The Option Alpha Podcast

245: Avoiding the "Pearl Harbor" Portfolio

27 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

What if your portfolio looks diversified — but isn’t? This episode explores the concept of the “Pearl Harbor "portfolio, where hidden conce...

244: Top Trader Interviews - Jack Krupey

02 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

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 re...

243: Longtermism - The New Battle Cry for Short-Term Options Traders

26 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Short-term trading moves fast—but without a long-term mindset, it often leads to burnout, overtrading, and inconsistency. This episode explores why...

242: Checklist Before Going "Live" With Real Money

05 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Going live with real money brings realities that paper trading simply cannot replicate. In this episode, Kirk walks through the five essential things ...

241: Top Trader Interviews - Kevin

29 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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 s...

240: Thinking In Probabilities & Risk

22 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Markets rarely behave as predicted by mathematical models, and extreme events occur far more frequently than traditional models anticipate. This episo...

239: The Rise of 0DTE Options: Is It a Game-Changer for Traders?

15 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

0DTE options are transforming the way traders approach opportunity and risk. This episode breaks down why these contracts are so powerful (and popular...

238: From Developer to Options Trader - Interview w/ Jack Slocum, OA Founder

26 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

237: 0DTE Trading & Gamma Exposure - Interview w/ Mat Cashman from OIC

29 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

As an options trader, how closely should you be watching gamma and gamma exposure (GEX)? This episode will help you better understand gamma, interpret...

236: Gamma Exposure for Options Traders - Interview w/ Lex from Tradier

22 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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 dow...

235: Top Trader Interviews - FK

16 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Welcome to the Top Traders interview series, where we hear from Option Alpha community members who have delivered strong results over a meaningful num...

234: Reboot - The Comeback Tour Starts Now

09 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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), ...

233: Interview with Adam Cohn: Former Market Maker & VP – TradeStation

11 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

We're joined by Adam Cohn, Vice President and Head of Trading Operations at TradeStation, an award-winning trading platform known for its compreh...

232: Tips and Tricks for Navigating Options Expiration

07 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Show Notes: https://optionalpha.com/show232Navigating options expiration is a critical skill for traders, especially with the rise of daily expiration...

231: The 10 New Trading Psychology Challenges Emerging from Autotrading

31 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Show Notes: https://optionalpha.com/show231This week we explore the latest and most pressing challenges emerging for investors who have embraced autot...

230: An Evolutionary Perspective on Why Autotrading Will Dominate

19 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Show Notes: https://optionalpha.com/show230 This week I explore a deep and philosophical viewpoint into the world of automated trading and its inevita...

229: 15 Options Trading Questions from ChatGPT

12 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

228: Price Recovery Analysis - How Long Does It Take To Get Back To Even?

26 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

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 recov...

227: What 20-Years of Moving Average Data Teaches Us About Stock Reversals & Momentum

19 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

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...

226: Does Adding a "Trend Filter" Improve Directional Option Selling Strategies?

12 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

"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 ...

225: 1-Year Review of $3k Monthly Iron Condor Bot

05 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

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 d...

224: Beginner's Guide to Trading Option Spreads

08 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Show Notes: https://optionalpha.com/show224Option spreads are a simple and flexible, yet powerful strategy for traders. And while spread strategies co...

223: Building a Bot for All Market Conditions: The "Hexabot" Story

01 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Show Notes: https://optionalpha.com/show223What if you could build an automated strategy that navigates all market conditions? And while we know there...

222: A Holistic View of Option Strike Prices

25 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Show Notes: https://optionalpha.com/show222Option strike prices are an absolutely critical concept to master if you're going to seriously trade o...

221: How to Setup & Trade A Synthetic Covered Call Strategy

07 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Show Notes: https://optionalpha.com/show221Starting to trade a covered call strategy is a popular "bridge" for traditional stock traders or ...

220: Four "Wicked-Smart" Ways to Use SmartPricing

29 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Show Notes: https://optionalpha.com/show220In today's show, I'll walk through four clever, dare I say "wicked-smart", ways to leve...

219: How to Calculate Break Even Prices for Option Strategies

23 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Show Notes: https://optionalpha.com/show219Calculating break even prices for different option strategies isn't as complicated and overwhelming as...

218: How to Survive Bear Markets Trading Options

15 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Show Notes: https://optionalpha.com/show218In life there are three things that are certain; death, taxes, and bear markets. For many new options trade...

