The Option Alpha Podcast
The Option Alpha Podcast is a show about trading options, hosted by Kirk Du Plessis, founder of the trading education and software company Option Alpha. Episodes cover options strategies, risk management, automation tools, and market research aimed at helping traders at all experience levels improve their results. The show blends educational content with commentary on the company's own technology and community. It is focused on making options trading simpler, more data-driven, and more accessible.
Episodes
245: Avoiding the "Pearl Harbor" Portfolio
What if your portfolio looks diversified — but isn’t? This episode explores the concept of the “Pearl Harbor "portfolio, where hidden concentration risk builds quietly beneath calm market conditions. By stacking exposure in the same tickers, expiration windows, or strategies, traders can unknowingly create a single point of failure.You’ll learn how to identify warning signs of fragility, spre
244: Top Trader Interviews - Jack Krupey
Trading doesn’t have to consume your life to be effective. In this episode, long-time Option Alpha member Jack Krupey shares how a background in real estate and private equity shaped a steady, market-neutral approach to options trading. Instead of chasing excitement, the focus is on building systems that work across market cycles and fit naturally into daily routines.Discover how defined risk and
243: Longtermism - The New Battle Cry for Short-Term Options Traders
Short-term trading moves fast—but without a long-term mindset, it often leads to burnout, overtrading, and inconsistency. This episode explores why sustainable success in short-term options trading depends on thinking far beyond individual trades. It introduces the concept of longtermism and explains how focusing on process, risk management, and systems can dramatically change outcomes.Learn why d
242: Checklist Before Going "Live" With Real Money
Going live with real money brings realities that paper trading simply cannot replicate. In this episode, Kirk walks through the five essential things every trader should understand and consider before transitioning from paper trading to live trading. From the limitations of paper trading to the execution challenges of real markets, we explain why strict expectations, conservative assumptions, and
241: Top Trader Interviews - Kevin
In this interview, Kirk sits down with Kevin, a long-time Option Alpha member who began trading in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis. Kevin shares how he turned his small beginnings into a consistent, structured approach that scales with his portfolio.Kevin details how he spent years learning before placing his first options trade and how those early experiences shaped his disciplined, ru
240: Thinking In Probabilities & Risk
Markets rarely behave as predicted by mathematical models, and extreme events occur far more frequently than traditional models anticipate. This episode explains why understanding probabilities, fat tails, and risk is essential for long-term success.We also explore how traders can build more resilient systems by focusing on recovery time, appropriate position sizing, and avoiding strategies vulner
239: The Rise of 0DTE Options: Is It a Game-Changer for Traders?
0DTE options are transforming the way traders approach opportunity and risk. This episode breaks down why these contracts are so powerful (and popular), why 0DTE volume has surged, and how you can trade them with clarity instead of chaos. We dispel common myths and highlight the real advantages of these short-term strategies, such as rapid time decay, high liquidity, and faster statistical learnin
238: From Developer to Options Trader - Interview w/ Jack Slocum, OA Founder
In this episode of the Option Alpha podcast, Kirk sits down with his business partner and fellow founder, Jack Slocum, to share the full story behind Jack’s journey as a trader, developer, and entrepreneur. Jack talks about how he first turned to options trading to generate extra income for his family, how his early experiences “crashed and burned,” and why he has spent years since then learning a
237: 0DTE Trading & Gamma Exposure - Interview w/ Mat Cashman from OIC
As an options trader, how closely should you be watching gamma and gamma exposure (GEX)? This episode will help you better understand gamma, interpret volatility, recognize inflection points, and build more context-aware strategies.Kirk sits down with Mat Cashman from the OIC to discuss gamma, explore how market makers hedge their positions, and why 0DTE options are so “gamma-rich.” Mat explains w
