Dan ties the wheel strategy to New Year’s resolutions, emphasizing that the wheel only works when it’s traded consistently and in cycles. He explains how to systematize the process so it fits into real life—reducing friction, minimizing time demands and making long-term wealth building sustainable.

• Why the wheel succeeds only as a cyclical strategy
• Commitment to process over individual trades
• Fitting the wheel into your daily or weekly schedule
• Stock selection and trade execution timing
• Managing expirations, assignments and recycling trades
• Minimizing adjustments and ongoing maintenance
• Using planning and automation to save time
• Systemizing the wheel for long-term results

• One-off trades don’t build wealth—cycles do. The power of the wheel comes from repeating the process consistently over time.
• Systemization is essential. A clear, repeatable routine makes the wheel sustainable and effective.
• The wheel must fit your life. When the strategy aligns with your schedule, it becomes manageable and even enjoyable.
• Time requirements are modest. With planning, most wheel maintenance takes minutes—not hours.
• Consistency beats intensity. A steady, methodical approach delivers better long-run results than sporadic effort.
• Make it a resolution worth keeping. This is the year to commit to a structured, cyclical investing process.

Learn more about host Dan Passarelli and Market Taker Mentoring: MarketTaker.com

Get exclusive content including video trade walk-throughs, Dan's actual trades, monthly AMA webinars and more: wealthbuildingpodcast.com

Subscribe on your preferred platform and leave a review to help more traders discover the show.

Disclosure:

Options involve risk and are not suitable for all investors. Prior to buying or selling an option, investors must read Characteristics and Risks of Standardized Options (ODD) which can be found at https://www.theocc.com/company-information/documents-and-archives/options-disclosure-document

Don’t trade with money you are not prepared to lose. Anything discussed on this show is intended to be generalized information and not intended to be a recommendation to buy or sell any security. The host and guests are not familiar with listeners’ specific situations. For trading information relevant to your specific needs, speak with a licensed broker or advisor.

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Dan puts implied volatility in its proper place: It’s not the single most important factor in wheel trading, but it meaningfully improves outcomes over time. Using a field-goal analogy, Dan explains how volatility analysis adds a “little edge” on each trade that compounds across many cycles. He then goes deeper into when volatility matters most, plus a practical framework for evaluating whether selling puts or calls into earnings creates a favorable “sweet spot.”

• Why implied volatility is not the most important thing—but still important
• The 1-2-3 volatility analysis for identifying overpriced options
• Active vs. passive wheel trading and volatility requirements
• The wheel hierarchy: price movement, theta decay, then volatility
• Risk premium and why options tend to be overpriced over time
• “When in doubt, palms out” and the premium-seller mindset
• Volatility regimes and how prolonged low IV changes decisions
• When extremely high IV is a warning sign, not an opportunity
• Why IV matters less for ultra-short DTE options
• Earnings as a volatility event: when to avoid vs. exploit
• Using break-even and indifference points to find the earnings “sweet spot”
• Using puts to enter or calls to exit around earnings

IV is an edge, not the core driver. Underlying price movement and theta are usually more influential in wheel outcomes, but IV adds incremental advantage that compounds over time.

Active and passive wheel traders use IV differently. Active traders may require confirmation that options are overpriced; passive traders may prioritize keeping the cycle going and capturing the long-run risk premium.

Humility matters in volatility forecasting. You can’t know with certainty whether options are mispriced until after expiration, so rules-based processes help reduce overconfidence.

Regime awareness beats day-to-day noise. A few low-IV days are normal; weeks or months of a pattern can justify sitting out or adjusting tactics, especially in strong rebound “freight train” markets.

Extremes cut both ways. Slightly high IV can be attractive for selling, but extremely high IV may signal risk you don’t understand.

Earnings setups can be evaluated objectively. Compare historical earnings gaps with the option’s break-even/indifference “sweet spot” to judge whether premium meaningfully compensates for the expected move.

