🧠 Nov 18 Community Call Recap: Bull Put Spreads, Backtesting & “Am I Ready To Go Live?”

Huge shoutout to everyone who joined today and for the great questions and reflections. This was basically a masterclass in thinking like a professional options trader while still designing a life you actually want to live.

Here is the full recording: VIEW RECORDING - 61 mins

Here’s a quick recap + some action steps.

1️⃣ ChatGPT as Your Co-Pilot (Not Your Pilot)

We started by talking about how Julie’s been using ChatGPT:

✅ Great for brainstorming strategies, asking “what am I missing?” and turning dense textbook concepts into plain English.
❌ Not great at real-time data or math – always double-check numbers, deltas, and risk with your broker’s platform.

Key idea: Use ChatGPT to accelerate your understanding, not to outsource your thinking.

2️⃣ Bull Put Spreads vs Cash-Secured Puts

We dug into why bull put spreads can be so attractive, especially if you’re not on margin yet.

Cash-Secured Puts (CSPs):

Tie up a lot of capital (full notional of 100 shares per contract).
Unlimited downside until zero on the stock.
Simple, clean, great if:

Bull Put Spreads:

Sell a put (e.g. 20 delta), buy a lower strike put (e.g. 10 delta).
Pros:
Cons / Fine print:

👉 Rule of thumb:If you’re trading in a smaller account without margin, bull put spreads can be a powerful way to get started and keep risk defined — as long as you stick to very liquid options.

3️⃣ Backtesting with Tastytrade – What We Learned

We did a live demo using Tastytrade’s backtester:

Tested 30–45 DTE, ~20 delta CSPs on NVDA over ~12 months.
Compared:

Takeaways:

On NVDA, the options strategy significantly outperformed simple buy-and-hold in that period, with a lower max drawdown.
On SPY with the same rules:
Bull put spreads on NVDA:

Key idea:Backtesting helps you see how a strategy actually behaved through real volatility, instead of just trusting vibes or isolated trades.

4️⃣ Designing a Trading Life You Actually Want

We talked a lot about lifestyle design:

You don’t want to be glued to screens or stressed if you’re traveling.
You’re trading 30–45 DTE, not scalping 1-minute charts.

A few practical principles:

Avoid placing trades:
Middle of the trading day often has:
Use your broker tools to:

Key idea:Build your trading around your ideal lifestyle, not the other way around.

5️⃣ “Am I Ready To Trade For Real?”

This was the big question from Julie.

Here’s the distilled version of my answer:

✅ Signs you’re ready to start small with real money

You understand:
You’ve paper-traded:
Emotionally, you can:

📏 How to start (my recommendation)

Wait out known big events
Pick one tiny, ultra-conservative trade
Size it so a max loss is a non-event
Pre-decide your exit rules
Stay away from leverage early

6️⃣ Options Approval & Broker Setup (Schwab / Tastytrade)

Quick summary from the call:

At Schwab:
Tastytrade:

7️⃣ Action Steps for You This Week

If you’re still paper trading:

Continue running bull put spreads and/or CSPs:
Note which trades go smoothly vs which feel stressful and why.

If you’re ready to dip a toe into real money:

Choose one small trade on a very liquid name.
Size it so max loss = small tuition.
Set a GTC order to exit at 50% profit.
Journal the trade:

For everyone in the community:

👉 Post in the community:

A screenshot of:
Include:

I’ll jump in and help you refine it.

If you didn’t catch the call live, I highly recommend watching the replay for the Tastytrade backtest demo and the deeper discussion about when to go live.

Here are clickable links to the call:

Meeting Purpose

Discussing advanced options strategies and market conditions for a new trader.

Key Takeaways

Topics

Bull Put Spreads vs. Cash Secured Puts

Strategy Validation with TastyTrade Backtester

Market Conditions & First Trade Considerations

Brokerage & Tools

Next Steps

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