A standard iron condor assumes you have no directional opinion — the stock is equally likely to go up or down. But what if you're slightly bullish or bearish? A broken wing iron condor lets you skew the risk to reflect your bias while still collecting premium.

What Is a Broken Wing Iron Condor?

A broken wing iron condor has unequal spread widths on the put and call sides. The wider side has more risk (higher max loss) but also collects more premium or provides a wider profit zone.

Standard iron condor (symmetric):

  • $5-wide put spread / $5-wide call spread

    • Broken wing iron condor (asymmetric):

  • $10-wide put spread / $5-wide call spread (bearish lean — more risk on downside)
  • $5-wide put spread / $10-wide call spread (bullish lean — more risk on upside)

    • Bullish Broken Wing Example

    You're mildly bullish on SPY at $550. You want more protection on the downside and are willing to accept more risk on the upside.

    | Leg | Strike | Premium | Buy put$520-$1.10 Sell put$530+$2.30 Sell call$570+$1.80 Buy call$580-$0.90

    Put spread: $10 wideCall spread: $10 wide (both same width here)

    Now let's make it broken wing by tightening the put side:

    LegStrikePremium Buy put$527-$1.90 Sell put$530+$2.30 Sell call$570+$1.80 | Buy call | $580 | -$0.90 |

    Put spread: $3 wide | Call spread: $10 wide

    Net credit: $1.30 Max loss — put side: $3.00 - $1.30 = $1.70 Max loss — call side: $10.00 - $1.30 = $8.70

    You've created a position where:

  • If SPY drops, your max loss is only $170 per contract (vs. $370 on a standard $5-wide)
  • If SPY rallies past $580, your max loss is $870 per contract (more than a standard condor)
  • Your breakeven range is asymmetric — tighter on the upside, wider on the downside

    • When to Use a Broken Wing

    Bullish lean (wider call spread, narrower put spread):

  • You believe the stock is more likely to drift up than down
  • You want strong downside protection
  • Markets are in an uptrend with pullbacks being bought

    • Bearish lean (wider put spread, narrower call spread):

  • You expect choppy or declining prices
  • Call premiums are rich due to elevated skew
  • You want protection against a sharp upside move (short squeeze, earnings beat)

    • After a selloff:

  • Widen the put spread to take advantage of inflated put premiums
  • Narrow the call spread since upside volatility is lower after a drop

    • The "Skip Strike" Broken Wing

    An advanced variation skips a strike on the wide side, creating a gap that can actually be profitable:

    | Leg | Strike | Premium | Buy put$525-$1.45 Sell put$530+$2.30 Sell call$570+$1.80 | Buy call | $580 | -$0.90 |

    Put spread: $5 wide | Call spread: $10 wide | Net credit: $1.75

    Notice the put spread is $5 wide but the call spread is $10 wide. If SPY finishes between $530 and $570, you keep the full $1.75 credit. If SPY drops below $525, your max loss on the put side is $5.00 - $1.75 = $3.25.

    But here's the interesting part: if SPY rallies to $575 (between your short call and long call), you lose $5 on the short call but your long call at $580 doesn't offset it fully. Max loss on the call side is $10.00 - $1.75 = $8.25.

    Risk Management for Broken Wings

    Because the risk is asymmetric, your management must be too:

  • Tighter stop on the wide side: If the stock moves toward your wider spread, close earlier (at 1× credit instead of 2×) because the max loss is larger
  • Looser leash on the narrow side: You can afford to hold longer on the narrow-spread side since the max loss is smaller
  • Position size based on the wider spread: Calculate your position size using the wider spread's max loss, not the narrow one. This prevents you from overallocating based on the less risky side.

    • When NOT to Use Broken Wings

  • When you have no directional opinion — just use a standard iron condor
  • When the premium difference between symmetric and asymmetric isn't meaningful
  • In extremely volatile markets where both sides could be tested in the same cycle
  • If you're new to iron condors — master the symmetric version first

    • The broken wing is a refinement tool, not a replacement for the standard iron condor. Use it when your analysis suggests a directional lean, and stick with symmetric setups when the market is giving you no clear signal.