FAQ
Questions worth answering plainly.
These are the questions I hear most often. I've tried to answer them the way I'd answer them in person — directly, without softening the parts that need to be said.
The course
What is this course?
It's a live, in-person (Zoom™) options trading course built around one goal: using options as a consistent income stream. That income might be supplementary — something that enhances what a stock portfolio already does for you. For some students, over time, it becomes a primary income. Both are legitimate outcomes. The curriculum covers the mechanics, the mindset, and the system — in that order. Mechanics without mindset is just information. Mindset without a system is just motivation. All three together is what makes it stick.
Who is the ideal student?
Someone who has been in the stock market for at least six months, understands how stocks work, has a brokerage account open, and is genuinely ready to learn something new rather than just validate what they already think. Prior options experience is not required. What is required is a serious commitment to learning a structured, rules-based approach — and the patience to practice it before expecting results.
Who is this course not for?
Anyone looking for a get-rich-quick scheme. Anyone who wants trade signals or alerts to copy. Anyone who expects passive income with no active management. Anyone with no stock market background at all — the course builds on foundational investing knowledge and cannot substitute for it. And anyone who isn't willing to dedicate consistent time and effort to learning and practicing a new skill.
What is the format?
All sessions are live and in-person via Zoom™. There are no recordings. Classes meet once or twice a week, with each session running approximately one to one and a half hours. The full curriculum spans seven sessions, with up to three additional sessions available if the group needs more time for clarification or practice. Every session includes homework — expect to spend one to two hours between classes on exercises designed to ground the concepts in real application. Students also receive up to thirty minutes of one-on-one time with me to work through their first trades on their own platform.
How does this compare to free resources on YouTube?
Free resources from brokers like Schwab and Fidelity, or quality educators on YouTube, are genuinely useful and I recommend them. Most all of them are free and some, like ones on Udemy, cost as little as $50. I encourage you to explore those courses for sure. The gap isn't information — the fundamentals of options are widely documented. The gap is in consistent, disciplined application. Knowing what a covered call is and knowing how to build a repeatable income practice with it are two different things. This course focuses on the second part, in a live setting where questions can be answered in real time and concepts can be pressure-tested by the group.
Getting started
Is prior options experience required?
No. The curriculum is designed to teach options from the ground up. What you do need is a working knowledge of the stock market — how stocks work, what a brokerage account is, how to read a basic ticker. If you're brand new to investing entirely, I'd recommend getting six months of stock market experience before applying. Options build on that foundation. Trying to skip it tends to be expensive.
How much capital do I need?
Options are traded in contracts, and each contract represents 100 shares of the underlying stock. A practical starting point is $10,000 to $25,000, which allows you to work with three to five positions and learn position management without being overexposed in any one trade. You can begin with less — some students start with a single position — but the key principle is the same regardless of portfolio size: start small, build confidence, scale gradually. Never use capital you can't afford to lose. Most brokers also require a $25,000 minimum for pattern day trading — which generally means making more than three trades in a week. Check with your broker to understand their specific requirements.
Is a special brokerage account needed?
Yes — your account needs to be approved for options trading. Most major brokers (Schwab, Fidelity, E*TRADE, Interactive Brokers) offer this via a structured approval process. Depending on the strategies you want to trade, the level of options trading approval you need will differ. The exact approval levels vary by broker — work with yours to confirm what's required.
What software or tools are required?
Nothing beyond a computer, a reliable internet connection, and an account with any mainstream brokerage. The platforms provided by Schwab, Fidelity, E*TRADE, and Interactive Brokers (IBKR) include everything needed — options chains, screeners, and order management. The course includes instruction on how to use the key features of these platforms as part of the curriculum.
Content & philosophy
What specific topics does the curriculum cover?
The curriculum starts with charting and market-reading before touching a single options strategy. I would like every one of my students to be familiar with the principles of charting before they can move to options trading. Learning to read a chart is a lifelong endeavor. I am happy to initiate my students into the wonderful world of charting — you can continue to learn and hone your skills long after the course ends. From there it moves into the fundamentals of options — what they are, how they're priced, the key sensitivities — and then into the income strategies themselves: covered calls, cash-secured puts, and the wheel. The final sessions cover trade management, risk management, and the trading mindset. The course is designed to build a complete framework, not a collection of isolated tactics.
Will the course provide stock picks or trade signals?
No. This course does not recommend specific stocks to own or trade on, and it does not issue trade alerts or signals of any kind. The goal is to teach you how to evaluate and select positions yourself using your own rules and criteria. Dependence on someone else's signals is not a skill — it's a subscription. The course teaches the skill.
What strategies will I learn as part of this course?
The focus of this course will be on mastering the foundational income strategies with options trading. A solid foundation is more valuable than a shallow understanding of ten different strategies. The principles you learn here will give you the framework to approach more complex strategies on your own when you're ready.
Is this a trading course or an investing course?
Trading, mostly. Some strategies could supplement your investment strategy — they're used by long-term investors to generate income from stocks they already own or intend to hold. But the active work of selecting positions, managing trades, and making decisions about when to roll or close involves real-time judgment that looks a lot like trading. The course treats it as a tactical skill applied in service of a long-term investing objective. It is not a day trading course. I do not recommend intraday trading and the course will not address any part of it.
What is the single most important lesson?
Discipline. Not discipline as an abstract virtue — discipline as the specific, practiced ability to follow your rules when the market is doing everything it can to make you abandon them. The market is designed to provoke emotional responses. Fear and greed are the default. A rules-based system doesn't eliminate those feelings, but it gives you a structure to act rationally inside of them. That structure is ultimately more valuable than any individual strategy.
Risk & expectations
Is there risk? Can I lose money?
Yes, and yes. There is no risk-free trading strategy. Anyone who tells you otherwise is selling something you should not buy. The option trade itself has a defined profit — the premium received — but the overall position can lose money if the underlying stock declines. The course teaches risk management techniques, but the core risk of trading cannot be eliminated. It can only be understood, sized appropriately, and managed with discipline.
What returns can realistically be expected?
Online forums often show figures of exorbitant returns from options trading. These are misleading. They're typically achieved by taking on excessive risk with highly volatile stocks, or calculated in ways that ignore losses or portfolio performance. A realistic and sustainable target for premium income from a conservative options strategy is possible — on top of any dividends or capital appreciation. That range varies with your knowledge, consistency, the choices you make, and market conditions. The course focuses on building toward that range repeatably, not chasing outliers.
What are the tax implications?
All income from options trading is subject to standard taxation. How you're taxed depends on whether you trade in a regular brokerage account or a retirement account, the choice of instruments you trade, your holding periods, and your overall tax situation. Only a qualified CPA can advise you on your specific circumstances. This course does not offer tax advice of any kind.
How much time does managing a portfolio take after the course?
It depends on how actively you manage your positions. A conservative approach with monthly review might require one to two hours per month. A more active approach might take thirty minutes a day. Most students find they land somewhere in between. The returns you generate will, to some extent, reflect the time and attention you bring to it. This is not a passive income strategy — active oversight is part of the system.
Does the course guarantee an income stream?
No. The course guarantees comprehensive instruction in options trading and the strategies covered in the curriculum. Translating that knowledge into a consistent income stream depends on your focus, discipline, risk management, and consistent application over time. Those are your variables, not mine to control. What I can do is give you a framework that works — what you do with it is yours.
Still have questions?
The application is short. I read every one personally and will be in touch directly.
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