236: Gamma Exposure for Options Traders - Interview w/ Lex from Tradier
Gamma is one of the most misunderstood yet powerful forces driving options markets. In this episode, Kirk sits down with Lex from Tradier to break down gamma exposure (GEX) — what it is, why it matters, and how it quietly shapes market movement. Together, they unpack how professional traders use gamma to stay delta-neutral, manage risk, and interpret shifting liquidity, while retail traders can us
235: Top Trader Interviews - FK
Welcome to the Top Traders interview series, where we hear from Option Alpha community members who have delivered strong results over a meaningful number of trades. In this kickoff episode, FK breaks down his disciplined, probability-driven options trading strategies. We'll explore FK’s approach to selling premium with defined risk, sizing positions conservatively, and running a dual-track po
234: Reboot - The Comeback Tour Starts Now
In this comeback episode, I’ll catch you up on the biggest updates inside Option Alpha, the major shifts in today’s options market (hello, 0DTE), and what to expect from the show going forward.The options landscape has changed dramatically in the past year. From 0DTE dominating SPX volumes to a flood of new retail traders, the environment today looks nothing like when this show last aired. This re
233: Interview with Adam Cohn: Former Market Maker & VP – TradeStation
We're joined by Adam Cohn, Vice President and Head of Trading Operations at TradeStation, an award-winning trading platform known for its comprehensive trading tools, advanced charting capabilities, and extensive market analysis features. Adam brings a wealth of experience, not just from his role at TradeStation but also from his extensive background in options trading in the Chicago pits and
232: Tips and Tricks for Navigating Options Expiration
Show Notes: https://optionalpha.com/show232Navigating options expiration is a critical skill for traders, especially with the rise of daily expirations.This week’s podcast explores the top 7 automated tips and tricks you can use inside Option Alpha to set up your portfolio for better options expiration management.See all 7 tips hereAdjust exit options as you near expirationCheck the extrinsic valu
231: The 10 New Trading Psychology Challenges Emerging from Autotrading
Show Notes: https://optionalpha.com/show231This week we explore the latest and most pressing challenges emerging for investors who have embraced autotrading.As automation revolutionizes the financial markets, traders find themselves navigating uncharted psychological territory. From trusting bots and algorithms, coping with reduced decision-making control, and the novel complexities of autotrading
230: An Evolutionary Perspective on Why Autotrading Will Dominate
Show Notes: https://optionalpha.com/show230 This week I explore a deep and philosophical viewpoint into the world of automated trading and its inevitable rise for investors. I explore the evolutionary nature of human decision-making and its limitations in complex financial markets by examining cognitive biases and their impact on manual trading. I’ll also discuss the technological advancements dri
229: 15 Options Trading Questions from ChatGPT
AI is the hot new buzzword these days, sparked by the release of ChatGPT a few months ago. Since then, it seems everyone has used OpenAI’s software in fascinating (and sometimes scary) ways. So, I jumped into ChatGPT and asked it to come up with the top questions that new and advanced traders ask about options trading. This week's podcast explores the 15 questions - and answers - that option
228: Price Recovery Analysis - How Long Does It Take To Get Back To Even?
How long does it take a stock to get back to even after a large daily move down? And does the magnitude impact how long it takes the position to recover the loss?We’ve all been in losing trades and wondered if we should hang on to the position for a little longer or cut it loose. So, to help answer the question, we studied the short-term performance of stocks and ETFs after different daily loss to
227: What 20-Years of Moving Average Data Teaches Us About Stock Reversals & Momentum
Stocks have been described as a rubber band, and we often assume they will snap back and revert when prices become overextended. So, we wanted to know: How likely is a security to continue or reverse its momentum above and below major moving averages in short, medium, and long-term timeframes? And does the security’s proximity to a moving average impact its performance?We researched 20 years of da
226: Does Adding a "Trend Filter" Improve Directional Option Selling Strategies?