217: Shop Talk: Autotrading Expectations, Trading Routine and Consistency, and Market Update

05 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Show Notes: https://optionalpha.com/show217Hey everyone this is Kirk here again from optionalpha.com, working every single week to make this the most ...

216: Shop Talk: Twitter Bid, Oil Volatility, and Strategy Selection

25 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Show Notes: https://optionalpha.com/show216Hey everyone this is Kirk here again from optionalpha.com, working every single week to make this the most ...

215: The 15 Trading Psychology Questions to Ask Yourself If You Don't Have a Trading Coach

12 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Show Notes: https://optionalpha.com/show215On this week's episode, we'll present a collection of questions custom tailored for digging deep ...

214: Build A Fully Automated Options Portfolio with $3,000 in 1-Click

16 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Show Notes: https://optionalpha.com/show214New traders with small accounts are constantly on the hunt for option strategies that help them get started...

213: What I Learned From NOT Trading Last Year

01 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Show Notes: https://optionalpha.com/show213Last year during the beta launch of the autotrading platform, I decided to take some time off from trading ...

212: How Smart Traders Allocate Capital Efficiently Inside Their Bots

22 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Show Notes: https://optionalpha.com/show212Allocating capital used to be a cumbersome and time-consuming process. Breaking out your calculator or exce...

211: Iron Butterfly Strategy - 8 Tips Before Your Next Trade

07 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Show Notes: https://optionalpha.com/show211The iron butterfly strategy is a popular neutral options strategy. Plus, with their high probability and ri...

210: 12 Complex Things That Are Simple To Automate w/ Bots

31 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Show Notes: https://optionalpha.com/show210Sometimes we don't know what we don't know. As a trader, we might have been conditioned after yea...

209: The Doors Are Open to Autotrading & The Next Chapter of Option Alpha

18 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

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 n...

208: The Importance of Deep Work for Traders

13 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Show notes: https://optionalpha.com/show208The decades long evolution and growth in easily accessible brokerage platforms have created a self-reinforc...

207: The Option Alpha "Handbook"

16 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Show notes: https://optionalpha.com/show207Earlier this year we officially rolled out a massive free resource for traders with our launch of The Optio...

206: Trendy Short Put Spread [Bot Talk]

11 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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...

205: Hedging vs. Diversifying

02 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Show notes: https://optionalpha.com/show205Often the terms hedging and diversifying are used interchangeably by traders. You might hear someone say, &...

204: How to Intelligently Use SmartStops

26 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Show notes: https://optionalpha.com/show204Ever wish you could intelligently use automated technology that tracked and or trailed option trades for sp...

203: Interview w/ Pete Mulmat - Futures And The Small Exchange

19 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Show notes: https://optionalpha.com/show203Futures trading is on the rise and continues to grow in popularity. The trouble has been however that for m...

202: 8 Popular Decision Recipes for Automated Trading

12 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Show notes: https://optionalpha.com/show202Decision recipes use easy to read natural language to help you setup detailed instructions for your automat...

201: Interview w/ Jason Goepfert of SentimenTrader.com

05 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Show notes: https://optionalpha.com/show201This week on the podcast we finally release our much anticipated interview with Jason Goepfert of SentimenT...

200: A Case Study on the Volatility of Bid-Ask Spreads

01 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

199: Automated Does Not Mean Unattended

14 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Show notes: https://optionalpha.com/show199As automated trading starts going mainstream for retail traders, we wanted to ensure that expectations are ...

198: State of the Union: Same Mission, Better Tools

07 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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 tra...

197: Fully Automated Trend Trading w/ Stocks Or Options

22 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Show notes: http://optionalpha.com/show197There's a lot of research to support the usage of trend indicators as simple risk reduction elements th...

196: Hedging Short Naked Puts

19 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Show notes: http://optionalpha.com/show196Trading short naked puts (i.e. put selling or put writing) can be an effective and profitable options tradin...

195: Short-Term Performance Of Long-Term Strategies

15 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Show notes: http://optionalpha.com/show195It's well documented that not only do investors classically chase performance, ultimately yielding sub-...

194: Interview w/ Cameron Skinner

13 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Show notes: http://optionalpha.com/show194This week I'm thrilled to welcome back on a very popular guest, Cameron Skinner, to the Option Alpha po...

