Let me be honest with you: 2025 started with one of the most brutal drawdowns I've experienced in my entire options trading career. If you've been following my trades on this website, you already know the pain. Both my SPY Put Credit Spread strategy and my Zero DTE SPX Iron Butterfly strategy took devastating losses in the first quarter—losses that completely wiped out the previous year's gains and then some.
For years, I've shared my actual trades publicly on this website. Full transparency has always been a cornerstone of Options Cafe—no cherry-picked winners, no hindsight trading, just the real results from real money. Course members already receive real-time email alerts whenever I open or close a position on my other strategies.
If you've been following my real-time trade alerts through the Options Cafe course, you've probably noticed something strange over the past few months: my once-clockwork stream of Zero DTE SPX Iron Butterflies trades has turned into a trickle, and the few I have taken sometimes look nothing like the rigid rule set I teach in the course.
Like many aspiring investors, I started my journey by trying to grow my wealth through stock investing, inspired by the strategies of Warren Buffett. At around age 21, I made my first stock trades. But there was a catch: I didn’t have much money, and the idea of waiting decades to see my wealth compound wasn’t appealing.
Introduction Ever tried to learn options trading through scattered online resources like YouTube videos and ended up more confused than a chameleon in a bag of Skittles? You’re not alone. While the internet is a treasure trove of information, sorting through it to find valuable trading education can feel like searching for a needle in a haystack—without the haystack.
Day trading options can be a lucrative venture for traders who understand the intricacies of the options market. Unlike the typical buy-and-hold strategy, day trading involves quick decision-making and strategic planning to capitalize on short-term movements in the market.
Deciding between SPX and SPY for your investments? The key difference lies in SPX being a non-tradable index and SPY a tradable ETF. Our guide focuses on the distinct trading dynamics and opportunities each presents, helping clarify which might suit your strategy without overwhelming you with the finer points reserved for our in-depth exploration of “spx vs spy”.
The Options Wheel Strategy is a methodical approach to options trading that combines both income generation and potential stock ownership in a seamless cycle.
If you’re shorting stocks, there’s a way you can do it while protecting your upside risk. Using an option spread, the short stock position will be protected during the lifetime of the derivatives. The strategy can also earn a small amount of income at the outset of the trade. Here’s a rundown on using short collars.
Options trading can often seem like a complex maze, but one strategy stands out for those with a bullish outlook on the market: the bull put credit spread. This multi-leg, risk-defined strategy has limited profit potential but can significantly benefit from an increase in the underlying asset's price before expiration.
