Author: Jeff McAllister | OptionsANIMAL

The OptionsANIMAL Blog

Content created by the OptionsANIMAL Instructors

What is a covered put?

By Jeff McAllister / May 30, 2018

From time to time, someone will ask me, “What is a covered put?”. I pause as I know that the following conversation pertains to a little used and often misunderstood strategy. A strategy that has a potentially unlimited risk. A strategy that can be used with a bearish outlook and […]

How to incorporate investing into your New Year’s resolutions

By Jeff McAllister / January 3, 2018

It’s that time of year again where we reflect on our successes as well as our not-so-successfuls… For many of us, this means that we review the areas of our activities that are the most important to us individually. To some, getting back in shape was their biggest resolution, or […]

Trading In A Sideways Market

By Jeff McAllister / June 25, 2016

For the past three months, the major market indices have tended to trade within a relatively tight range. This has made it difficult for traders to find stocks that are presenting any significant directionality. Take a look at the chart of the S&P 500 below: Notice that a significant level […]

Understanding Options: Exercise & Assignment

By Jeff McAllister / April 11, 2016

As an educator in the field of options trading, I’m often asked “what causes a short call or a short put to be assigned?” Before I can answer that question I need to briefly explain what an option is, some of the terminology used, and who the participants in the […]

What’s in your portfolio?

By Jeff McAllister / April 14, 2013

One of the benefits of being a coach for OptionsANIMAL is that I get to see the paper trading portfolios of our students. To say that I have seen some interesting trades and some interesting portfolios would be an understatement. Most of the time the portfolios and the trades are […]

What’s in your portfolio?

By Jeff McAllister / April 14, 2013

Exploration – Search, Scan, Twitter, News

By Jeff McAllister / March 15, 2013

What exactly is it that causes a stock’s price to rise or fall? Economists will tell you that it’s the market forces attempting to find the equilibrium point between supply and demand. So the next logical question then would be; what causes supply and demand to become unbalanced? The answer […]

Debit Spreads and Credit Spreads – What Are They and What’s the Difference?

By Jeff McAllister / February 22, 2013

In the world of equity options, there are two broad categories of spread trades; the debit spread and the credit spread. What are they and how are they different? In this article I will define each and touch on why a trader might use one over the other. Before I […]

Stocks 101

By Jeff McAllister / February 14, 2013

So, what is a stock anyway? Buying a stock signifies buying a piece of the company it’s issued from. It’s an ownership position. Owning stock in a company means a piece of every desk, computer and most importantly a portion of the company’s profits belongs to you. Stock in a […]

The OptionsANIMAL method and risk management.

By Jeff McAllister / January 24, 2013

Risk management is a critical component of successful investing. Without proper risk management, investing becomes little more than a haphazard activity which is unlikely to produce consistently positive results. Proper risk management involves a commitment to disciplined trading. In this article I’m going to discuss two broad areas of risk […]

Join 500,000+ Investors

Get the latest class invites delivered straight to your inbox.

john kraus

19:00 13 Nov 18

The experience and information have been outstanding thus far. I insist on thorough coverage when it comes to my interests and pursuits. OptionsAnimal are meeting and exceeding my expectations. The personel are very supportive as well. So far, i have interacted with Brice, Jordan and Warren. All of them were flawless in their professionalism and very personable as well. i never felt rushed in my inquiries and they efficiently offered complete and even comprehensive answers, making sure i understood what i was trying to learn. Thank you!! so far so good!John Kraus

Brian Hores

13:59 11 Jun 19

A well structured curriculum to master the intricacies of options trading. Archived sessions allow you to go at your own pace and review areas of weakness. Live classes with instructors are interactive with a chance to ask questions. The teachers are great with helping to clarify issues and help you succeed. Following he Options Animal 6-step process will lead to trading success. The tuition is worthwhile compared to paying the school of hard knocks. I haven't mastered everything but am a much more confident and profitable trader.