"The trend is your friend." It’s a popular saying amongst traders, and we hear it all the time. But is there validity in the statement?We backtested directional option selling strategies with a long-term trend filter to see if there is a significant impact on performance.We used Option Alpha's backtester to review the data for SPY, GLD, and TLT short put spreads and short call spre
225: 1-Year Review of $3k Monthly Iron Condor Bot
This week we take a look at the performance of the Monthly Iron Condors ($3k Portfolio) bot template. You might recall that we previously did a deep dive on this template back on Show 214, walking through the strategy setup, the scanner and monitor automation setups, etc. But now that we’ve had it running for a little over a year, we thought it would be help to take a look at how it has weathered
224: Beginner's Guide to Trading Option Spreads
Show Notes: https://optionalpha.com/show224Option spreads are a simple and flexible, yet powerful strategy for traders. And while spread strategies come in many forms, shapes, structures, and durations, some core elements are present in spread trading generally that new traders should pay attention to. On this week's show, we'll once again slow things down a bit and focus on understandin
223: Building a Bot for All Market Conditions: The "Hexabot" Story
Show Notes: https://optionalpha.com/show223What if you could build an automated strategy that navigates all market conditions? And while we know there is no one-size-fits-all strategy, we believe you can design a bot strategy that assesses the market trend and proactively adapts to current conditions. This "trader's dream" finally manifested itself in a bot template that become the
222: A Holistic View of Option Strike Prices
Show Notes: https://optionalpha.com/show222Option strike prices are an absolutely critical concept to master if you're going to seriously trade options at any point in the future. Without a holistic and firm understanding of what strike prices are, how they work, why they are different than break-even prices, you cannot be adequately prepared to safely trade options. And therefore, because we
221: How to Setup & Trade A Synthetic Covered Call Strategy
Show Notes: https://optionalpha.com/show221Starting to trade a covered call strategy is a popular "bridge" for traditional stock traders or investors transitioning to the world of options trading. It's a logical, bolt-on options strategy that has numerous benefits over traditional long stock positions. Today's show digs in one extra level and explores the different setups and w
220: Four "Wicked-Smart" Ways to Use SmartPricing
Show Notes: https://optionalpha.com/show220In today's show, I'll walk through four clever, dare I say "wicked-smart", ways to leverage our proprietary SmartPricing technology for routing orders intelligently to the markets. If you're already trading with us at Option Alpha then you'll learn some new techniques that will help improve the efficiency of your bots and aut
219: How to Calculate Break Even Prices for Option Strategies
Show Notes: https://optionalpha.com/show219Calculating break even prices for different option strategies isn't as complicated and overwhelming as it might seem. Yes, you do need to perform some basic math functions to find different break even prices but it's certainly not rocket science. Plus, it's an invaluable concept to master because it's critical to your success as a trad
218: How to Survive Bear Markets Trading Options
Show Notes: https://optionalpha.com/show218In life there are three things that are certain; death, taxes, and bear markets. For many new options traders, the current bear market we've found ourselves in might just be your first. An inconvenient reminder that risk is present when trading, particularly when trading options. But alas, as the old saying goes, "It's just part of the game
217: Shop Talk: Autotrading Expectations, Trading Routine and Consistency, and Market Update
Show Notes: https://optionalpha.com/show217Hey everyone this is Kirk here again from optionalpha.com, working every single week to make this the most popular investing podcast offered online because it's based on one thing and one thing only and that's. . . Helping you consistently place SMARTER trades. Thank you so much again for tuning in and welcome back!
216: Shop Talk: Twitter Bid, Oil Volatility, and Strategy Selection
Show Notes: https://optionalpha.com/show216Hey everyone this is Kirk here again from optionalpha.com, working every single week to make this the most popular investing podcast offered online because it's based on one thing and one thing only and that's. . . Helping you consistently place SMARTER trades. Thank you so much again for tuning in and welcome back!