If selling calls to exit stock into earnings, assignment probability matters. At-the-money or slightly in-the-money calls can improve assignment odds and provide more downside cushion, but the true advantage comes from time premium, not intrinsic value.

Learn more about host Dan Passarelli and Market Taker Mentoring: MarketTaker.com

Get exclusive content including video trade walk-throughs, Dan's actual trades, monthly AMA webinars and more: wealthbuildingpodcast.com

Subscribe on your preferred platform and leave a review to help more traders discover the show.

Next Episode Preview: Next time, Dan goes deeper into volatility analysis, expanding on how wheel traders can evaluate implied volatility, historical volatility, and upcoming catalysts to improve covered call and cash-secured put decisions.

Disclosure:

Options involve risk and are not suitable for all investors. Prior to buying or selling an option, investors must read Characteristics and Risks of Standardized Options (ODD) which can be found at https://www.theocc.com/company-information/documents-and-archives/options-disclosure-document

Don’t trade with money you are not prepared to lose. Anything discussed on this show is intended to be generalized information and not intended to be a recommendation to buy or sell any security. The host and guests are not familiar with listeners’ specific situations. For trading information relevant to your specific needs, speak with a licensed broker or advisor.

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Dan explains why wheel traders must think about technical analysis differently from momentum or breakout traders. Using a Home Depot analogy, Dan shows how the right tool for the job matters—especially when selecting indicators for skate-objective trades. He dives into oscillators (with a focus on RSI) and introduces a new strike-selection concept he’s developing.

• Why trends and momentum are often the enemy of wheel traders
• Using technical analysis to reduce trades per wheel cycle
• Choosing the right indicators for skate-objective trades
• Oscillators and how they differ from breakout indicators
• Deep dive into the Relative Strength Index (RSI)
• Overbought and oversold signals for covered calls and cash-secured puts
• RSI divergences and what they signal for wheel traders
• Introduction to the PAS (Price-history Anchored Strike) indicator
• Why wheel traders avoid “trendy” stocks
• Overview of volatility analysis as part of the options trader’s trifecta

Wheel traders don’t want momentum. Strong trends often force rolls, increase trade count and slow down wheel cycles.

Technical analysis should reduce activity, not increase it. The goal is fewer trades per cycle, not more signals.

Oscillators are better tools for wheel traders. Indicators like RSI help identify waning momentum rather than breakouts.

RSI can improve strike selection. Overbought and oversold reversals—and divergences—can increase the odds of skating successfully.

Indicators don’t predict the future. They provide a small statistical edge when used correctly.

Volatility matters as much as price. Understanding whether options are overpriced or underpriced is critical for consistent income strategies.

Learn more about host Dan Passarelli and Market Taker Mentoring: MarketTaker.com

Get exclusive content including video trade walk-throughs, Dan's actual trades, monthly AMA webinars and more: wealthbuildingpodcast.com

Subscribe on your preferred platform and leave a review to help more traders discover the show.

Next Episode Preview: Next time, Dan goes deeper into volatility analysis, expanding on how wheel traders can evaluate implied volatility, historical volatility, and upcoming catalysts to improve covered call and cash-secured put decisions.

Disclosure:

Options involve risk and are not suitable for all investors. Prior to buying or selling an option, investors must read Characteristics and Risks of Standardized Options (ODD) which can be found at https://www.theocc.com/company-information/documents-and-archives/options-disclosure-document

Don’t trade with money you are not prepared to lose. Anything discussed on this show is intended to be generalized information and not intended to be a recommendation to buy or sell any security. The host and guests are not familiar with listeners’ specific situations. For trading information relevant to your specific needs, speak with a licensed broker or advisor.

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Dan demystifies one of the most misunderstood areas of technical analysis: support and resistance. Rather than treating these levels as “magic lines on a chart,” Dan explains the market mechanics behind them—how real buy and sell orders, supply and demand, and human decision-making actually move prices.

