Steve Henry

Content Director

About

Steve is Option Alpha's content director and is dedicated to helping educate others as they learn about options and automated trading. Steve currently lives in Bend, OR, and has been trading actively full-time for more than seven years.

Education

BA in English, University of Colorado at Boulder, 2008

References

Experience

Published 200+ options trading, trading education, and automated trading articles
Experienced options trader
Experienced futures trader
Host of weekly live options autotrading workshop

Strategic Thinking

Apple (AAPL) Earnings Report: Date & Expectations

AAPL reports earnings Thursday, May 2nd. Analysts estimate AAPL will beat expectations with earnings growth of $1.40 EPS on $84.12b revenue.

Strategic Thinking

Amazon (AMZN) Earnings Report: Date, Expectations, & History

AMZN reports earnings Tuesday, April 30th, after the market closes. Analysts estimate earnings growth with $0.83 EPS on $142.48b revenue.

Strategic Thinking

Tesla (TSLA) Earnings Report: Date, Expectations, & History

TSLA reports earnings Tuesday, April 23rd, after the market closes. Analysts estimate earnings growth with $0.51 EPS on $21.27b revenue.

What’s New in Option Alpha: April 2024 Release

April's release includes Scanner updates, new Trade Idea filters, an upgraded event calendar, improved bot watchlist filters, bot groups, new decisions, and more.

Strategic Thinking

Bank Stocks Q1 Earnings Preview: Dates, Projections, Historical Results, & Post-Earnings Performance

Analyst projections for 8 major bank stocks reporting Q1 earnings this week, plus key stats and historical performance from the last five years announcements.

Strategic Thinking

Delta Airlines, Inc. (DAL) Earnings

DAL reports earnings Wednesday, April 10th, before market open. Analysts estimate earnings growth with $0.35 EPS on $12.94b revenue.

Strategic Thinking

NCAA March Madness Bracket vs Options Trading

The Final Four kicks off this weekend, so we took a data-driven look at the NCAA March Madness bracket and options trading to uncover what has higher EV.

Platform Updates

New Decision to Evaluate Position's Breakeven Price

We've released a brand new decision to compare a position's breakeven price to the underlying symbol's current price.

Platform Updates

Update Cloned Bots to Latest Template Version

The newest platform release makes it much easier to update our cloned bots to the newest template version inside the bot's settings.

Platform Updates

Use Tagged Symbols to Find Trade Ideas

The new 'Tagged Symbols' input enables us to loop through our tagged symbols inside an automation and link the input to a Find Trade Idea action.

Option Alpha March 2024 Release

The newest platform release features OA Labs with earnings stats and price forecasting, plus new decision recipes, bot updates and more.

Platform Updates

Beta Weight, Beta Exposure, and Total Delta Bot Decisions for Improved Portfolio Management

Evaluate your bot position's aggregate beta weight, beta exposure, and total delta in real-time with new decisions that improve automated portfolio management.

Option Alpha February 2024 Release

The new platform release includes personalized and shareable watchlists, custom bot symbols, bot decision stats, conditional automation actions, new scanner scheduling options, updated UI, and more.

Platform Updates

Bot Symbols and Custom Shareable Watchlists

Create and share multiple custom watchlists that can be used throughout the platform, including in Bot Symbols. With Bot Symbols, bots sort and filter the selected watchlist automatically before every scan to produce a list of symbols.

Platform Updates

Schedule Scanner Automations for Improved Efficiency and Control

A new setting enables traders to schedule scanner automations on specific days and times for increased control when running bots.

Strategic Thinking

Super Bowl Betting Odds vs. Options Trading

We use Super Bowl LVIII betting odds and historical results to highlight the similarities between sports betting and options trading.

Platform Updates

Supercharge Your Bots for More Power, Symbols, & Positions

Supercharge your bots to scan a 25 ticker custom watchlist, manage 25 positions automatically, and run continuous automations so you never miss an opportunity.

Platform Updates

Toggle Switches from the Bot Inputs Window

You can now toggle your automation switches directly from the bot inputs window in your bot's settings. Quickly and easily turn your switches on and off with one click.

Platform Updates

Reset Tags & Symbols from the Bot Dashboard

It's now incredibly easy and efficient to quickly reset your bot's symbols and tags directly in the bot dashboard.

Platform Updates

New Decisions to Check Position Moneyness

Three new decision actions give you the power to check your position's moneyness -- and by how much it's in or out of the money -- inside any automation.

Platform Updates

Beta Weighting Bots & Positions for Advanced Portfolio Insights

Use beta weighting for your bots and positions to give you a powerful new way to manage your options portfolio inside Option Alpha.

