4-Week
Options Masterplan
Your structured path from options beginner to competent trader. 1-2 hours daily for sustainable success.
Week 1: The Foundation
Master Options Basics
What are Options?
- •Understand Calls vs. Puts
- •Strike, Premium, Expiration
- •ITM, ATM, OTM
- •Intrinsic vs. Time Value
Understanding the Greeks
- •Delta - Directional risk
- •Theta - Time decay
- •Gamma - Delta change
- •Vega - Volatility risk
First Practice Sessions
- •Open Paper Trading Account
- •Learn to read option chain
- •Understand Bid/Ask Spread
- •Buy 3-5 virtual Long Calls/Puts
- •Observe P/L over days
Weekly Goal:
Week 2: Basic Strategies
Learn First Income Strategies
Covered Calls
- •Strategy mechanics
- •Strike selection
- •When to roll?
- •2 Paper trades
Cash-Secured Puts
- •The "Wheel" concept
- •Delta selection (16-30)
- •Capital requirements
- •2 Paper trades
Introduction to Spreads
- •Vertical Spreads: Bull Put, Bear Call
- •Credit vs. Debit Spreads
- •Calculate Max Profit / Max Loss
- •Spread width selection
- •3-4 paper spread trades
Weekly Goal:
Week 3: Risk & Volatility
Professional Risk Management
Risk Management
- •1-2% rule per trade
- •Position sizing methods
- •50% profit / 200% loss rules
- •Portfolio allocation
Implied Volatility
- •IV vs. Historical Volatility
- •IV Rank & IV Percentile
- •IV Crush & Earnings
- •Understanding VIX
Iron Condors & Advanced
- •Iron Condor mechanics
- •Wing width and delta selection
- •Adjustment techniques
- •Apply 45 DTE rule
- •3-4 paper Iron Condors
Weekly Goal:
Week 4: Go Live!
From Paper to Real Trading
Paper Review
- •Analyze all paper trades
- •Calculate win rate
- •Best/worst trades
- •Identify mistakes
Broker & Setup
- •Choose live broker
- •Apply for options approval
- •Set starting capital
- •Write trading plan
First Live Trades
- •Start with SMALL positions
- •Max 1% risk per trade
- •Only one strategy (e.g., Put Credit Spread)
- •Journal every trade
- •2-3 conservative trades
Weekly Goal:
After 4 Weeks...
Month 2-3: Deepening
- • Master one strategy
- • Collect 20-30 trades
- • Review journal regularly
- • Slowly increase position size
Month 4-6: Expansion
- • Add second strategy
- • Different underlyings
- • Improve adjustment skills
- • Test earnings trades
Year 1+: Mastery
- • Analyze 100+ trades
- • Develop own trading style
- • Consider portfolio margin
- • Continue learning
Recommended Daily Routine
Learn & Read
Read BeInOption guides, watch videos, understand concepts
Market Analysis
Check VIX, scan underlyings, review IV Rank, calendar events
Paper Trading
Plan trades, review positions, enter new trades
Journal Update
Document trades, note thoughts, record lessons
Total: ~2 hours per day = Solid foundation for long-term success
Important Notes:
- •This plan is a guide – adjust the pace to your needs.
- •Only invest money you can afford to lose.
- •Paper trading doesn't replace real trading experience – emotions are different.
- •Consistency beats speed. Better slow and steady than fast and broke.
Ready to Start Your Journey?
Start today with Week 1 and lay the foundation for your trading success.
Learn this properly
Short lessons from the BeInOptions Academy — on exactly the questions this page raises. Free, and readable without an account.
The 4 parts of an option
Stop one on any path: the four parts of an option
Open the lesson →Which type of trader are you?
Which kind of trader you are, and which path suits it
Open the lesson →Build your own trading system
Turning what you learned into a set of rules
Open the lesson →