Key Topics

• Why support and resistance are commonly misunderstood

• Technical analysis as a map of human behavior (price, not value)

• The basics of market mechanics: bids, asks and order size

• How supply and demand move prices tick-by-tick

• How horizontal support and resistance levels are created

• Why price levels hold—and the three main reasons they break

• Moving averages (SMA/EMA) as dynamic support and resistance

• Why the 200-day moving average matters to institutions

• “Death cross” and “golden cross” and what they signal

• Applying support/resistance to wheel strike selection for skate trades

Key Takeaways

Support and resistance aren’t magic. They reflect real buying and selling pressure created by market participants.

Technical analysis explains price behavior, not valuation. It tracks what price and volume did—and how traders reacted.

Prices move through order flow. Buyers absorb offers to push price up; sellers take out bids to push price down.

Support/resistance can fail for predictable reasons. Levels break when supply/demand overwhelms the other side, participants finish their trades or new information changes valuation inputs.

Moving averages can become self-reinforcing levels. Long-term averages like the 200-day influence institutional decisions and can behave like support or resistance.

Wheel traders can use these levels to improve skate trades. Support can inform cash-secured put strikes; resistance can inform covered call strikes.

Connect

Learn more about host Dan Passarelli and Market Taker Mentoring: MarketTaker.com

Get exclusive content including video trade walk-throughs, Dan's actual trades, monthly AMA webinars and more: wealthbuildingpodcast.com

Subscribe on your preferred platform and leave a review to help more traders discover the show.

Next Episode Preview: Next time, Dan continues building on technical analysis for wheel traders—going deeper into how to apply support, resistance and key chart-based levels to choose strikes that improve the probability of skating without assignment.

Disclosure:

Options involve risk and are not suitable for all investors. Prior to buying or selling an option, investors must read Characteristics and Risks of Standardized Options (ODD) which can be found at https://www.theocc.com/company-information/documents-and-archives/options-disclosure-document

Don’t trade with money you are not prepared to lose. Anything discussed on this show is intended to be generalized information and not intended to be a recommendation to buy or sell any security. The host and guests are not familiar with listeners’ specific situations. For trading information relevant to your specific needs, speak with a licensed broker or advisor.

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Dan breaks down the true “secret sauce” of successful wheel trading: pairing the right objective (trade vs. skate) with the right type of analysis (fundamental vs. technical). He demonstrates how to reverse-engineer strike prices using dividend yields and valuation metrics and walks through a real example using Verizon (VZ).

• Defining the skate objective vs. the trade objective
• Why trade objective trades pair naturally with fundamental analysis
• Why skate objective trades pair naturally with technical analysis
• How to reverse-engineer strike prices using target dividend yields
• How to set strike prices using target P/E ratios
• Real-world example: Verizon (VZ) dividend and valuation analysis
• When to wait for better pricing or volatility before selling puts
• Preview of using support and resistance for skate trades

Every wheel trade needs a single, clear objective. Choose either skate (avoid assignment) or trade (seek assignment) to stay consistent and intentional.

Match your analysis to your objective. Use fundamentals for trade-objective entries and technicals for skate-objective premium selling.

Reverse-engineer your strike prices. Start with the yield or valuation you want, determine the stock price that achieves it, and choose the strike accordingly.

Premium can tweak your effective entry price—but don’t lose the plot. Premium helps refine entry, but fundamentals should guide the trade.

Wheel trading can be “almost win–win,” but risk still exists. Assignment locks in value; non-assignment yields premium—but price risk remains.

Conservative income plays can complement growth positions. High-yield value names can balance more aggressive holdings.

Learn more about host Dan Passarelli and Market Taker Mentoring: MarketTaker.com

Get exclusive content including video trade walk-throughs, Dan's actual trades, monthly AMA webinars and more: wealthbuildingpodcast.com

Subscribe on your preferred platform and leave a review to help more traders discover the show.