215: The 15 Trading Psychology Questions to Ask Yourself If You Don't Have a Trading Coach
Show Notes: https://optionalpha.com/show215On this week's episode, we'll present a collection of questions custom tailored for digging deep into your psychology and mindset around trading. These are questions you should ask yourself, ones that trading coach might ask you, on a recurring schedule to help uncover and keep a pulse on the potentially harmful subconscious "self-talk"
214: Build A Fully Automated Options Portfolio with $3,000 in 1-Click
Show Notes: https://optionalpha.com/show214New traders with small accounts are constantly on the hunt for option strategies that help them get started but intelligently allocate their money without blowing up. And so back on Show 159 of the podcast we outlined a framework for building an options portfolio with just $3,000 which become of our most popular episodes. But when we recorded it, almost 2
213: What I Learned From NOT Trading Last Year
Show Notes: https://optionalpha.com/show213Last year during the beta launch of the autotrading platform, I decided to take some time off from trading so that my full and undivided attention was appropriately on supporting groups of beta users during the launch of the autotrading platform. Plus, my live accounts were the proverbial "guinea pigs" for lots of critical testing and bug huntin
212: How Smart Traders Allocate Capital Efficiently Inside Their Bots
Show Notes: https://optionalpha.com/show212Allocating capital used to be a cumbersome and time-consuming process. Breaking out your calculator or excel spreadsheet to manually run risk calculations and position sizing percentages before opening new trades. That's all of course if you actually remember to check your position sizing before each new position. Now, with automated trading, smart t
211: Iron Butterfly Strategy - 8 Tips Before Your Next Trade
Show Notes: https://optionalpha.com/show211The iron butterfly strategy is a popular neutral options strategy. Plus, with their high probability and risk-defined characteristics, traders of any experience level can use in their portfolios. On this week's show we'll invest some time together and help you understand as many of the "ins and outs" of trading iron butterflies as we c
210: 12 Complex Things That Are Simple To Automate w/ Bots
Show Notes: https://optionalpha.com/show210Sometimes we don't know what we don't know. As a trader, we might have been conditioned after years of using legacy platforms to just "suck it up" and grid our way through complex and tedious tasks on a daily basis. But with automated trading, you can finally offload the things you do now (or should be doing) as a trader for bots and a
209: The Doors Are Open to Autotrading & The Next Chapter of Option Alpha
We are excited to announce that the Option Alpha platform doors are open to the trading public! This episode explains how you can get access to our new platform and what to expect when you begin autotrading. We’ll also do a deep dive on why we built the platform, what it is, what it is not, and what’s next for Option Alpha.How to Get AccessJoin the Waitlist and request an invitation.You will gain
208: The Importance of Deep Work for Traders
Show notes: https://optionalpha.com/show208The decades long evolution and growth in easily accessible brokerage platforms have created a self-reinforcing cycle of low attention span investors that are also now pulling even the deepest and most steadfast investors down the rabbit hole. Plus, the rise and popularity of meme stock investing certainly has pulled investor attention spans away from trad
207: The Option Alpha "Handbook"
Show notes: https://optionalpha.com/show207Earlier this year we officially rolled out a massive free resource for traders with our launch of The Option Alpha Handbook. No more wasting time searching endlessly across dozens of unreliable sources cluttered with ads to get answers to all your burning questions about strategies, markets, options, and so much more. We built this just for you and our go
206: Trendy Short Put Spread [Bot Talk]
Show notes: https://optionalpha.com/show206On this week's episode, I wanted to try something new and explore just a single bot template in detail together - a full and complete deep dive into the origin, strategy, automations, and decisions for one bot template. For this maiden voyage I chose the Trendy Short Put Spread bot which I believe is a great starting point for the potential series of
205: Hedging vs. Diversifying
Show notes: https://optionalpha.com/show205Often the terms hedging and diversifying are used interchangeably by traders. You might hear someone say, "You need to hedge your positions..." or, "You need to diversify your portfolio..." and in either case we understand the overarching goal as broadly the same objective; reduce risk inside a portfolio. However, the means by which yo
204: How to Intelligently Use SmartStops
Show notes: https://optionalpha.com/show204Ever wish you could intelligently use automated technology that tracked and or trailed option trades for specific exit criteria without having to watch, edit, and replace orders day after day? Not some boring, outdated Good-Til-Cancelled order or generic, static Stop-Loss order either. Well our team granted this #1 wish from our beta users months ago and
203: Interview w/ Pete Mulmat - Futures And The Small Exchange
