Short answer: NoVo trades single long options — it buys calls when you call up, puts when you call down — not spreads. That's a deliberate design choice, not a limitation, and it follows directly from what a fast SPY scalp needs.
Why single options for scalping
A single near-the-money option gives maximum responsiveness to a level-to-level move, the cleanest and fastest fills on liquid strikes, and a dead-simple position with risk capped at the premium — you can never lose more than you put in. Spreads add legs, cap your upside, introduce a short leg with assignment risk, and are slower to fill as a combo. Speed is the scalp's edge, and single options protect it.
The manual-first fit
Single options also keep the trade legible: you called a direction, NoVo bought a contract, and the P&L moves with the level you're watching. There's no multi-leg structure to reason about mid-trade — just the read, the position, and the exit ladder. That clarity is part of what makes the one-click model work for a newer trader.
Spreads are a fine tool for a different job. For a fast, level-based scalp, the single option's speed and simplicity win — so that's what NoVo trades.
What NoVo does around the single option
The sophistication isn't in the structure — it's in the strike selection, conviction sizing, and the full stop-and-target exit management wrapped around that one clean contract. If your strategy genuinely needs defined-risk spreads, that's a different style than NoVo's level-scalping model; NoVo does one thing and does it well.