Next Episode Preview: Next time, Dan digs deeper into technical analysis for skate-objective trades, focusing on how horizontal support and resistance can help identify strike prices where the stock is less likely to move—boosting your confidence and consistency when selling premium.

Disclosure:

Options involve risk and are not suitable for all investors. Prior to buying or selling an option, investors must read Characteristics and Risks of Standardized Options (ODD) which can be found at https://www.theocc.com/company-information/documents-and-archives/options-disclosure-document

Don’t trade with money you are not prepared to lose. Anything discussed on this show is intended to be generalized information and not intended to be a recommendation to buy or sell any security. The host and guests are not familiar with listeners’ specific situations. For trading information relevant to your specific needs, speak with a licensed broker or advisor.

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Dan compares buying stocks to buying a dry cleaning business to demystify fundamental investing. Learn how value investors like Warren Buffett evaluate companies, and why understanding P/E ratios, earnings, and dividends can help you select better strike prices for your wheel trades.

• The dry cleaner analogy: why buying stock is just like buying a business
• P/E ratios: what they reveal when comparing competitors
• Intrinsic value vs. market price
• Earnings (EPS): quarterly vs. trailing twelve months
• Dividend mechanics and dividend yield
• Using fundamental metrics to set strike prices for wheel trades
• Why the market isn't as efficient as you think

You actually own the business. When you buy stock, you own a proportional share of that company's revenue—it's literally your money.

Dividend investors think backwards. While most people chase rising stocks, dividend investors wait patiently for prices to fall so they can lock in higher yields.

Price isn't value. The stock market often disconnects from intrinsic value—that's where opportunities hide.

Your fundamentals matter for strike selection. Understanding earnings and dividend yield can help you choose more strategic strike prices for covered calls and cash-secured puts.

Learn more about host Dan Passarelli and Market Taker Mentoring: MarketTaker.com

Get exclusive content including video trade walk-throughs, Dan's actual trades, monthly AMA webinars, and more: wealthbuildingpodcast.com

Subscribe on your preferred platform and leave a review to help more traders discover the show.

Disclosure:

Options involve risk and are not suitable for all investors. Prior to buying or selling an option, investors must read Characteristics and Risks of Standardized Options (ODD) which can be found at https://www.theocc.com/company-information/documents-and-archives/options-disclosure-document

Don’t trade with money you are not prepared to lose. Anything discussed on this show is intended to be generalized information and not intended to be a recommendation to buy or sell any security. The host and guests are not familiar with listeners’ specific situations. For trading information relevant to your specific needs, speak with a licensed broker or advisor.

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Episode Summary In this conversation, Dan sits down with performance coach and former trader Denise Shull, author of Market Mind Games and the real-life inspiration for Wendy Rhoades on Billions. Denise explains why the old mantra “take the emotion out of trading” is scientifically wrong—and how learning to work with your emotions, instead of against them, can dramatically improve your decision-making. From intuition and regret to boredom, ADHD and market regime changes, this episode redefines what it means to be a “disciplined” trader.

• Why every decision requires emotion How modern neuroscience shows that perception is prediction—and that your brain is constantly asking, “Is this good or bad for me?” before you ever place a trade.
• Emotions as data—not distractions The difference between “integral” emotions (about the trade and market) and “incidental” emotions (about you, your P&L, identity and history), and why separating the two is a core trading edge.
• How to use intuition without going “on tilt” Why true intuition is unconscious pattern recognition built from experience (like a chef knowing a steak is done by sight) and when “I feel good about this trade” is useful versus dangerous.
• A practical method to blend logic and gut feel Denise’s 1–7 conviction/emotion scale, how granular emotional language improves performance and how to consciously factor “how much do I really believe this?” into your trading process.
• The real role of regret and how slumps start Why trying to “stay positive” can backfire, how unprocessed regret leads to trading slumps and how to use negative emotions to actually improve instead of burying them.
• Cutting the worst 5% of your trades How recognizing fear of future regret and choosing your “flavor of regret” can help you avoid revenge trades, impulse trades and the handful of decisions that wreck your year.
• Managing boredom and ADHD tendencies Practical ways traders can keep boredom from morphing into overtrading—by defining time frames, having intentional breaks and non-trading activities, and challenging the myth that you must always be in the market.
• Adapting to market regime changes How to think about market environments like different “genres of music,” why you don’t need to catch the exact top or bottom and how ego and the need to feel smart can sabotage regime shifts.
• The one daily practice Denise recommends The simple but powerful question—“What am I feeling and why?”—and how regularly sorting feelings into “about me” vs. “about the market” aligns you with how the human brain actually works.

