Strategy Reports

Long-form research from The Option Premium. Full trade frameworks, probability math, risk analysis, and real setups dissected step by step. Deeper than the weekly newsletter.

How I Use RSI, Volatility, and Breadth to Time Our Trades

Nov 1, 2026

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7 min read

How I Use RSI, Volatility, and Breadth to Time Our Trades

The three-pillar timing system for premium sellers: RSI extremes, IV Rank above 40, and breadth confirmation, with a fully worked bear call setup.

Andrew Crowder

Why Expected Move Is the Most Underrated Tool in an Options Trader’s Playbook

Nov 1, 2026

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6 min read

Why Expected Move Is the Most Underrated Tool in an Options Trader’s Playbook

The expected move is the range the market already prices. How to read it from the straddle, scale it to the true 68 percent band, and place strikes with it.

Andrew Crowder

What Academic Researchers Discovered About Options Trading Will Change How You Trade

Oct 29, 2026

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6 min read

What Academic Researchers Discovered About Options Trading Will Change How You Trade

Two Ratios. One Edge. How University Research Revealed a Market Timing Advantage Most Traders Miss

Andrew Crowder

Laddering Monthly Income with Poor Man's Covered Calls

Oct 27, 2026

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7 min read

Laddering Monthly Income with Poor Man's Covered Calls

One deep LEAPS anchor, staggered short calls, five portfolio sleeves: the laddered PMCC framework behind Wealth Without Shares, with honest cost math.

Andrew Crowder

Risk-Free Iron Condor? How to Trade Nvidia (NVDA) Using the Jade Lizard Strategy

Oct 25, 2026

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6 min read

Risk-Free Iron Condor? How to Trade Nvidia (NVDA) Using the Jade Lizard Strategy

A jade lizard case study on NVDA: $1.32 collected against a $1 spread, zero upside risk with a $32 floor, and CSP-style risk only below $78.68.

Andrew Crowder

Scientists Analyzed 2.4 Million Options Trades, What They Found Changes Everything

Oct 20, 2026

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7 min read

Scientists Analyzed 2.4 Million Options Trades, What They Found Changes Everything

A landmark options study found crash protection persistently overpriced: implied down correlation 0.72 versus 0.53 realized. The premium seller's translation.

Andrew Crowder

Delta, Gamma, Vega, Theta: The Only Greeks You Actually Need to Know

Oct 18, 2026

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6 min read

Delta, Gamma, Vega, Theta: The Only Greeks You Actually Need to Know

The four Greeks that matter, explained without the academic fog: delta as probability, gamma's danger zone, vega and the IV crush, and theta's paycheck.

Andrew Crowder

How to Read (and Use) IV Rank and IV Percentile Without Getting Confused

Oct 18, 2026

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6 min read

How to Read (and Use) IV Rank and IV Percentile Without Getting Confused

IV rank and IV percentile are not interchangeable, and they can sit 68 points apart on the same day. What each measures, when they disagree, and how to trade both.

Andrew Crowder

Building a Recession-Resistant Portfolio with Poor Man’s Covered Calls

Oct 13, 2026

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7 min read

Building a Recession-Resistant Portfolio with Poor Man’s Covered Calls

Build a recession-resistant Poor Man's Covered Call portfolio: the stocks that held up in five downturns, the allocation, execution rules, and honest limits.

Andrew Crowder

Liquidity: The Lifeblood of Options Trading

Oct 11, 2026

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6 min read

Liquidity: The Lifeblood of Options Trading

The same credit spread pays $10 of friction in SPY and $120 in an illiquid look-alike. The friction ledger, the four filters, and the honest nuances.

Andrew Crowder

The Daily Options Trader Checklist: A Proven Framework for High-Probability Trades

Oct 11, 2026

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6 min read

The Daily Options Trader Checklist: A Proven Framework for High-Probability Trades

A professional daily scan for options traders: IV Rank and Percentile, put/call extremes, layered RSI, setup clusters, and matching strategy to the regime.

Andrew Crowder

Dividend Aristocrats + PMCC: Blue-Chip Income, 25% of the Capital

Oct 8, 2026

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7 min read

Dividend Aristocrats + PMCC: Blue-Chip Income, 25% of the Capital

The ~15 liquid Aristocrats, the two-leg LEAPS recipe, a fully worked Walmart example, the honest cost ledger, and the ex-dividend risk nobody warns you about.