Samuel Chimento

13:10 14 Feb 19

Hello,I have been an Option Animal student for 5 months now and have completed levels 1 through 3. So far I have learned how to make directional trades as well as high probability credit spreads"Even though I have only completed the first 3 levels my current trades are ranging from 15% to 47% profit per contract. The winners are steadily rolling forward.I am looking forward to completing all the levels and learning debit spreads, hedged trades, straddles, strangles, collars and winged spreads.This education makes option trading crystal clear and easy because you will have confidence in what you are doing and finally enjoy making money on a daily basis.Most importantly, take your time and learn the material in detail, I think that is the secret to doing well!Enjoy your education.Sam

Merlin Andrews

16:27 05 Nov 17

By far the best educational source for options trading that I have found in my 4+ years of learning. An incredible amount of information, education, and support - worth every investment penny for anyone serious about learning options trading. The most helpful, passionate, and skilled instructors - all with different perspectives that make it easy to find your own path instead of getting told what your path should be.

Steven Hollosi

17:44 26 Jun 20

I have been trading options for several years with some success just as a hobby, when I decided to trade options as a business and a source of a regular income, i searched for an educational platform to enhance my understanding and of the market dynamics when it comes to trading option I discovered Options Animals, called them, confirm that this was an educational focused platform that I could benefit from. The rest is history, I could not be happier with the results and support I received over time. They will teach you on how to enjoy the success rate of 90 plus percent of profitable trading with a thoughtful methodology and a plan of execution.I am sold for life. Keep up the great work everyone.Thank you,Steven Hollosi

Linda Wood

18:20 04 May 19

James Hutchins

14:55 06 May 19

This is top notch education. They do not teach a “system” that works sometimes, but rather they teach you to really understand how to evaluate companies, structure trades based on your expectation, and most importantly how to adjust your trades in the event things go against you. One thing that I really appreciate is the caliber and dedication of their instructors. They do not constantly try to “upsell” you like other options education systems I have tried in the past. Options Animal provides both live and online education opportunities. It is not a “get rich quick” kind of a service. Options Animal is real education, and requires real study and practice to master. They give you the tools and training, and support, the rest is up to you. My wife and I are thankful to have found them!

John Boulet

04:48 30 Sep 18

GREAT CONFERENCE !It became much clearer to me that options can be used to hedge risk AND be profitable at the same time.Would highly recommend Options Animal to anyone looking to improve their trading!

Jackson Simon

19:58 25 Oct 18

Wonderful experience so far with this superior source of education on options trading. I continue to enhance my skills and knowledge week to week with the help of their highly experienced coaches and easy to follow curriculum. Learn to protect your investments now to ensure a brighter future in retirement and to pass on to your posterity. Highly recommended!

Stephen MacLean

02:27 11 Jan 19

Peter Schulz

16:08 05 Jun 20

This company is for real! The education is top-notch and can help you whether a beginner or a seasoned veteran looking for new approaches. If you are looking for the resources you need to add options trading to your investing, I can't imagine a better place to get it. The community is amazing and supportive, the instructors are great, and the site has endless archives to go through. Following along with experienced traders as they identify, make, and then adjust trades really drives the lessons home. I wish I had joined this 10 years ago.

Dana Podliska

03:41 18 Dec 18

Before joining OA, I had only traded equities and it was suggested to me to get into options. After watching tons of YouTube videos about how easy it was to make money using options, I felt that I was missing something. After some research into different option services I choose Option Animal and believe it was the correct choice for me. Through the teachers at OA and many hours of classes that they present, I feel like I am getting the knowledge and answers where all my other sources fell short. I am confident that after completing the courses I will have the knowledge necessary to trade successfully.

Brett Johnson

21:39 12 Oct 18

am new to Options Animal since March of 2018 although I have traded options since 2011. While I am only half way through the curriculum, I find the content, instructors, and methodology invaluable. I very much appreciate the new view to trading that Options Animal provides, so much so I am considering migrating from a mix of stock investor and options trader to a pure options trader given the risk management and increased trade success taught at Options Animal.

John Stuparich

01:11 16 Jan 19

The Option Theory is adequate with but the concepts only really sink in when theory is further explained in some practical application examples or case studies using live and current stock prices .

Steve Rosenlund

22:16 04 Mar 20

Some classes are very technical, I can repeat them as needed. I would rather retake a class than see it dumbed down.