Denise Shull is a former CBOE floor trader turned performance coach specializing in decision-making under risk and uncertainty. She holds a master’s degree in neuropsychoanalysis from the University of Chicago, traded at firms like Schonfeld, and later ran a day trading desk during the internet boom. Her work shows how emotion and cognition are intertwined in every decision—a theme she explores in her book Market Mind Games, which helped inspire the Wendy Rhoades character on Showtime’s Billions. Today, she coaches hedge fund managers, traders, and elite athletes around the world on how to use emotions and intuition as a competitive edge.

Disclosure:

Options involve risk and are not suitable for all investors. Prior to buying or selling an option, investors must read Characteristics and Risks of Standardized Options (ODD) which can be found at https://www.theocc.com/company-information/documents-and-archives/options-disclosure-document

Don’t trade with money you are not prepared to lose. Anything discussed on this show is intended to be generalized information and not intended to be a recommendation to buy or sell any security. The host and guests are not familiar with listeners’ specific situations. For trading information relevant to your specific needs, speak with a licensed broker or advisor.

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Finding quality trade ideas for the Wheel Strategy is essential—but where do you actually get them? In this episode, Dan Passarelli breaks down the best (and worst) sources for finding wheel trade candidates. From trade idea services and investment clubs to news media and DIY analysis, Dan explores the pros and cons of each approach and shares what really works for covered calls and cash-secured puts.

Dan also discusses why boring, sideways stocks make the best wheel candidates, why the pundits' favorite stocks are often the trickiest to trade, and teases an upcoming series on fundamental, technical, and volatility analysis for building your own watchlist.

What You'll Discover in This Episode:

• Trade idea services: The difference between "general trades" and wheel-specific investment ideas
• Why most trade idea services only give entries (not exits) and how to evaluate them
• Investment clubs: Learning from peers and building synergy through shared knowledge
• The media trap: Why stocks that "bleed" or soar aren't always ideal for wheel trading
• Selling options is selling volatility: Why sideways stocks outperform for covered calls and CSPs
• DIY analysis preview: Dan's upcoming deep-dive episodes on fundamental, technical, and volatility analysis
• The role of "idea people" in trading and why dreams need execution

Resources & Links:

• Subscribe to the Wealth Building With Options Podcast
• Learn more about host Dan Passarelli and Market Taker Mentoring: MarketTaker.com
• Support the Show: Become a paid subscriber at WealthBuildingPodcast.com for access to video extras, subscriber-only trade ideas, all of Dan's real covered call and cash-secured put trades, monthly AMA webinars, and unusual options activity alerts

Disclosure:

Options involve risk and are not suitable for all investors. Prior to buying or selling an option, investors must read Characteristics and Risks of Standardized Options (ODD) which can be found at https://www.theocc.com/company-information/documents-and-archives/options-disclosure-document

Don’t trade with money you are not prepared to lose. Anything discussed on this show is intended to be generalized information and not intended to be a recommendation to buy or sell any security. The host and guests are not familiar with listeners’ specific situations. For trading information relevant to your specific needs, speak with a licensed broker or advisor.

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