Tools we actually use
Free, education-only tools built from the bot's own risk rules.
Position-size calculator
1 contract
Max $ at risk: $20.00. Contracts are rounded down; if the result is 0, skip the trade.
Starter trade journal (CSV)
A blank journal with the same columns the bot logs. Opens in Excel or Google Sheets.
The full Trade Journal + Risk Calculator workbook (dashboard, ladder, daily stop) is a paid product: get it here.
The bot's risk rules
- Defined-risk spreads only
- About 1% of equity at risk per trade
- Stop for the day at -3% or 2 losses in a row
- Stop for the week at -6%
- No new entries in the first 15 minutes or around FOMC/CPI/jobs releases
- Back to paper after a 20% drawdown
Plain-English glossary
Call / put: the right to buy / sell 100 shares at a set price (the strike) before expiration.
Vertical spread: buy one option and sell another of the same type and expiration at a different strike. Caps both the loss and the gain.
Debit spread: you pay to enter. Max loss = what you paid. Credit spread: you get paid to enter. Max loss = width minus credit.
Defined risk: the most you can lose is known before you enter.
Delta, theta, vega: how an option's price reacts to the stock's move, to time passing, and to changes in volatility.
Profit factor: gross wins ÷ gross losses. Expectancy: the average result per trade. Both are meaningless on a handful of trades.
Official reading (free)
- Characteristics and Risks of Standardized Options (OCC)
- An Introduction to Options (Investor.gov, SEC)
- Options (FINRA)
Some tool links elsewhere on this site may be affiliate links. See the affiliate disclosure.