Grab your API key

Call the endpoint

One GET request per ticker returns computed analytics, no rebuilding greeks or exposure yourself.

Wire it in

Drop it into your dashboard, model or backtest. Live and historical share one response shape.

Questions, answered

Why are iron condors often the wrong structure?

VRP is usually asymmetric, the put side is richer than the call side. A symmetric condor sells cheap call premium; decomposing VRP shows when a one-sided credit spread has the better edge.

How do you score a structure?

The VRP dashboard returns suitability scores per structure (condor, put/call credit spread) from directional VRP, skew and regime, so you compare candidates on edge rather than feel.

Which plan do I need for structure scoring?

Key levels are Free and vol/skew is Growth; the VRP dashboard with directional VRP and structure scores is Alpha.

Is the edge backtested?

Yes, the put-credit-spread study above runs an 8-year backtest with market-maker fills and a VRP signal, so you can see drawdowns, not just averages.

Recommended plan

Growth $239/mo

billed annually ($2,868/yr)

Growth covers vol, skew and levels; Alpha adds directional VRP and structure scoring to pick the trade with the real edge.

Get Your API Key → or start free →

✓ No card for the free tier
✓ Cancel anytime
✓ Same data live & historical

Compare all plans

Get your API key in 60 seconds.