> Image prompt: A futuristic armory room. A trader is selecting high-tech gadgets (representing tools/broker/capital) from a glowing wall. Cyberpunk vibes.
Can You Enter Battle With Just a Gun?
In previous articles, we’ve drawn the blueprint for option sellers: high win rate, risk control, and cash flow. You might be pumped up, ready to charge your money into the stock market for a big move.
Hold on.
Every professional assassin spends 80% of their time before a mission checking equipment. Many rookies die on the beach not because they don’t understand strategy, but because they “picked the wrong weapon” or “brought the wrong ammunition”.
As the final chapter of the “Awakening Series,” let’s talk about the most realistic question: What do you really need to prepare to make money with options?
I. Capital Anxiety: Am I Too Poor to Trade Options?
This is the most common DM I receive: “SilentXx, I only have $2000 USD, am I not qualified to do options?”
The outside misconception is: options are a rich man’s game. The truth is: options are the fastest tool for the “poor” to turn things around (or crash).
- If you only have $500: Even if you can’t afford 100 shares of stock, you can still be a seller through Vertical Spreads. Your maximum risk is locked at tens of dollars, yet return rates can reach 20%-50%.
- If you have $5,000: You can start trying The Wheel Strategy, practicing on low-priced blue chips like Ford (F) or American Airlines (AAL).
- If you have $50,000+: Congratulations, you can unlock all advanced plays and build a “rent collection portfolio” spanning tech, consumer, and healthcare.
My recommendation: For beginners, $2,000 - $5,000 is the most comfortable range. Don’t trade with living expenses. Options are meant to improve your life, not pay your rent.
II. Account Permissions: Don’t Get Stuck by Broker “Levels”
When you open options at Charles Schwab, IBKR, or Futu, they’ll ask you to choose a Level. Choose wrong, and you might not even be able to click the order button.
- Level 1 (Covered Call): Most basic level. Only allows you to sell Calls when you own stock. This is kindergarten for beginners.
- Level 2 (Cash Secured Put / Long Options): Allows you to buy options and sell Puts (as long as you have sufficient cash). This is the main battleground for our beginner courses.
- Level 3 (Spreads): Allows spreads. This is where capital efficiency takes a leap. Essential for intermediate courses.
- Level 4 (Naked Selling): Naked selling. Allows you to “hustle with nothing” without money or stock. This is the shortcut to the rooftop; beginners absolutely shouldn’t open this!
SilentXx’s Recommendation: Start by applying for Level 2. After you’re proficient, apply for Level 3. As for Level 4, wait until you’ve traded for 3 years.
III. Tool Selection: A Good Craftsman Needs Good Tools
Don’t do options with those crude stock-only apps. You need professional software that can display the “Option Chain” and “Greeks”.
- Futu/Tiger (Moomoo/Tiger): Most Chinese-friendly interface, unbeatable mobile experience. Perfect for beginners.
- Interactive Brokers (IBKR): Globally strongest, lowest fees, highest interest, but interface looks like 1990s software. Suitable for hardcore players.
- ThinkOrSwim (TOS): The software American investors use. Chart analysis ceiling, but higher account opening threshold (usually requires US identity).
No matter which you use, make sure you can see at a glance: Implied Volatility (IV) and Delta. These two indicators are our compass to profits.
🏁 Awakening Complete, Ready for Takeoff
Thus far, “Options Awakening Series” officially concludes.
- You understand house thinking (win rate).
- You’ve mastered risk control logic (safety belt).
- You’ve seen the cash flow vision (Wheel).
- You’ve prepared capital and account (launch).
Now you’ve surpassed 90% of retail investors who blindly charge forward. But theory is just theory. “Knowing how to swim” and “actually swimming” are two different things.
In the upcoming [Beginner Combat Series], we’ll stop talking philosophy.
We’ll get our hands dirty and enter real combat. I’ll help you discover the first stock suitable for selling and press that golden SELL button.
Are you ready? See you in the first lesson.