Sunil Tomar

19:05 29 Sep 18

Jim Hores

19:54 10 Jun 19

I found this to be an outstanding program - in-depth knowledge you cannot find anywhere else and the staff is always very supportive. I give it an A++.

Ken Carley

10:59 06 May 19

Been a member for almost 9 years. Always learn something new when I attend their many free summits around the US. The instructors are great and very available to the students. Absolutely the best Options Education anywhere.

Douglas Weed

22:45 23 Oct 18

Zack quickly answered the question I had about choices for brokerages with respect to commissions.

Robert Brown

00:24 15 Nov 18

It is legit with certified courses and tax incentives.

Sharon

18:57 04 Oct 18

They have wonderful teachers, I learn a lot from them. Even the tuition is expensive, but from what I have learned, it is worth and will benefit for the rest of my life.

James Diehl

21:08 18 Jul 19

My wife and I have tried other on line trading academies and were not impressed with them at all. We became very frustrated to the point of almost giving up the idea of ever being able to learn how to trade options. We heard about Option Animal and decided to give it one more try and we are glad that we did. We were immediately impressed with the entire program. The lessons, both live and archived, are easy to follow and very well done making it simple for even the most novice trader to understand. The instructors are extremely knowledgeable and offer personalized attention when needed. We highly recommend Option Animal if you are serious about learning how to trade options.

John W

20:53 28 Jun 19

Brice is very easy to work with and does what he says he will do. Thanks again Brice for the good service

Gerry Young

18:22 28 Jun 19

I've been an Options Animal member / student for a bit over a year now and am incredibly impressed with the organization, their depth of knowledge, their teaching methods and their support of their students. In fact, I just signed up for life time membership so that I can continue to make use of the resource for the rest of my trading career. Before becoming a student of O/A I had been studying options trading technique on my own, attending webinars buying books from Amazon & etc. for about three years and not doing very well at it. I was also trading equities as I had been for the past 17 years and my portfolios were increasing in value from my efforts but not by leaps and bounds. In fact I was just covering living expenses plus a little bit and looking for a way to become a more successful trader; hence my foray into options. Joining Options Animal was like stumbling out of the woods and into the sunshine. "Don't try to trade options until the end of the course when you will have learned how to do it." was their first piece of advice. ( Wish I'd had that tattooed on my wrist three years ago. It would have saved me a bundle.) Next piece of advice: "If you do experiment with trading options just count the results as increased tuition costs." (Yeah, I had to learn that the hard way.)Then they proceeded to a very detailed analysis of markets / equity trading with instructions on where to find the real information for fundamental analysis. This alone resulted in a measurable improvement in my efforts at equity trading. After that it was straight into options, "the Greeks" & etc.What makes the O/A teaching method a cut above anything else, in my opinion, is that there are four primary instructors all from different backgrounds who each teach all the lessons in the curriculum. All of their efforts are recorded in the O/A archives which gives the student the ability to gain exposure to the same material from four different perspectives. And because the instructors are continually presenting the material over time one can gain a better understanding from listening to the same person giving the same talk but in a slightly different way.Any points not clearly understood can be repeated instantly or reviewed in its entirety later. Students can also interact with the instructors in real time during the scheduled sessions or attend the weekly open forums to cover specifics and have additional questions answered. One is not locked into a rigid class schedule which is going to move forward whether the student understands the presented material or not.In addition there is a bulletin board / chat room organized by courses and lessons and related subjects where students and interact and learn techniques from each other and the participating instructors.Long story short: if you really want to improve your trading to the point where your success rate is above the ninety percentile point then Options Animal is what you've been looking for.

Rick Kingbury

00:43 24 May 19

This training is so thorough and with the archives I can go thru a particular section until it sinks in and then I get that "ahah" moment when I really understand it. Great training. Rick Kingsbury

16:01 06 May 19

The best options trading education available that I have ever encountered by far, and one of the best values in any education. Great instructors, a very supportive community, and a tremendous amount of information and content. Not get-rich-quick, but life changing if you are willing to put in the work.As a graduate of the program, I continue to learn and grow from everything provided by OptionsAnimal and continue to improve.

