Mechanical Manage DTE
What it does
DTE backstop for mechanical engine positions. If a mechanical iron condor reaches this many days to expiration without hitting its profit target, ACondor closes it regardless of P&L. This prevents holding positions into the high-gamma zone close to expiration where small moves cause large delta swings. The tastytrade research-based rule is 'close at 21 DTE': the theta-to-gamma tradeoff degrades past this point.
When to change it
Raise slightly (to 25-28) if you want to give positions more time to reach the profit target. Lower (to 14-18) to exit earlier and reduce gamma risk. Do not lower below 7: you are then holding through expiry week which is the highest-risk period.
Safe range
7 DTE (aggressive, exits early) to 28 DTE (permissive, more time for profit target). Default 21 matches tastytrade's published mechanical strategy.
Example
Iron condor entered at 38 DTE. Profit target is 50% of max credit. At 21 DTE the position is at 35% profit, below target. The manage DTE backstop fires and the bot closes it at a partial win rather than holding into expiry week.