A likely step-up roadmap (beginner → intermediate → advanced strategies) for options Trading would probably be:

🔹 Beginner (Foundation Stage)

Goal: Understand the basics, control risk, and avoid blowing up early.

• Learn calls, puts, expiration, strike, premium.

• Practice simple directional plays (buying calls/puts).

• Understand time decay (Theta) – why long options lose value.

• Keep trades very small while learning.

• Focus skill: Reading an options chain and understanding break-even.

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🔹 Intermediate (Strategic Stage)

Goal: Move from gambling to structured strategies.

• Learn the Greeks (Delta, Theta, Vega, Gamma).

• Trade vertical spreads (bull call spread, bear put spread) → limited risk/reward.

• Start using covered calls and cash-secured puts (income strategies).

• Experiment with straddles/strangles to bet on volatility.

• Learn to use limit orders and assess liquidity (bid/ask spreads).

• Focus skill: Matching strategy to market outlook (bullish, bearish, neutral, volatile).

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🔹 Advanced (Professional Stage)

Goal: Think like a market maker, trade volatility, and manage risk dynamically.

• Iron condors & butterflies → trade range-bound markets.

• Calendars & diagonals → take advantage of time & volatility differences.

• Portfolio hedging → protective puts, collars, long volatility hedges.

• Advanced rolling/adjustments → don’t just enter/exit, manage positions.

• Master implied volatility vs historical volatility.

• Focus skill: Building income streams with options instead of just speculation.

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🔹 Expert (Next-Level Edge)

Goal: Treat options like a professional trader.

• Develop a playbook of strategies for different market regimes.

• Trade around earnings, Fed, and macro events with volatility analysis.

• Use probability-based trading (delta ≈ probability ITM, option pricing models).

• Scale into portfolio-level Greeks management (e.g., net delta-neutral portfolio).

• Potentially explore synthetics (using options to replicate stock positions).

• Focus skill: Position management and adjusting like a pro trader.

Beginner traders bet on direction. Advanced traders structure positions based on volatility, risk/reward, and Greeks, while managing positions dynamically.