Show notes: https://optionalpha.com/show203Futures trading is on the rise and continues to grow in popularity. The trouble has been however that for most traders getting started in futures they find it overly complex and hard to manage. Though more capital-efficient than stocks, futures contracts come with a slew of complex sizes and specifications that turn many traders away from them. Thankfully
202: 8 Popular Decision Recipes for Automated Trading
Show notes: https://optionalpha.com/show202Decision recipes use easy to read natural language to help you setup detailed instructions for your automations to follow inside a bot. These decision recipes can also be grouped and linked together into infinite combinations so you have as much flexibility and control as possible. The last few months we've seen thousands of automations created insid
201: Interview w/ Jason Goepfert of SentimenTrader.com
Show notes: https://optionalpha.com/show201This week on the podcast we finally release our much anticipated interview with Jason Goepfert of SentimenTrader.com. Inside Jason and I dive deep on investor psychology, market sentiment analysis, and discuss the concept of adjusting and managing risk exposure using sentiment as opposed to market timing. You don't want to miss this very timely and i
200: A Case Study on the Volatility of Bid-Ask Spreads
Show notes: https://optionalpha.com/show200Well today we celebrate the 200th episode of the Option Alpha Podcast. First of all, I would like to thank everyone who has made the show possible, and most importantly, you the listener who has supported us in this journey to get to 200 episodes. It's pretty incredible that we got to this stage with this podcast. I hope that you really enjoy all of
199: Automated Does Not Mean Unattended
Show notes: https://optionalpha.com/show199As automated trading starts going mainstream for retail traders, we wanted to ensure that expectations are set properly. Particularly, this includes discussing why we believe that automated trading does not mean unattended trading. To help guide and frame this conversation I invited our Chief Market Strategist, Ryan Hysmith, back on the show with me. Insi
198: State of the Union: Same Mission, Better Tools
Show notes: https://optionalpha.com/show198After a couple of months on pause for the podcast, while we focused on the beta launch of our automated trading platform, we're thrilled to be back and ready to rock and roll again. On this week's show, we'll do a mini "State of the Union" on what we've been up to, what's new, and what you can expect moving forward. We t
197: Fully Automated Trend Trading w/ Stocks Or Options
Show notes: http://optionalpha.com/show197There's a lot of research to support the usage of trend indicators as simple risk reduction elements that can be layered onto an existing strategy. The trouble, however, was that in the past investors had to monitor the trend and execute the appropriate trade reversals when the trend changed. With automation, we can now offload this simple portfolio s
196: Hedging Short Naked Puts
Show notes: http://optionalpha.com/show196Trading short naked puts (i.e. put selling or put writing) can be an effective and profitable options trading strategy. Often the attraction to naked put selling is the ability to collect premium with a margin for error if the stock drops, and have the ability to purchase stock at a discount to the current market price. The trouble comes however when the s
195: Short-Term Performance Of Long-Term Strategies
Show notes: http://optionalpha.com/show195It's well documented that not only do investors classically chase performance, ultimately yielding sub-par performance in pursuit but that they also do not have enough patience to stick with strategies long enough. My hope is that it ends today and you can elevate yourself above all this and objectively look at strategies for what their expected outco
194: Interview w/ Cameron Skinner
Show notes: http://optionalpha.com/show194This week I'm thrilled to welcome back on a very popular guest, Cameron Skinner, to the Option Alpha podcast. Way back on Show 61, Cameron and I talked at length about his consistent and religious process for trading options even though his "day job" as a real estate investor takes the majority of this focus and attention. Well, Cameron is b
193: An Automated Way To Start VIX Hedging
Show notes: http://optionalpha.com/show193One of the beautiful things about shifting to fully automated trading on the new Option Alpha platform is the ability to finally be able to clone and replicate entire trading strategies using bot templates. Bot templates allow anyone to build a trading strategy and seamlessly share the structure and details of that strategy with one-click. Today, I want to
192: Deep Dive Into Options Assignment & Exercising
Show notes: http://optionalpha.com/show192Back on Show 187 we tackled the top 15 questions we consistently get around options expiration. Today, we're taking a slightly different approach and addressing head-on the 18 biggest questions and concerns traders have around options assignment and exercising, whether on or before expiration itself. Regardless of your trading experience level, season
191: The 13 Investor Biases That Ruin Your Performance
Show notes: http://optionalpha.com/show191We're all subject to investment biases, often multiple biases working together at the same time trying subconsciously to derail us. And whether we offload the actual order execution and management to an autotrading platform or not, the human element or side of investing still impacts the decisions we make and the strategies we choose to execute or not
