The Most Important Goal Playing Earning’s imo.

I've played earnings now pretty much every way possible. After completing an earning's cycle, something clicked today after a very successful win with FDX.

• IV crush is irrelevant to intrinsic value, using a debt spread even the original debt paid can go to $0 so to speak (strikes blown past), but the intrinsic value gained or what's left over is where the real money is made.
• Using structures like calendars can try to capture big directional move, but they're more of a Theta play than anything else, decaying the short legs while bringing OTM long leg closer to ITM, or even ITM. It doesn't really capture the actual move though in a true sense.
• Debt spreads + diagonals are as close as can get to just buying long calls/puts without short legs deterring progress, while still gaining some discount even if minor from the premium received, which helps offset the otherwise more rigid timing required with options.

Intrinsic value should be the goal really for all options traders, doesn't have to start ITM though can begin OTM and work a campaign, taking a far OTM contract to ITM, while rolling & selling.

For example, FedEx buy to open $255, sell to open $250 (9/27-10/11) – I have very high conviction FedEx will continue to sell-off after missing on all fronts and lowering guidance. I will roll the $250 down and out, to keep collecting premium, while building intrinsic value over the next 3 weeks in the $255 as price declines. This is example of selling Theta and building intrinsic value post earning's.

(During earning's my successful trade was $275 buy to open, $260 sell to open or $1500 basically of intrinsic value, was more complex of a trade than just that but that's the gist.)