Sergey Golub

21:22 19 Dec 19

If you a new or an experienced options trader this is very much desired service where you can learn a lot and get help when you need it most from live coaches at Options Animal.Keep up guys with great work!S. G.

Trask Messinger

12:57 05 May 19

thank you - very professional and informative Summit

Kevin McDermott

20:02 23 May 19

Even though I have been trading options for a couple of years, I was happily surprised by learning things I either did not know or did not understand as well as I should have.Excellent education program that is good for everybody from beginners to experienced options traders. Plenty of resources and actual people who can answer your questions or help you deal with any unexpected difficulties.Top notch organization doing top notch work. Check them out.

16:07 05 Jun 20

Blaine Jones

01:36 25 Jun 19

Options Animal is one of the best, if not the best, educational experience I have ever had. If there were more than 5 stars I would rate them a 10.

Jonathan Nelson

15:31 04 May 19

Very well put together. Informative. Pleasent community.

Amy Rosemann

17:40 12 Oct 18

By far the best I have found for indepth training and insight as how Options really work. Logical class order. Highly knowledgeable instructors for each element whom can provide detailed answers to any questions.

Bruce Ash

21:22 01 Jan 19

OptionsAnimal has been a great experience. I have learned a lot about options. It is nice that you can learn at your own pace and get help as needed.

Kathy Bowman

18:13 15 Jul 19

Joshua Foss

18:23 29 Sep 18

Motivated me to learn more

BRUCE BAILEY

18:16 01 Oct 18

This was my first Summit experience and I thought attending was very worthwhile. The programs and materials were helpful and the open session Q&A following the presentations was great. I left with six other OA members contact information to really get into the “community” feeling!

Dr. Rina Shinn

17:58 01 Feb 20

This is the program that I wish I knew at the beginning before I poured in ridiculous amount of money in order to learn about options trading. Highly recommended.

Susan Taylor

15:53 27 Apr 20

Options Animal is a very honest company. They will work with you if you need help.

Karen Berliner

21:15 14 Nov 18

I first learned about Options Animal just about two years ago. I could immediately see what a comprehensive educational program it is and how I could become a successful trader. I finished the program in a year and am extremely pleased with the success I have had this year, far exceeding results obtained by the S&P 500, the Dow, and NASDAQ. Not only does Options Animal provide an excellent curriculum, it offers multiple ways for students to learn and each of the coaches is fantastic. They want their students to be successful. The changes that I have been able to make as a result of being a member of the Options Animal community have been important for me professionally and personally. I recommend it highly.

Edith Falls

18:48 10 Dec 18

Bill Madison

16:42 07 Feb 20

The lessons are excellent, organized and easy to follow . Can take you from beginning student all the way through "PHD" level options trading. Several instructors to choose from (all good) and each has his/her own style to make learning FUN. The best part is : you become a profitable trader.

Ivan Peytchev

21:44 04 May 19

21:36 04 May 19

Markus Bandomir

14:53 18 Jan 18

oliver fox

03:42 11 Nov 18

OPTIONSANIMAL,OPTIONSANIMAL,OPTIONSANIMAL!!!! the very BEST in options education.-------- the very BEST.

John Daggerhart

19:30 24 Nov 18

Very straight forward solid education. No get rich quick B.S. Learn, follow, prosper!

DiVerge Fitness

17:35 22 Dec 18

Great service for learning the correct way to trade options.

Amànda Dorion

23:28 16 Oct 18

Options Animal has been great. The instructors are fantastic and everyone is always very willing to be available and answer any questions. The way the material is set up also flows very well.