Platform Updates

Beta Weighting Decision Recipes for Automated Portfolio Management

Two new decision recipes enable traders to check bot and position beta weight for dynamic portfolio management.

Platform Updates

Beta Weighting Now Available in Trade Ideas

Trade Ideas now includes sortable columns for a position's beta and delta, as well as a beta weight metric that shows how the position will impact your portfolio.

Platform Updates

New Bot Archive to Save and Restore Bots

The new bot archive function lets you keep bots in your autotrading portfolio and restore them, including all their position history and automations.

Platform Updates

Maximum Exit Option Attempts Setting for Retail Options Traders

A new setting lets you control how many Exit Option order attempts can be sent to your broker in a day, to help avoid being labeled as a professional trader.

Platform Updates

New Trade Ideas Action for Automated Debit Spreads

Trade Ideas action now includes debit spreads to automate long call spreads and long put spreads inside your bots.

Platform Updates

Debit Spreads Added to Trade Ideas

Option Alpha's Trade Ideas now includes debit spreads to give options traders thousands of more trading opportunities when looking for positions.

Strategic Thinking

Santa Claus Rally: The Stock Market’s December Effect

We analyze the stock market's historical December returns, examine the factors that influence prices at the end of the year, and look ahead at the 2024 stock market outlook.

United Petition to CBOE to Lower SPX Option Minimum Bid Increments

Join the options trading community in advocating for a change in the minimum SPX options bid increments from $0.05 to $0.01.

Platform Updates

Partial Closes and Ability to Close Short Legs

Manual position closing now includes the ability to exit only the short legs of spreads and partially close multi-contract positions for increased trade management.

Platform Updates

Customizable Columns Added to All Table Views

You can now customize your Trade Ideas, Bots, Positions and Screener columns to display the key information you want to see.

Platform Updates

New Position Screen Improvements

The open and closed position pages have been updated to display more of the essential details traders want to see. Plus, the stock's last price is now colorized to quickly show a position's moneyness.

Platform Updates

Compare Position Properties for Expanded Trade Management

A new decision recipe allows traders to compare key position stats such as EV, Alpha, and more to give you more control of position management.

Congrats on $1 Billion in Live Trades

We’re pleased to announce that together we have crossed a huge milestone in live options trades.

Research Insights

How to Calculate Expected Value: Simple EV, Simple-Partial EV, and Real EV

We share the three EV calculations you can use with the information available in any brokerage platform and compare the methods to determine their accuracy.

Option Alpha is now Free with a Qualifying TradeStation Account

Option Alpha traders are eligible for a free Pro+ account when you connect a qualified TradeStation account.

Research Insights

Trade Ideas Probability & Performance: Expected Value vs. Realized P/L

We analyzed 130k Trade Ideas positions to visually compare each trade's realized P/L to its Expected Value at trade entry.

Research Insights

0DTE Options: Strategy Insights from the Top Performing Trades

We analyzed 230k 0DTE options trades to determine what successful Option Alpha traders are doing and the key metrics that influenced profitable strategy setups.

Platform Updates

Save Your Favorite Position Settings with Trade Ideas Presets

Trade Ideas ‘Presets’ lets you save one or more filters to quickly view all potential trading opportunities with your favorite settings.

Platform Updates

Visually Analyze Your Trading Results on Option Alpha

Analyze your trading performance and filter live or paper results by strategy type, ticker symbol, account, bot, and tags for in-depth portfolio analysis.

Platform Updates

New Event Calendar Integrates Earnings, Ex-Dividend Dates, & Market Events

A new calendar displays key dates and market events to give you all the essential information you need before entering a trade.

Platform Updates

Export & Download Bot Position History Data

Export your bot data to easily analyze and compare closed position performance history.

Platform Updates

Use Top Strategies to Find Option Trading Setups

Top Strategies makes it easier than ever to find the best-performing option trading setups using historical data from the Option Alpha community.

Platform Updates

Upgraded Open Position Screen Includes EV, Alpha, & Probabilities

We've enhanced the Open Position screen to include Expected Value (EV), Alpha, and more probabilities.

Platform Updates

New Leaderboard featuring the Top Performing Bots

There's a new leaderboard that tracks the top performing bots shared in the Option Alpha community to help you discover new ideas and strategies.

Platform Updates

Move Positions Between Bots for Portfolio Flexibility

You can now move positions between any two bots that are connected to the same Option Alpha account so you can manage your portfolio with more control and flexibility.

Platform Updates

Find Better Trade Ideas (2.0)

Trade Ideas 2.0 revolutionizes the way you find potential trading opportunities using math and probabilities. Plus, you can now autotrade using Trade Ideas.

