Going live with real money brings realities that paper trading simply cannot replicate. In this episode, Kirk walks through the five essential things every trader should understand and consider before transitioning from paper trading to live trading.

From the limitations of paper trading to the execution challenges of real markets, we explain why strict expectations, conservative assumptions, and a solid understanding of liquidity are crucial.

Kirk also breaks down how to prepare for in-the-money positions, why orders don’t always become fills, and why keeping your Option Alpha and brokerage accounts aligned is so important. Plus, an important reminder that the hardest part of live trading is sticking to your strategy when emotions flare.

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In this interview, Kirk sits down with Kevin, a long-time Option Alpha member who began trading in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis. Kevin shares how he turned his small beginnings into a consistent, structured approach that scales with his portfolio.

Kevin details how he spent years learning before placing his first options trade and how those early experiences shaped his disciplined, rules-based philosophy. He explains how he uses position sizing, trend, and DTE selection to create repeatable setups in the corresponding position type.

Kevin also walks through how automation, weekly reviews, and a focus on process over prediction helped him build consistency through market downturns, quiet periods, and personal setbacks.

Kevin enters each week with a plan and relies on automation to execute that plan to reduce noise and stay aligned with his long-term goals.

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Markets rarely behave as predicted by mathematical models, and extreme events occur far more frequently than traditional models anticipate. This episode explains why understanding probabilities, fat tails, and risk is essential for long-term success.

We also explore how traders can build more resilient systems by focusing on recovery time, appropriate position sizing, and avoiding strategies vulnerable to black swan events. Discover why win rate alone can be misleading, and how expected value offers a more realistic framework for navigating uncertainty.

Plus, Kirk shares how his own philosophy has evolved over the years and why automation can help enforce discipline and reduce emotional decision-making.

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0DTE options are transforming the way traders approach opportunity and risk. This episode breaks down why these contracts are so powerful (and popular), why 0DTE volume has surged, and how you can trade them with clarity instead of chaos. We dispel common myths and highlight the real advantages of these short-term strategies, such as rapid time decay, high liquidity, and faster statistical learning cycles.

You’ll also learn about the risks that traders often ignore, how psychology impacts intraday decisions, and why defined-risk spreads, proper sizing, automation, and backtesting are essential for consistent execution.

This episode provides a grounded, practical framework for incorporating 0DTEs into a disciplined, long-term trading approach.

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In this episode of the Option Alpha podcast, Kirk sits down with his business partner and fellow founder, Jack Slocum, to share the full story behind Jack’s journey as a trader, developer, and entrepreneur. Jack talks about how he first turned to options trading to generate extra income for his family, how his early experiences “crashed and burned,” and why he has spent years since then learning as much as possible about markets and risk. Tune in now!

How Jack First Got Into Options Trading:

• Jack says his options journey started as a father looking to make extra income to support his family.

From Tech Builder to Trading:

• Before options, Jack’s primary background was in technology and building companies.
• He created a JavaScript framework originally called EXTJS, later part of Sencha, which allowed developers to build full web applications in the browser.
• The framework became widely adopted, with usage by 8 out of the top 10 financial institutions and over 70% of Fortune 500 companies.
• Jack emphasizes that the community was the strength of that project: developers shared what they were building and provided the core toolkit with their own “extensions.”

Faith, Mindset, and Staying Inspired Through Drawdowns:

• He credits his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, for his determination, passion, and success.
• He says this gives him a resilient state he can tap into no matter what is happening.
• Kirk shares a mindset he learned from Jack: instead of saying “we can’t,” ask “how could we?”
• Jack connects this to his belief that all things are possible for someone who believes.
• He says reframing problems this way opens the door to solutions instead of shutting them down.

Key Trading Principles Jack Follows Now:

• Jack says the most important principle is never to enter a trade unless you are willing to take the maximum loss.
• In the past, he entered trades assuming he could always get out before max loss, which led to huge losses.
• He rarely uses stop losses as a guarantee because during big moves, spreads widen, and fills can be much worse than planned.
• An example of his opening range breakout bot, which sometimes risks $925 to make $75 and makes him uneasy.
• He prefers to run a mix of strategies, including both higher-probability, smaller payoff setups and lower-probability, larger-payoff setups.
• Jack says every trade should have a clear, logical reason behind it, and not be fear based.

Using His Own Platform to Design the Future of Automation:

• At his old company, he would build a real app with new features before a release to find issues.
• Now, he trades daily on Option Alpha and uses that experience to see what needs to be added or improved.

Watch the full interview here

As an options trader, how closely should you be watching gamma and gamma exposure (GEX)? This episode will help you better understand gamma, interpret volatility, recognize inflection points, and build more context-aware strategies.

Kirk sits down with Mat Cashman from the OIC to discuss gamma, explore how market makers hedge their positions, and why 0DTE options are so “gamma-rich.”

Mat explains why hedging dynamics can create sharp market moves and how concepts like charm and convexity shape market behavior over the course of a single trading session. Then, we try to help traders understand how gamma can help them interpret volatility, recognize inflection points, and build more context-aware strategies.

Watch the full interview here

Gamma is one of the most misunderstood yet powerful forces driving options markets. In this episode, Kirk sits down with Lex from Tradier to break down gamma exposure (GEX) — what it is, why it matters, and how it quietly shapes market movement.

Together, they unpack how professional traders use gamma to stay delta-neutral, manage risk, and interpret shifting liquidity, while retail traders can use it to better understand price behavior and volatility.

Lex explains the difference between long and short gamma, how “sticky strikes” form, and why SPX tends to act very differently from fast-moving names like GME. You’ll also learn how changes in open interest and volume can trigger sharp accelerations or reversals — and how to read these setups without getting buried in formulas. It’s a practical, eye-opening conversation about the hidden dynamics of gamma exposure and the edge it can give you in any options market.

Watch the full interview here

Welcome to the Top Traders interview series, where we hear from Option Alpha community members who have delivered strong results over a meaningful number of trades.

In this kickoff episode, FK breaks down his disciplined, probability-driven options trading strategies. We'll explore FK’s approach to selling premium with defined risk, sizing positions conservatively, and running a dual-track portfolio that balances longer-term spreads (marathons) with 0DTE trading (sprints) for consistent returns.

Discover how he structures trade duration, risk management, and exiting positions through automation, with a mindset for long-term sustainability, and shares the steps he's learned to develop a process that focuses on risk control rather than short-term gains.

See the full show notes here