Stephen Sorrick

20:36 29 Sep 18

The presentations were all highly informative.

s hart

21:26 04 May 19

The knowledge I've gained from being involved with Options Animal since 2013 has been extremely refreshing & tremendously helpful. I don't have to fret about what's going to happen with any trades I have going, because I already know what can happen in any type of market movement and thus, can prepare accordingly. If you have intentions of becoming a trader yourself, whether you're a rookie or have played with the stock market for years, this is the place you want to be to get you aimed in the right direction. The instructors are amazing - very knowledgeable & deeply caring. The membership community is wonderful. Getting with these people personally at the Summits is a great thing. You most-likely will end up with some wonderful friendships with fellow traders (and instructors) in the community. The things you can do with this education are limited only by you. Scott Hartman - OA Graduate

King Cone

23:23 08 Nov 18

We have been with Option animal for 7 years plus. They have delivered on all levels. If you want to learn to trade options there is no better education. Make sure you finish all you levels before you start live trading if you don’t your education will cost you more as I learned the hard way . One other point make sure you try to attend as many conference that Option animal puts on you will not be disappointed .Your trading skills will get sharper and most of all you will meet a bunch of great traders

Joseph Woollen

04:03 15 Nov 19

I have been pleasantly surprised with Options Animal. Having used other options training programs with limited success, going through the Options Animal courses has been like getting a graduate degree. Their courses are comprehensive yet understandable, and it’s particularly helpful to go into their video archives to take the same courses numerous times - each with a different instructor with a slightly different teaching approach. And it’s hard to beat theIr support and collateral materials. I highly recommend Options Animal. J. Michael Woollen

Howie Agster

19:14 21 May 19

Webinars have great examples of a superb strategy trading options. First in money management and trade adjustments limiting losses. My choice for learning from the best.

Thom Ianniccari

18:07 29 Oct 17

Great education and support to learn to earn. I have done a lot of investing education and this is one of the few systems that gets a gold star.

Victoria L Roberts

22:35 02 Mar 20

They offer a systematic approach to options education. Each instructor has taken the courses. They are all intelligent, articulate and available to answer questions. No sales gimmicks just a commitment to the students. I highly recommend them.

Kevin Goodwin

21:41 07 Jan 19

18:43 06 May 19

I am simply amazed at the amount of knowledged displayed by the option animal instructors at the Chicago summit.after having listen , and asking questions ,my knowledge of the stock market,and option has increased to a level way beyond that of the average trader. I am so thankful for finding optionsanimal.

Jerry Boatman

03:10 21 Dec 19

Fantastic Training that you can do at your own pace.

Mr. Bodin Hugger

17:20 13 Jun 19

Excellent training from multiple experts. Member as of February 2019. I have completed up to level 3. Trading options since 2009-2011 when one could throw a dart and win!Excellent archives for training classes with Kathy, Joe , Eric, Charan , Jeff, and Horace. These are excellent educators because of the different styles each educator brings to their client. OA Trader work shops offer insight on how to think. The Wednesday and Friday updates also educate the client on how to think. These updates educate the client on how to separate the noisy events from those that are important. Entering into the options trading world with out OptionsANIMAL training is foolish.I am very pleased with the value of my decision to join OptionANIMAL. I wrote with review on my own accord and will stand by this review. Bodin Hugger, JRMetaire, LA 70006

17:14 26 Jun 20

Ryan Pond

16:00 04 Sep 20

Best Stock and Options education in the industry. This program will change your life! From our Customer Service to our coaches, we truly care for your success as an individual. I have worked with this team for over a decade and the adjustments we teach will allow you to cash flow while protecting once the market turns on you.

You will not regret joining this group. Top notch.

Nag Malluru

16:16 09 May 19

I like the education that OA provides and it is really interesting to see all these strategies in real world. I am seeing the difference already and excited to be part of this.Community and Live tabs are amazing and helps us to stay connected with the schedule and other member thoughts etc.

Jeffrey Nee

14:29 30 Sep 18

Excellent teachers dealing with a complex subject to a room full full of varying skill levels. They succeeded.

#1 Options Trading Education

The OptionsANIMAL Blog

What is a covered put?

How to incorporate investing into your New Year’s resolutions

Trading In A Sideways Market

Understanding Options: Exercise & Assignment

What’s in your portfolio?

What’s in your portfolio?

Exploration – Search, Scan, Twitter, News

Debit Spreads and Credit Spreads – What Are They and What’s the Difference?

Stocks 101

The OptionsANIMAL method and risk management.

Join 500,000+ Investors

Our Students Love Us

Get In Touch!

Additional Resources

About Us