193: An Automated Way To Start VIX Hedging

09 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Show notes: http://optionalpha.com/show193One of the beautiful things about shifting to fully automated trading on the new Option Alpha platform is th...

192: Deep Dive Into Options Assignment & Exercising

06 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Show notes: http://optionalpha.com/show192Back on Show 187 we tackled the top 15 questions we consistently get around options expiration. Today, we&ap...

191: The 13 Investor Biases That Ruin Your Performance

29 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Show notes: http://optionalpha.com/show191We're all subject to investment biases, often multiple biases working together at the same time trying ...

190: A Zillion Ways You Can Save Money To Invest

15 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

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 a...

189: We're Launching The 1st Automated Trading Platform for Options

06 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

NEW Beta Site is Live: https://beta.optionalpha.comToday’s show is a massive announcement – we are officially announcing that we have our launch d...

188: Options Trading Taxes For All Traders

10 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Show notes: http://optionalpha.com/show188Ah, taxes, a dreaded but necessary part of investing and trading. And although you might be inclined to skip...

187: 15 Options Expiration Questions Answered

03 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Show notes: http://optionalpha.com/show187We get a lot of questions around options expiration - hundreds and hundreds each week. Yet, the same vital f...

186: Vacation Checklist for Option Traders

27 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Show notes: http://optionalpha.com/show186Summer vacations are in full swing and as everyone rushes to their favorite social distancing hot spot, trad...

185: How To Execute And Fill Options Trades

20 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Show notes: http://optionalpha.com/show185Filling option trades can often feel like pulling teeth. While some trades and orders get through easily and...

184: Adjustments Followed By Assignment [FXI Case Study]

13 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Show notes: http://optionalpha.com/show184Adjusting trades that move against you can be hard enough. Choosing how to adjust and when to pull the trigg...

183: The Predictive Power of Investor Sentiment

06 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Show notes: http://optionalpha.com/show183Be fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful. This classic Buffett quote had echoed...

182: Trading Psychology & Emotional Intelligence for Options Traders

29 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Show notes: http://optionalpha.com/show182Greed, fear, FOMO, anxiety, panic, over-confident, stubbornness, impatience. These are just a few of the fre...

181: Correlation Research Suggests Diversification Fails When You Need It Most

18 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Show notes: http://optionalpha.com/show181There's an old saying in investing that a "rising tide lifts all boats." And while that might...

180: The Best Covered Call Management Techniques

20 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

179: LEAPS Option Contracts - A Complete Guide For Traders

15 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

178: Box Spread Basics for Options Traders

09 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Show notes: http://optionalpha.com/show178Box spreads and arbitrage strategies are often synonymous with one another and referenced interchangeably in...

177: The Trader's Guide to Index Options

22 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Show notes: http://optionalpha.com/show177Index options have continued to grow in popularity. Potentially because they are easy to use, available in h...

176: Protective Put Strategy Researching Findings

15 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

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...

175: The Impact of Volatility On Options

08 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Show Notes: http://optionalpha.com/show175Stock trading is easy to understand conceptually because it's one-dimensional. Either the stock goes up...

174: We Stopped Trading Earnings After We Saw This New Research

31 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Show notes: http://optionalpha.com/show174Earnings season comes around four times a year for stocks, and as traders, we've always loved the idea ...

173: The Misbehavior of Markets - Exclusive Interview w/ Co-Author Richard Hudson

27 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Show notes: http://optionalpha.com/show173We're excited and honored to have a very special guest this week on the podcast, Richard Hudson, co-fou...

172: Mastering Covered Calls (Free Audiobook)

21 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Show Notes: http://optionalpha.com/show172This week on the podcast we're doing something a little different and turning this podcast episode into...

171: Covered Calls - Top 3 Performance Insights From New Research

14 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

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 C...

170: The 5 Critical Factors for ANY Trading Strategy

31 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Show notes: http://optionalpha.com/show170Factor-based strategies and trading systems are all the rage these days. We've been promoting these for...

169: Interview w/ Kevin Davitt - Former Market Maker & CBOE Senior Instructor

30 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Show notes: http://optionalpha.com/show169This week we're very excited to share our exclusive interview with Kevin Davitt, a special guest with t...

168: The 27 Biggest Options Trading Fears

01 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Show notes: https://optionalpha.com/show168Did you know that fear has nothing to do with logical or cognitive reasoning? It's actually a complete...

167: Options Trading Profit Targets - When Should You Break The Rules?

