Options trading course for beginners
Know your max loss before you tap buy.
Strikewell is a course for learning how to make money from the stock market through options trading. In eight weeks you learn what you're buying, what it costs, how each trade can go wrong, and how to size a position you can afford to lose.
Education only. No signals, no trade alerts, no promised returns.
Try it: one option, start to finish
XYZ 105 CALL · 1 contract = 100 shares · XYZ now $100
Profit or loss at expiration
- Cost to open (max loss)
- $400
- Breakeven at expiration
- $109.00
- If XYZ closes at $115
- +$600 profit+150% on the $400 you paid
You pay $400 for the right to buy 100 shares of XYZ at $105 any time until expiration. If XYZ closes at $115, the contract is worth $1,000, so you're up $600. That is a 150% return on what you paid, after the stock rose 15%.
Hypothetical example before fees and taxes. XYZ is a made-up ticker. This is not a trade recommendation.
Why this course
Options are easy to buy and hard to understand.
This is not a get-rich-quick scheme.
If that's what you're looking for, close this tab. Strikewell is for people who want to learn how options trading really works. Money in options is made over time, never instantly, and never guaranteed. It's your money on the line, so pay attention.
If you're on this page, you already know people make money trading options. What you need to learn is how.
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A small account makes options tempting
One contract controls 100 shares for a fraction of what the shares cost. That leverage works in both directions, and the course starts there.
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Your app makes it one tap
A brokerage app lets you place a trade faster than you can read the contract. You'll learn to read the contract first.
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Your feed shows the wins
A screenshot of a big gain leaves out the contracts that expired worthless. You'll learn to work out the downside of a trade yourself.
Curriculum
From “what's a call?” to a written trading plan in eight weeks.
One focus a week, a short list of what you'll cover, and one skill you walk away with. Open any week to see the detail.
Week 1Speak the language of options
Calls, puts, strike, premium. One week in, the jargon on your screen reads like plain English.
What you'll cover
- What a call and a put each give you
- Strike price, expiration, and premium
- Why one contract means 100 shares
- The four core positions that every strategy is built from
By the end you can
Read a contract like XYZ 105 Call, Nov 20 and say whether it gives you a right or an obligation.
The four core positions
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Long call Buying a call
You buy the right to buy the stock at a set strike price until expiration. Used when you are bullish and expect the price to rise.
Most you can lose: the premium you paid.
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Short call Selling a call
You take on the obligation to sell the stock at a set strike price. Used with a neutral-to-bearish outlook to collect premium income.
If you don't own the shares, the loss has no upper limit.
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Long put Buying a put
You buy the right to sell the stock at a set strike price until expiration. Used when you are bearish and expect the price to fall.
Most you can lose: the premium you paid.
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Short put Selling a put
You take on the obligation to buy the stock at a set strike price. Used to generate income or to buy a stock at a lower target price, as a cash-secured put.
Most you can lose: nearly the full strike price, if the stock goes to zero.
Week 2Read the option chain
It looks like a wall of numbers until you know which ones matter.
What is an option chain? It is the table your broker shows for a stock. It lists every call and put you can trade, sorted by expiration date and strike price, with the current price of each one.
What you'll cover
- Bid, ask, and what a wide spread costs you
- Volume and open interest
- How to spot a contract worth avoiding
- Equity options versus index options
By the end you can
Pick out a contract that trades actively, spot one to avoid, and tell an equity option from an index option.
Types based on underlying assets
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Equity options Stocks and ETFs
Based on individual stocks or exchange-traded funds (ETFs). They trade American-style, which means they can be exercised any time before expiration.
When one is exercised, 100 shares change hands.
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Index options S&P 500, VIX
Based on market indices like the S&P 500 or the VIX. They typically trade European-style, which means they can be exercised only at expiration.
They are cash-settled, so no shares change hands.
Week 3See what really moves the price
Find out why an option can lose value on a day the stock goes your way.
What moves an option's price? Mostly three things. The price of the stock, the time left until expiration, and how much the market expects the stock to swing. This week shows you how each one works.
What you'll cover
- Intrinsic value and time value
- Implied volatility
- The Greeks: delta, gamma, theta, vega
- Options beyond stocks: futures, currencies, commodities
By the end you can
Explain why an option can lose value on a day the stock goes your way, and say what futures, currency, and commodity options are based on.
More types based on underlying assets
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Futures options
Based on futures contracts, which can cover commodities, bonds, or indexes.
Exercising one gives you a futures position, not shares.
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Currency options FX
Based on exchange rates between different global currencies.
Each is priced as one currency against another, such as euros in US dollars.
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Commodity options
Based on physical goods like gold, oil, or agricultural products.
Most are options on commodity futures, so they overlap with futures options.
Week 4Place your first trades on paper
Pick a strike, pick a date, and know your breakeven and your max loss before you commit.
What you'll cover
- Payoff at expiration and breakeven
- How to choose a strike price
- How to choose an expiration date
- American-style versus European-style exercise
By the end you can
Work out max loss and breakeven before you place an order, and say when a contract can be exercised.
Types based on exercise style
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American-style
Can be exercised by the holder on any trading day from purchase until the expiration date. This is the most common style for individual stock options.
If you sold the option, you can be assigned before expiration.
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European-style
Can only be exercised on the actual expiration date.
You can still sell the contract before then. You just can't exercise it early.
