Start Here: Learn Options Trading Step by Step

Welcome. I’m Peggy, and if you’ve just found TOCF, this page is your map.

I’m not going to hand you a wall of links and wish you luck. There’s a lot here, built up over years of trading and writing, but you don’t need all of it at once. You need the right next thing for where you are right now.

So pick one of the three paths below. Each is a short, ordered sequence, read them in order, take your time, and come back when you’re ready for the next step. This is a learning process, not a race.

A quick note on what TOCF is and isn’t: this is not a signal service. I don’t tell you what to buy. I share how I trade, the mechanics behind it, and the tools I use to track whether the strategy is actually working. The goal is clarity, not hype.

Start Here — Your Options Trading Learning Path

Path 1 — New to options trading

Start here if terms like “premium,” “assignment,” and “cash-secured put” are still fuzzy.

Begin with the foundations, in this order:

Introduction to Options Trading — why selling premium is worth learning in the first place.
Basic Option Trading Transactions — the four building blocks every other strategy is made from.
My Complete and Practical Guide to Selling Puts — the single best starting strategy for a new premium seller, explained the way I wish someone had explained it to me.

Path 2 — Learning the Wheel strategy

Start here if you understand the basics and want to learn the mechanical, repeatable strategy I trade most.

The Wheel connects three moves into one cycle. Learn each piece, then see how they fit together:

Cash-Secured Puts — A Deep Dive — the entry point of the Wheel, and why it’s not free money.
Covered Calls — A Thorough Examination — what to do once you own the shares.
The Options Wheel Strategy Explained (with Spreadsheet v2026) — the full cycle, start to finish, plus the dedicated spreadsheet I use to track it.

Path 3 — Already trading, want more structure

Start here if you’re placing trades but not yet tracking your numbers properly.

This is where most traders quietly leak returns — they’re busy but can’t tell if the strategy is working. These are the reads that fixed that for me:

My Approach to a Methodic Options Trading Strategy and Profit Goals — how I set realistic, parameter-based targets instead of guessing.
Delta Explained — and How Options Traders Use It — the one Greek I’d learn first for choosing strikes.
My “All In” Options Trading Journal Spreadsheet — the tool I built to track every strategy and account in one place. Without a tracking tool, you’re trading without a number-based compass.

Want to follow along?

Wherever you are on the path, you can follow my real trading as it happens:

My Monthly Trade Results — real money, real results, the good months and the losing ones.
My “Options Trading Unlocked” Newsletter — my reflections, lessons, and trade thinking, straight to your inbox. Free.
The TOCF Community — for traders who want to follow my live trades and discuss the process with committed members.

Take it one step at a time. Talk soon.

— Peggy

This is educational content, not personalised financial advice. Options involve risk and are not suitable for every investor. Always size trades according to your own risk tolerance, account size, and strategy understanding.