Suppose I’m a market maker, and I collect some spread buying an option due the flow I get. In this example, I must always quote. I want to hedge as much of the risk as possible over the lifetime of the option as cheaply as possible so that I can keep as much of that spread as possible.
I’m content with hedging delta and vega. Delta is easy enough, especially if the name is liquid. But what about vega? Won’t I end up paying the same spread I just gained if I start selling options in the market to balance my vega?
Practically, how do we hedge without losing money? Does this change if the flow that causes me to buy options is very one-sided (biasing me towards buying instead of selling)?