190: A Zillion Ways You Can Save Money To Invest
Show notes: http://optionalpha.com/show190One of the most impactful things you can do for your portfolio is add money or capital to it. A consistent and persistent schedule of funding your account, even with small amounts, gives you the added boost that compounds over time. But we all know this already don't we? So why don't we do it, or at least at a higher level than we do now? On toda
189: We're Launching The 1st Automated Trading Platform for Options
NEW Beta Site is Live: https://beta.optionalpha.comToday’s show is a massive announcement – we are officially announcing that we have our launch dates set for our new auto-trading platform. Today on the show, we’re going to answer some common questions that we've been getting around the new platform and we're also going to start going through some of the features that you are going to lo
188: Options Trading Taxes For All Traders
Show notes: http://optionalpha.com/show188Ah, taxes, a dreaded but necessary part of investing and trading. And although you might be inclined to skip this week's show, I'd encourage you to dive in because, even for me personally, this discussion helped clarify and re-solidify concepts that were mildly opaque. After all, tax concepts and terminology can get complicated fast and our goal
187: 15 Options Expiration Questions Answered
Show notes: http://optionalpha.com/show187We get a lot of questions around options expiration - hundreds and hundreds each week. Yet, the same vital few seem to float to the top consistently so we're pulling these 15 questions into this week's podcast episode to help you understand and effectively navigate options expiration. And in the off chance, we didn't answer your question dur
186: Vacation Checklist for Option Traders
Show notes: http://optionalpha.com/show186Summer vacations are in full swing and as everyone rushes to their favorite social distancing hot spot, traders are often left wondering what to do with their positions and trades while away. And since we cannot build automated and trigger-based strategies yet, though it's coming soon from Option Alpha, we wanted to help with a simple but effective ch
185: How To Execute And Fill Options Trades
Show notes: http://optionalpha.com/show185Filling option trades can often feel like pulling teeth. While some trades and orders get through easily and without issue, others are incredibly stubborn and hard to get filled. To add to your frustration, the entire order execution process appears to be just another confusing black box. There's seemingly no rhyme or reason why this trade got filled
184: Adjustments Followed By Assignment [FXI Case Study]
Show notes: http://optionalpha.com/show184Adjusting trades that move against you can be hard enough. Choosing how to adjust and when to pull the trigger complicates what otherwise was a simple trade to start with. Now, throw in an early assignment to the mix and you've got quite the convoluted option trade on your hands. Sounds daunting already doesn't it? But fear not. Complicated and c
183: The Predictive Power of Investor Sentiment
Show notes: http://optionalpha.com/show183Be fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful. This classic Buffett quote had echoed though the ranks of investors for decades. But does that data support the methodology? Does investor sentiment, which for many investors is widely considered a contrarian indicator, have enough predictive power to warrant our time and attention? In
182: Trading Psychology & Emotional Intelligence for Options Traders
Show notes: http://optionalpha.com/show182Greed, fear, FOMO, anxiety, panic, over-confident, stubbornness, impatience. These are just a few of the frequent emotional and mental states that traders find themselves in. And while we cannot avoid these emotions and thought processes, we can learn to manage them through emotional intelligence. This week's podcast was curated to help you learn how
181: Correlation Research Suggests Diversification Fails When You Need It Most
Show notes: http://optionalpha.com/show181There's an old saying in investing that a "rising tide lifts all boats." And while that might be true, when the tide goes out, all the boats sink and fall just as fast as they rose together. Still, you'll hear the pounding of drums in the name of classic diversification as the portfolio savior during these downturns. Our research sugges
180: The Best Covered Call Management Techniques
Show notes: http://optionalpha.com/show180You've got your prized covered call setup and it's working in your account - now what? How do you manage or adjust the position in different market scenarios? Lucky for you, we are going to review the best-covered call management techniques on today's podcast. And if you think this show is just for stock traders, you'd be wrong, because
179: LEAPS Option Contracts - A Complete Guide For Traders
Show notes: http://optionalpha.com/show179You've got your prized covered call setup and it's working in your account - now what? How do you manage or adjust the position in different market scenarios? Lucky for you, we are going to review the best-covered call management techniques on today's podcast. And if you think this show is just for stock traders, you'd be wrong, because
178: Box Spread Basics for Options Traders
Show notes: http://optionalpha.com/show178Box spreads and arbitrage strategies are often synonymous with one another and referenced interchangeably in the options trading community. And after all, who doesn't want a risk-free way to earn money right? But like all things that seem too good to be true, box spreads carry some serious risks if you're not careful in how you set them up. Today