24 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Show notes: http://optionalpha.com/show167Oh, profit targets. The double edge sword of confusion for many traders. Take profits too early and you feel...

166: Understanding The Put Call Ratio The Right Way

18 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Show notes: https://optionalpha.com/show166When it comes to market signals and timing indicators, the Put Call Ratio is one that naturally jumps to th...

165: Trading Options? Here Are The 11 "Golden Rules" To Follow

07 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Show notes: https://optionalpha.com/show165Personally, I don't like rules. Mostly because I value freedom and flexibility so when someone says th...

164: The 2 Major Problems With Buying Options During Low IV Markets

30 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Show notes: http://optionalpha.com/show164Since we are option sellers and our edge comes from selling overpriced options out into maturity it's n...

163: The 5 Month "Grind" Following XLE Short Put Option Assignment

27 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Show notes: http://optionalpha.com/show163This was a long trade. Maybe not the longest trade we've been involved in, but certainly one of the top...

162: The Top 8 Investor Biases That Cloud Our Judgement When Trading

29 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Show notes: http://optionalpha.com/show162It might seem that the markets are a game of price, and while that might be mostly true, what they are is re...

161: Interview w/ Kevin Smith & Tavi Costa of Crescat Capital

22 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Show notes: http://optionalpha.com/show161As many of our long-time listeners know, over the years I've become increasingly protective and selecti...

160: Option Alpha's New Auto-Trading Platform Updates

16 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Show notes: http://optionalpha.com/show160Newest platform updates.

159: How To Build An Options Portfolio With Just $3,000

24 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Show notes: http://optionalpha.com/show159This podcast is a long-time coming but one that needed to be done because we get a lot of questions from new...

158: What Should We Do About This Losing Option Trade? First, Trust The Process

21 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Show notes: http://optionalpha.com/show158Somewhere, possibly from another planet, this notion of trading options with a high probability of success t...

157: The Untold Story Of The 3 Little Pigs That Traded Options

19 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Show notes: http://optionalpha.com/show157A couple of weeks ago I was reading the story of the three little pigs to my daughters. And for some reason,...

156: The 4 Market Situations You Should Avoid Aggressively Trading

06 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Show notes: http://optionalpha.com/show156Many of our members understand the best times to trade options (i.e. higher IV setups when option premiums a...

155: Ask Yourself These 7 Questions Before You Put On An Options Trade

17 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Show notes: http://optionalpha.com/show155Everyone loves a good options trading checklist right? Well, here are the 7 questions you should ask yoursel...

154: The 17 Most Asked Questions By Option Alpha Members w/ Answers

13 Feb 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Show notes: http://optionalpha.com/show154We get a lot of emails each day - I'm talking hundreds of emails. Naturally, seeing so many questions a...

153: TLT Iron Butterfly & Covered Call Walk-Thru

07 Feb 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Show notes: http://optionalpha.com/show153Assignment for some traders can be scary and cause them to freeze up or throw in the towel. On today's ...

152: Short Straddle Or Short Iron Butterfly?

21 Jan 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Show notes: http://optionalpha.com/show152You're looking at a great setup for a neutral trade, but which neutral strategy do you use? Short strad...

151: Adjusting Short Straddles For $540 Profit (EWZ Case Study)

16 Jan 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Show notes: http://optionalpha.com/show151All over the internet, you'll hear stories of why short straddles and short strangles should be avoided...

150: How To Manage Your Money & Generate Wealth The Right Way

21 Dec 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Show notes: http://optionalpha.com/show150As much as I love options trading and following the financial markets, I enjoy the challenge and process of ...

149: Assigned Option Contract Case Study In Gold ETF GLD

10 Dec 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Show notes: http://optionalpha.com/show149For some reason, many traders fear being assigned option contracts as part of an option strategy. Maybe it&a...

148: The 5x2 Trading Psychology Matrix

28 Nov 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Show notes: http://optionalpha.com/show148No system is perfect. No trader is perfect. You will have losing trades. But it's how you react to thos...

147: Interview w/ Former CBOE Options Market Maker David Lincoln

08 Nov 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Show notes: http://optionalpha.com/show147Did you ever wonder what an options market maker is thinking or how they see the markets and regular traders...

146: Are You Making These 11 Common Options Strategy Mistakes?

17 Oct 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Show notes: http://optionalpha.com/show146If you trade options and are struggling to find consistency or profitability it's likely because you ar...