Andrew Crowder

Look in the Mirror: Why Your Biggest Trading Edge Is You

Oct 6, 2026

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6 min read

Look in the Mirror: Why Your Biggest Trading Edge Is You

Same strategy, same win rate: discipline earns $15 a trade while self-sabotage loses $64. The psychology of options trading, priced in real dollars.

Andrew Crowder

Delta Hedging Explained: Manage Risk Without Picking a Side

Oct 4, 2026

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7 min read

Delta Hedging Explained: Manage Risk Without Picking a Side

What delta measures, the sign rule that trips up almost everyone, a full beta-weighted portfolio worked to one number, and the honest cost of neutral.

Andrew Crowder

The Staggered Iron Condor: A Sturdier Way to Sell Premium

Oct 4, 2026

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5 min read

The Staggered Iron Condor: A Sturdier Way to Sell Premium

Stop selling both condor sides in the same minute: staggered entries, rules-based triggers, a laddered book, and the honest costs promoters never itemize.

Andrew Crowder

Is Inflation Here to Stay? How to Profit with Poor Man’s Covered Calls on Gold

Oct 1, 2026

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6 min read

Is Inflation Here to Stay? How to Profit with Poor Man’s Covered Calls on Gold

Maximize returns with minimal capital: a step-by-step Poor Man's Covered Call on GLD, with the full ledger, the financing bill nobody itemizes, and every number visible at entry.

Andrew Crowder

Selling Lottery Tickets: The Art of High-Probability Options Strategies

Sep 29, 2026

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5 min read

Selling Lottery Tickets: The Art of High-Probability Options Strategies

How to Sell Premium, Manage Risk, and Profit from Market Consolidation with High-Probability Options Strategies

Andrew Crowder

The Final Checklist: 6 Gates Before Every Options Trade

Sep 27, 2026

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5 min read

The Final Checklist: 6 Gates Before Every Options Trade

A systematic pre-trade checklist for options traders: IV Rank, sizing, exits, context, liquidity, and the 100-trades question, with the numbers attached.

Andrew Crowder

Why I Rarely Buy a Stock at Its Current Price: The Smarter Way to Invest

Sep 27, 2026

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5 min read

Why I Rarely Buy a Stock at Its Current Price: The Smarter Way to Invest

Selling cash-secured puts pays you to wait for your price. Real AMD math, a 15.5 percent discount, and the one scenario where a limit order honestly wins.

Andrew Crowder

10 Essential Principles Every Successful Options Trader Should Master

Sep 24, 2026

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6 min read

10 Essential Principles Every Successful Options Trader Should Master

A Practical Guide to the Core Concepts Every Options Trader Must Understand to Succeed in Today’s Market

Andrew Crowder

Mastering the Iron Condor: A Step-by-Step Guide to a Defined-Risk Options Strategy

Sep 22, 2026

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7 min read

Mastering the Iron Condor: A Step-by-Step Guide to a Defined-Risk Options Strategy

The complete iron condor guide: set strikes with the expected move, a fully priced SPY example where every number reconciles, and three management rules.

Andrew Crowder

The SPY Collar, Step by Step: How to Lock In Gains and Limit Risk Without Selling Your Position

Sep 20, 2026

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6 min read

The SPY Collar, Step by Step: How to Lock In Gains and Limit Risk Without Selling Your Position

A step-by-step SPY collar walkthrough: sell the call, buy the put, price the band, and finance the hedge, with every trade-off stated honestly.

Andrew Crowder

Lessons from Past Panics: What Three Historical Volatility Spikes Actually Taught Options Sellers

Jul 30, 2026

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8 min read

Lessons from Past Panics: What Three Historical Volatility Spikes Actually Taught Options Sellers

Dot-com, 2008, and COVID all rewarded disciplined premium sellers. The honest lessons, including what the highlight reel omits about Buffett's trade.

Andrew Crowder

How to Use RSI to Time Options Trades (Without Fooling Yourself)

Jul 28, 2026

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8 min read

How to Use RSI to Time Options Trades (Without Fooling Yourself)

RSI works just often enough to fool you. How RSI(2), RSI(7), and RSI(14) together, plus the expected move, time credit spreads without demanding precision.

Andrew Crowder

How to Build an Options Portfolio: A Job-Based Allocation Framework

Jun 14, 2026

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15 min read

How to Build an Options Portfolio: A Job-Based Allocation Framework

A job-based framework for allocating capital across options strategies. Five core jobs, two dials, three scenario builds for real portfolios.

Andrew Crowder