177: The Trader's Guide to Index Options
Show notes: http://optionalpha.com/show177Index options have continued to grow in popularity. Potentially because they are easy to use, available in highly liquid markets, have favorable tax treatment in some cases, and offer a simple settlement process. Therefore, we've dedicated an entire show to help you understand what index options are, how they work, how they are different from equity o
176: Protective Put Strategy Researching Findings
Show Notes: http://optionalpha.com/show176Hedging stock positions can be tricky business. One of the most common schools of thought is to use a simple protective put strategy whereby a stock investor would simply purchase a long out-of-the-money put option to act as "insurance" in case the stock fell. Sounds logical but we're skeptics here at Option Alpha and so we went on a hunt to
175: The Impact of Volatility On Options
Show Notes: http://optionalpha.com/show175Stock trading is easy to understand conceptually because it's one-dimensional. Either the stock goes up or it goes down. Clear and simple, at least from a trading and profit or loss perspective. Options trading, however, is multi-dimensional. Price, time, and volatility all impact the value and price of an options contract. On today's show we&apo
174: We Stopped Trading Earnings After We Saw This New Research
Show notes: http://optionalpha.com/show174Earnings season comes around four times a year for stocks, and as traders, we've always loved the idea of trading these events for the crush in implied volatility and quick potential moves in option strategy positions. However, after analyzing 1,546 earnings events across 40 underlyings over 10 years we decided to stop trading earnings events complete
173: The Misbehavior of Markets - Exclusive Interview w/ Co-Author Richard Hudson
Show notes: http://optionalpha.com/show173We're excited and honored to have a very special guest this week on the podcast, Richard Hudson, co-founder of the London and Brussels-based Science Business Publishing Ltd. He's the co-author of The (mis)Behavior of Markets: A fractal view of risk, ruin & reward which he wrote with famed Yale/IBM mathematician Mandelbrot. Our discussion fran
172: Mastering Covered Calls (Free Audiobook)
Show Notes: http://optionalpha.com/show172This week on the podcast we're doing something a little different and turning this podcast episode into a full-blown audiobook. Today I'm recording the newest book we released entitled "Mastering Covered Calls". I encourage you to pick up your copy now, did we mention it's 100% free, and follow along as you listen to this audiobook
171: Covered Calls - Top 3 Performance Insights From New Research
Show notes: http://optionalpha.com/show171Today on the show we welcome special guest, Rob, who's the co-author on our recent research report on Covered Calls. On the show this week we go over the top three performance insights we learned from our massive study on Covered Call Performance. If you trade covered calls right now or plan on using them at any point when dealing with assigned stock,
170: The 5 Critical Factors for ANY Trading Strategy
Show notes: http://optionalpha.com/show170Factor-based strategies and trading systems are all the rage these days. We've been promoting these for many years now but it seems that more and more investors are catching on. As a result, we wanted to cover the 5 critical factors that your trading strategy should have. To us, these serve as the foundational elements for choosing which investing veh
169: Interview w/ Kevin Davitt - Former Market Maker & CBOE Senior Instructor
Show notes: http://optionalpha.com/show169This week we're very excited to share our exclusive interview with Kevin Davitt, a special guest with tons of experience not only as a former market maker, but as the Senior Instructor for The Options Institute at CBOE. As many long time listener's know, we are highly selective with people we choose to bring on as guests for interview and Kevin r
168: The 27 Biggest Options Trading Fears
Show notes: https://optionalpha.com/show168Did you know that fear has nothing to do with logical or cognitive reasoning? It's actually a completely physical response that originates in our body. We fear to be wrong because that might mean we will be alone and people will leave us, which means that we won't be part of a tribe or community, which means it'll be dangerous and we might
167: Options Trading Profit Targets - When Should You Break The Rules?
Show notes: http://optionalpha.com/show167Oh, profit targets. The double edge sword of confusion for many traders. Take profits too early and you feel like you left money on the table. Too late and you kick yourself because the trade could have moved against you. And because we've been getting so many questions on when and why we've let positions go beyond traditional profit targets, we
166: Understanding The Put Call Ratio The Right Way
Show notes: https://optionalpha.com/show166When it comes to market signals and timing indicators, the Put Call Ratio is one that naturally jumps to the top of many lists. Because the indicator looks at volume in both put and call options, the logical conclusion is that we can interpret the ratio to signal us from an impending top or possible market bottom. But, is that really the case, and if so,
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