Platform Updates

Expanded Exit Options Now Include EV and Alpha

With the addition of EV and Alpha, we've expanded Exit Option so you now have more ways to manage your positions.

Platform Updates

Find Trade Ideas for Multiple Symbols

Let you bots scan a list of ticker symbols and find the best trade idea across up to 10 different symbols.

Platform Updates

Bot Notes Now Available

You can now add notes to any bot to include ideas, updated versions, data, research, links, images, and more. Stay organized and track your strategy insights.

Platform Updates

Open Trade Idea Action Added to Automations

Use Trade Ideas to analyze the entire database of potential trades and sort, rank, and autotrade the best available position based on your defined criteria.

Platform Updates

New, Streamlined Way to Filter Trading Opportunities

Using pre-trade opportunity filters is always a best practice. This update gives you an easier format to add entry and position criteria for more efficiency and reduced friction in your automations.

Platform Updates

New Probability & Symbol Filters Added to Trade Ideas

Trade Ideas now include additional probability and symbol filters to help you customize your search criteria to find exactly what you're looking for.

Platform Updates

Expanded SmartPricing Settings to Control Slippage

New SmartPricing settings empower you to combat wide bid/ask spreads and abnormal price fluctuations.

Platform Updates

New FOMC Meeting & CPI Decision Recipe

Two new decision recipes give you added control when targeting specific dates, including FOMC meetings and CPI releases.

Platform Updates

New, More Intuitive Automation Editor

Say hello to a more intuitive, easier to use automation editor with color coded actions and collapsible decision blocks.

Platform Updates

1-Min Trailing Stops Added to Exit Options

Exit options now include trailing stops for the most advanced automated position management available.

Platform Updates

VXX & UVXY Now Available for Autotrading

VXX and UVXY are now available for autotrading. These volatility ETFs provide exposure to the VIX short-term futures index.

Platform Updates

New Post-Earnings Decisions

The latest update includes two new decision recipes for targeting past earnings dates.

Platform Updates

Expanded Bot Performance Stats & Win Rate Charting

The January 2023 platform release includes new stats and charts to give you upgraded visual tools when monitoring your bots’ activity and key metrics.

Platform Updates

Introducing In-App Help Docs

In-app help docs and the new 'Get Started' checklist will guide you around Option Alpha to find everything you need to know as an autotrader.

Platform Updates

Exit Options Now Support Customizable SmartPricing

The latest upgrade to Exit Options now supports custom SmartPricing settings for each scenario, plus we added the ability to send Market Orders if you choose.

Platform Updates

Exit Options "Presets" Means Faster Trade Entry

Create Presets for your Exit Options to quickly reuse custom settings for long and short option positions.

Platform Updates

Say Hello to Trade Ideas, Our Newest Tool for Options Traders

Trade Ideas calculate probabilities for millions of potential options positions using live market data so you can make smarter trades.

Option Alpha January 2023 Release

The first major platform release of the year is here! Check out all the updates, including the all-new Trade Ideas.

Option Alpha is Free with a Qualifying Tradier Brokerage Account

Learn how you can get a free Option Alpha Pro+ account when connecting your qualified Tradier Brokerage account.

Research Insights

Trading the Opening Range: Mean Reversion vs Trend Following

How has market volatility impacted intraday mean reversion and trend following strategies? We analyzed the first trading hour in SPY to understand intraday mean reversion vs. trend following signals.

Platform Updates

Faster Position Management with 1-minute Auto-Exit Options

Introducing faster position management! Pre-set your exit options when opening a position and let automation manage your position every minute.

Platform Updates

Manual Trading Reimagined and Easily Connected to Auto-Management

Manual trading is getting a huge upgrade. We reimagined the user experience of manual trading to solve problems and simplify your life.

Platform Updates

Upgraded Bot Logs Add "Highlights" & Quicklinks to Positions

New, interconnected bot logs show you exactly what's happening in your bots and automations. Right where you need them.

Platform Updates

Upgraded Backtester Offers Increased Precision

The backtester now includes expanded settings so you have even more precision when testing your options strategies.

Platform Updates

Introducing Interactive, Real-Time Options Payoff Diagrams

Every position now includes an interactive real-time option payoff diagram that uses live pricing to update key metrics and probabilities, so there's no guesswork on your position's current status.

Platform Updates

Backtester Now Includes Technical Indicators

You now have expanded criteria for researching option strategies so you can customize your ideas with more detail.

Introducing $0 Commission Free* Trading with Option Alpha and TradeStation

Announcing $0 commission-free trading for Option Alpha members using TradeStation in the autotrading platform.

