Tools, brokers, and books I actually use
This is my personal stack: the tools and platforms I rely on to analyze, trade, and run Income Options Lab. Everything here is actively used in my daily workflow.
Some links are affiliate links. If you sign up or open an account through them, I may receive a small commission at no cost to you. That doesn’t change the recommendation.
Brokers
Interactive Brokers (IBKR)
My primary broker. IBKR offers institutional-grade execution, deep liquidity, and some of the lowest margin rates available to retail traders. The platform has a learning curve, but for active traders managing real capital across the Wheel, spreads, and LEAPS, the execution quality and margin efficiency are hard to match. If you open an account using my referral link, you can earn up to $1,000 USD in IBKR stock.
Questrade
A solid Canadian alternative for traders who want a low-cost, straightforward platform. No account minimums, no account fees, commission-free stock purchases, and competitive options commissions. Cleaner interface than IBKR, making it a good starting point if you’re earlier in the journey. Rated 4.7 stars across 13,000+ reviews. If you open an account using my referral link, you’ll receive a $50 CAD bonus, and so will I.
Options analysis and charting
TradingView
My charting platform for technical context. Before committing capital and entering any position, I want to know where price has been, where support and resistance sit, and whether the chart looks orderly or erratic. TradingView is the most intuitive platform I’ve found for that. The basic plan is free and covers most of what you need as a starting point.
OptionStrat
The options calculator I use to model risk and reward for every non-trivial trade before I place it. OptionStrat helps you beautifully visualize exactly how a position behaves at different prices and dates: your breakeven, max profit, Greeks, and how the trade decays over time. Essential for anyone selling premium who wants to stress-test a position before committing capital. I use the paid plan with live price data and newsfeed.
Option Samurai
A screener built for a variety of income and hedging strategies. Instead of manually filtering through hundreds of tickers, Option Samurai shows you high-probability setups that match specific criteria: premium level, implied volatility rank, liquidity, and more. I use the wide range of filters to find candidates for selling puts, covered calls, and credit spreads without spending hours on manual research.
Free research and market tools
These are the free tools I use daily for news, fundamental analysis, and market context. No paid tiers, no affiliate links, just genuinely useful resources worth bookmarking.
Yahoo Finance
My first stop for fundamental data: earnings history, analyst consensus, revenue trends, and key financial ratios. Fast, reliable, and free. I use it to run a basic fundamental check on any ticker before selling premium on it.
Finviz
A powerful stock screener for filtering by sector, market cap, implied volatility, and technical signals. I use the free version to narrow a watchlist before going deeper on individual names.
MarketWatch
My go-to for upcoming market events: Fed announcements, economic data releases, and macro news that could affect open positions.
Barchart
Solid options data and market breadth tools. Useful for scanning implied volatility levels, expected moves and checking options flow across sectors.
CNN Fear & Greed Index
One of the clearest sentiment gauges available, and one I take seriously as a capital deployment signal. When the index reads fear or extreme fear, implied volatility tends to be elevated, premium is richer, and conditions are generally more favourable for selling options. When it reads greed or extreme greed, I start pulling back, reducing position size, and raising cash. It won’t replace a disciplined rules-based process, but as one input among many it’s a fast, reliable read on where market psychology sits.
Earnings Hub
The tool I use to track upcoming earnings reports across my watchlist. Knowing when a company reports is non-negotiable before entering any short options position.
CME FedWatch Tool
The tool I use to track market expectations for Federal Reserve interest rate decisions. It shows the probability of rate changes at upcoming FOMC meetings based on fed funds futures pricing. Interest rate decisions move markets, and knowing where consensus sits before entering a position is part of managing macro risk responsibly.
Investopedia
Not a daily workflow tool, but an invaluable reference. If you encounter a term, concept, or strategy you don’t recognize, Investopedia is the fastest way to get a clear, reliable definition. Worth bookmarking from day one.
Books worth reading
Understanding Options — Michael Sincere
The clearest introduction to options I’ve come across for complete beginners. Sincere explains the mechanics plainly, without assuming prior knowledge, and without the hype that comes with most beginner trading books. If someone tells me they’re starting from zero, this is the first book I point them to.
Options as a Strategic Investment — Lawrence G. McMillan
The reference book for serious options traders. Dense, comprehensive, and not written for casual readers. If you want to understand the mechanics of every major strategy at a deep level, this is the one to own. I return to it regularly.
Trading in the Zone — Mark Douglas
The book that made the mental side of trading finally click for me. If you know the rules but still find yourself breaking them, this is the read. Douglas gets at why discipline fails at the level of belief, not willpower, and how to fix it.
The Mental Game of Trading — Jared Tendler
Where Douglas addresses mindset and belief, Tendler goes further into the specific emotional patterns that derail traders: tilt, fear, greed, overconfidence, and how to systematically fix them. If you’ve read Trading in the Zone and want to go deeper, this is the next book.
The Psychology of Money — Morgan Housel
Not an options book, but I recommend it to every trader I work with. The chapters on risk, enough, and staying wealthy are more applicable to long-term trading success than most strategy-specific material. Short, readable, and genuinely useful.
The Intelligent Investor — Benjamin Graham
The book Warren Buffett has called the most important ever written on investing. Graham’s concept of margin of safety, buying quality at a price that protects you from being wrong, maps directly onto how we select underlying stocks for the Wheel. Foundational reading for anyone serious about long-term wealth.
Market Wizards — Jack Schwager
Interviews with the most consistently successful traders of the 1980s. The format makes it an easy read, but the insights run deep. What strikes you reading it is how often the same themes come up regardless of strategy: discipline, risk management, and consistency over home runs. The lessons are as relevant today as when they were recorded.
One Up on Wall Street — Peter Lynch
Lynch managed the Fidelity Magellan Fund to extraordinary returns by investing in companies he understood from everyday life. The stock-picking framework he lays out is practical and empowering, and directly relevant to the Wheel Strategy, where the quality of the underlying company matters as much as the options mechanics. Required reading for anyone managing their own money.
Ready to put these tools to work?
Having the right stack is a starting point. If you want to build a disciplined, rules-based approach around it, there are a few ways to dive deeper with IOL.
1-on-1 Coaching
Most traders lose time and capital to the same avoidable gaps: wrong strikes, oversized positions, no clear rules for when to enter or exit. One focused session can close those gaps, give you a safe, immediately actionable options selling system, and put you on a path to consistent profitability, faster than figuring it out alone.
$199 USD · 60-minute video call · No ongoing commitment
The Lab
Most traders struggle alone: second-guessing entries, closing winners too early, holding losers too long, abandoning rules the moment a trade goes against them. The Lab exists to change that. A structured Discord community of serious, like-minded traders built around disciplined options selling, with weekly live Masterminds, active trade discussion, and direct access to AJ when you need answers most. The right community doesn’t just keep you accountable. It compresses the learning curve, protects your capital, and makes consistent trading feel sustainable and enjoyable in a way that going it alone rarely does.
The Wheel Strategy E-book
Most options traders are one bad trade away from giving up because they never find a clear, complete system to follow. This ebook does exactly that. A focused, no-fluff guide to the Wheel Strategy: how to select the right stocks, choose the right strikes, size positions to protect your capital, and manage every stage of the trade with confidence. No guesswork. No conflicting advice. Just a proven, rules-based system you can open a position with today.
A note on affiliate links
Some links on this page are affiliate links. If you use them to sign up or open an account, I may receive a small commission at no cost to you. I only list tools, brokers, and books I use or have researched thoroughly for this type of trading. The affiliate relationship doesn’t change the recommendation.