To simplify, let's say I'm buying/spreadbetting a single long position on a call option on NDX100 (currently valued at $10000) with an 8775 strike, expiring in Dec '22, and the option would cost me $2250. What would be some ways of hedging against price falls in the short term (like 1-3 months)? I have heard of calendar spreads, but have never taken short positions on options before, and given the risks, I'm not keen to try this route. Are there some good ways of hedging the call(s) with long near-term puts to cushion the falls? I would guess there are strategies that involve hedging with ITM/ATM/NTM near-term puts and others that are OTM, or use a larger number of far OTMs, or mix some of these, take advantage of changes in delta, etc. Would it also help to bring VIX options into the picture?
Why would you need to "hedge" short term price swings in an option. They're not MTM, you pay the entire premium up front and at most you can lose all of it. That's one of the whole reasons for buying a call. The concept of "hedging" in the manner you're using it is a fallacy anyway; you get risk adjusted returns and every "hedge" you add just reduces your return by exactly the amount you reduced risk, with additional transaction costs.
Short it and you have your hedge. You can also seek for similar products and do it there. Hedging means lowering your risk but also your reward just like previous poster said. Edit: the easier way to go is to wait for the price to plumet and enter then or to buy the instrument and sell a call on it.