Introducing $0 Commission Free* Trading with Option Alpha and Tradier

Option Alpha announces $0 commission-free trading through our exclusive agreement with Tradier Brokerage.

Automated Trading

How To Manage Assigned Autotrading Positions

A step-by-step guide to help you manage position assignments with bots.

Research Insights

0DTE Options Strategies: Insights from 25k Trades

We analyzed over 25,000 0DTE option positions traded in the autotrading platform to assess what worked and how traders set up short-term trading strategies.

Strategic Thinking

Options Wheel Strategy

The wheel strategy is a popular options strategy investors can use to generate income selling options and potentially owning stock. Learn how to trade the options wheel strategy.

Bot Inspiration

How to Automate a MACD Strategy with Bots

Learn how to automate a strategy that sells credit spreads when the MACD indicator signals an overbought or oversold condition.

Platform Updates

New Open High Low Close (OHLC) Stock Decisions

Unlock new autotrading opportunities with these two decision recipes that evaluate a symbol's open, high, low, or closing price using a specific look-back period.

Platform Updates

Create Bots Instantly from Any Backtest

Option Alpha’s new ‘Backtest to Bot’ feature lets you instantly create an automated trading strategy from any backtest in our database.

Platform Updates

Introducing the Bot Wizard

Creating a bot has never been easier! The new bot wizard helps you go from idea to automated strategy in a few simple steps.

Bot Inspiration

How to Automate a Bollinger Band Strategy

Learn how to build an automated Bollinger Band bot using debit and credit spreads to trade breakouts.

Research Insights

We Analyzed 20,000 Options Trades: Here’s What We Learned About Position Swings

We studied over 20,000 trades to measure the average time between return extremes over the life of a trade. From all that data and research, see what stands out.

Research Insights

3 AAPL Bullish Options Strategies Backtested

Bullish on AAPL stock? Use Option Alpha to backtest three bullish strategies and compare the results, or search a database of AAPL options strategies.

Platform Updates

Crowdsource Backtests in the Community

Crowdsource options backtests like never before. Share strategies, upvote performance results, and comment on backtests in the Community.

Platform Updates

Enhanced Bot Performance Stats

We’ve improved the bot dashboard significantly in the latest platform update. The equity P/L graph is enhanced so you can now view more detailed bot performance stats. Plus, you can edit your closed positions and order history.

Platform Updates

New Community Groups For Targeted Conversations

Easily discover and explore targeted Community conversations on specific topics in four main categories.

Platform Updates

Master Your Decision Timing With These Automation Sequencing Improvements

Two new updates improve sequencing so you have more control. Bots now have more intelligent decision timing when looping symbols and running automations.

Platform Updates

Standard Deviation Decisions Improved to Decimal Precision

We’ve upgraded standard deviation properties so you can use decimal precision for pinpoint accuracy.

Platform Updates

Expanded Strike Selections Give You Even More Control

We’ve expanded the way you can select strike prices. There are now four options for choosing a strike price, so you always have pinpoint accuracy and control of your positions.

Platform Updates

Easily Edit Automation Paths With Negated Decisions

Edit automation paths with negated decisions to save time and increase flexibility.

Platform Updates

Manage Your Positions with Return on Risk

Intelligently manage your positions with this new decision recipe that evaluates return on risk to exit positions at defined targets.

Platform Updates

Now You Can Schedule Automations to Run After Market Open & Before Market Close

With this platform update, you have even more control of your bots' event automations. You can now automatically check in on your automations and positions at the beginning and end of every trading day.

Platform Updates

Compare Multiple Backtests for Unparalleled Strategy Development

You can now compare multiple backtests side-by-side to see exactly how they stack up to each other for unparalleled strategy development.

Platform Updates

Increased Automation Flexibility With "Stock or ETF" Decision Recipe

Now you can split automation decisions using a recipe to evaluate if the underlying ticker symbol is a stock or an ETF.

Platform Updates

Backtester Enhancements Unlock Research Superpowers for Options Traders

The Option Alpha backtester has improved every aspect with the newest update. You now have expanded research tools to discover your perfect options strategy.

Research Insights

Rising Interest Rates: Taper Tantrum or Opportunity?

Investors expect interest rates to rise this year. We studied four similar environments to deliver the context you need for today’s market.

Research Insights

Is the “Golden Bull Market” Finally Ending?

20 years of data suggests this bull market may not be over yet, and the positive momentum could continue into the new year.

Autotrading Is Here: The Doors Are Open

We are sending invites to traders on the Waitlist! Share the news, get to the front of the line, and start autotrading!

Options Trading 2.0 is here

10k traders joining forces to create a new experience for options trading based on math, probabilities and automation.

Try It for Free