Week 5Switch sides and collect premium
Sell options against shares or cash you already hold, and learn exactly what you owe in return.
What you'll cover
- Covered calls
- Cash-secured puts
- What assignment means and when it happens
- Bermudan-style and exotic options, so you recognize the terms
By the end you can
Say what you give up in exchange for the premium you collect, and recognize a Bermudan-style or exotic option when you see the term.
Less common types
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Bermudan-style
Can be exercised on specific pre-determined dates leading up to expiration.
It sits between American-style and European-style, and is mostly traded between institutions.
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Exotic options Binary, barrier, Asian
Non-standard, customized contracts traded over-the-counter (OTC), such as binary, barrier, or Asian options.
Regulators have warned about websites that sell binary options to the public.
Week 6Set your risk with spreads
Combine options so the most you can make and the most you can lose are both fixed before you enter.
What you'll cover
- Debit spreads and credit spreads
- Bull and bear call spreads, bull and bear put spreads
- Straddles and strangles
- How to match a strategy to the goal it serves
By the end you can
Build a spread and calculate both ends of it, and match a strategy to the goal it serves.
Common strategies, grouped by goal
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Income generation
Covered calls and cash-secured puts.
You met both in Week 5. You collect premium up front and take on an obligation in return.
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Speculation and directional bets
Vertical spreads (bull and bear call spreads, bull and bear put spreads), straddles, and strangles.
Vertical spreads bet on direction. Straddles and strangles bet on a big move either way.
Week 7Protect your account
Size each trade so one bad one can't sink you, and learn the hedges that limit a loss.
What you'll cover
- How much to put into a single trade
- What earnings reports do to option prices
- Early assignment and expiration day
- Protective puts, collars, and married puts
By the end you can
Set a per-trade limit that fits the size of your account, and explain how a protective put limits a loss.
Common strategies, grouped by goal
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Hedging and protection
Protective puts, collars, and married puts.
A hedge limits the loss on shares you own. It costs premium, the way insurance does.
Week 8Leave with a plan
Finish with a one-page trading plan and a paper-trading record you can judge yourself by.
What you'll cover
- A written one-page trading plan
- A trade journal you keep up
- A stretch of paper trading before any real money
- An introduction to butterflies, iron condors, and calendar spreads
By the end you can
Finish with a one-page plan and a paper-trading record to review, and recognize the common multi-leg spreads by name.
Common strategies, grouped by goal
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Volatility and complex spreads
Butterfly spreads, iron condors, iron butterflies, and calendar or diagonal spreads.
Each combines several options at once. Most are built to profit when the stock stays within a range.
How it works
Watch, do the math, then practice on paper.
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Short video lessons
Each week has a handful of lessons you can watch on your phone, at your own pace.
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A worksheet every week
You work each calculation by hand once, so the numbers in your brokerage app mean something.
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Paper-trading assignments
You practice with simulated money in a broker's paper-trading mode. You can finish the whole course without risking a dollar.
What Strikewell won't do
Plenty of trading courses sell a lifestyle. This one teaches a skill and is clear about its limits.
No signals or trade alerts
You learn to make and check your own decisions.
No promised returns
Nobody can promise them, so the course doesn't.
No winning-trade screenshots
Every example shows the loss side as well as the gain side.
No pressure to trade real money
Every assignment can be done on paper.
Who we are
Who teaches this
A group of guys, not Instagram gurus
Strikewell is made by a group of guys who have genuinely made money trading options and investing in the stock market. We aren't gurus on Instagram.
We don't care whether you buy this or not. We first made it to share with friends. Then we figured the information should reach more people, especially younger people who want to start building wealth.
FAQ
Questions people ask first
Do I need any experience?
No. Week 1 starts with what a contract is. It helps if you already know how buying a share of stock works.
What does it cost?
$99.99 a month, paid in Bitcoin. Bitcoin is the only payment method. The price is set in US dollars and converted to bitcoin when you pay.
How much money do I need to trade?
None for the course. The assignments use paper trading, so the subscription is your only cost. If you trade real money later, use only money you can afford to lose. Your broker also has to approve your account for options before you can place a trade.
Will this make me money?
No course can promise that. An option can lose its entire value quickly, and some strategies can lose more than you put in. Strikewell teaches how the contracts work and how to measure risk. What you do with that is your decision.
Is this financial advice?
No. Strikewell is general education. It doesn't know your finances and can't tell you what to buy or sell. For advice about your own situation, talk to a licensed professional.
Which broker do I need?
Any broker with a paper-trading mode works for the assignments. The lessons aren't tied to one app.
How much time does it take?
Plan on about three hours a week for eight weeks.
The math on the price
One contract can cost $400. Learning to read it costs $99.99.
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$400
What the example call option at the top of this page costs to open. It is also the most that one trade can lose.
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$99.99
One month of Strikewell, which is a quarter of that single contract.
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$0
Real money you have to risk to finish the course. Every assignment runs on paper trading.
Enrollment is open.
Your subscription covers all eight weeks of video lessons, weekly worksheets, and paper-trading assignments.
Strikewell can't promise you a return, and no course honestly can. What it can do is make sure you know your cost, your breakeven, and your worst case before real money is on the line.
$99.99per month
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Bitcoin only. The price is set in US dollars and converted to bitcoin when you pay. Education only, with no promised returns.