Hi Nate and Casey44,

I don't want to start an argument, but other traders, particularly those new to options, may want to see this dialogue and get a perspective about Tastytrade's educational material. The Tastytrade presentations are attractive and interesting, but as indicated below, there may be some significant inconsistencies, so consider a little caution when taking their advice.

It is unusual that in their 2016 videos and currently on the relevant webpage Tastytrade recommends managing regular iron condors (ICs) and now at the end of 2017 they say don't do it. They should update their website to remove the apparently erroneous material about trying to manage ICs.

BACKGROUND

There is a link below to a Tastytrade primer on Iron Condors, which includes the statement on rolling:
https://tastytrade.com/tt/learn/iron-condor

"When do we manage Iron Condors?
We manage iron condors by adjusting the untested side, or profitable side of the spread. We look to roll the untested spread closer to the stock price to collect more premium. We can go as far as rolling our untested spread to the same short strike as our tested spread, which creates an iron fly."

There are some videos on the topic, see

https://tastytrade.com/tt/shows/mike-and-his-whiteboard/episodes/3-iron-condor-adjustments-03-22-2016

Today (12-5-17) in the Best Practices segment entitled "Mechanics to Defend", Tom Sosnoff said that statistics show that one SHOULD NOT manage an Iron Condor, just accept the initial trade probabilities if the trade goes against you.

PERSPECTIVE

I just happened to see the Mechanics to Defend segment today, noted the BIG DISCREPANCY, and thought that I should point it out.

There were no good details in either the 2016 video or in the Mechanics to Defend segment to clearly establish whether one should or should not manage an IC. Nor did Tom Sosnoff point out in the Mechanics to Defend segment today that their position has changed.

I don't expect perfection from anyone and I do not have the time or interest in vetting their website and all of their current and archived shows to confirm whether this is the only significant inconsistency. Newer option traders, like me, may want to be cautious with Tastytrade advice.

It's not a discrepancy per se.
1) If statistics prove their methods wrong, they change. To me that is not a bad thing it's a good thing.
2) There is a difference between a classic 1/3 width in premium IC vs. Wide IC (synthetic strangle) and the way you manage it is different.

Their content needs some management for a certainty. They don't do a great job of organising and much if the older material is not clearly written.

What they try to do is educate on mechanics of options trading and present ideas and research to keep traders engaged. Definitely their opinions and perspective is biased toward the lead characters of the shows. If somebody's looking for a Holy Grail strategy (i.e. one that works in all market conditions 100% of the time) Tastytrade is not that. But, if you want to trade options and don't know where to start, you can get a really good practical knowledge of the structure, theory and mechanics of various options strategies for free there.