Every professional has a checklist. Pilots, surgeons, engineers — they don't wing it, and neither should you.

Here are the 7 things I check before EVERY options trade:

1. What's my thesis?

Bullish, bearish, or neutral — and WHY. "I think it'll go up" isn't a thesis. "AAPL broke above the 200 DMA on heavy volume with earnings in 3 weeks" is.

2. What's the IV Rank?

Below 30 = buy premium. Above 50 = sell premium. Between 30-50 = be selective.

3. What's my max risk?

In dollars, not percentages. If I can't stomach losing this amount, the position is too big.

4. Am I following the 1-2% rule?

Max risk per trade = 1-2% of total account. No exceptions. No "this one is different."

5. Where's my stop loss?

50% of premium for long options. 2x credit received for short options. Or a technical level that invalidates the thesis.

6. What's my profit target?

50% of max profit for credit trades. 100%+ for debit trades. Take profits early — pigs get slaughtered.

7. Any earnings or events before expiration?

If yes, am I positioned for the volatility? Do I want to hold through, or close before?

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Print this. Tape it to your monitor. Run through it every single time.

The traders who survive aren't the smartest — they're the most disciplined.

Full breakdown of risk management + trade structures in The Options Playbook. One-time $29. Link on the page. 🎯

Save this. Reference it before every trade.

BUY options when:

• IV Rank is LOW (below 30th percentile)

• You expect a BIG move (earnings, catalyst, breakout)

• You want defined risk with leverage

• You're trading directionally with conviction

SELL options when:

• IV Rank is HIGH (above 50th percentile)

• You expect the stock to stay in a range

• You want time decay working FOR you

• You want higher probability setups (60-70%+ win rate)

The simple framework:

Simple doesn't mean easy — but having a framework beats winging it every single time.

The full breakdown is in The Options Playbook. 📖

Most people lose money trading options — not because options are risky, but because they skip the fundamentals and jump straight into YOLO plays.

Here are the 3 mistakes I see over and over:

1. Buying OTM weeklies as your first trade

Yeah, the premium is cheap. But you're buying a lottery ticket with a 90%+ chance of expiring worthless. Start with 30-45 DTE, closer to the money.

2. Ignoring implied volatility

You buy calls right before earnings, IV is at the 95th percentile... stock goes up 3% and your calls still lose money. Why? IV crush. The volatility premium you paid for evaporated overnight.

Always check IV rank before entering. If it's above 50, think about selling premium instead of buying it.

3. No stop loss, no position sizing

If you can't tell me your max loss before you enter a trade, you're gambling. Period.

The 1-2% rule: never risk more than 2% of your account on a single trade. If your $10K account can only stomach a $200 loss, that's 1 contract of a $2.00 option. That's it.

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I just dropped a full playbook covering all of this — options fundamentals, the Greeks, trade structures, risk management, and how to build a repeatable edge.

$29 one-time. No subscription. No upsell. Just the playbook.

Link is on the page. 🎯