Options Alpha
Overview
Options Alpha, led by Kirk Du Plessis, takes a probability-based approach to options trading that's fundamentally different from most signal services. Rather than discretionary trade calls from a guru, OA offers automated trading bots backed by backtested strategies and an extensive library of options education. The free educational content alone rivals most paid options courses, and the premium tiers ($49-99/month) add bot automation, customisation, and direct brokerage integration.
How It Works
The core of Options Alpha is its bot marketplace. Instead of following manual signals, subscribers select from a library of backtested options strategies — primarily credit spreads, iron condors, strangles, and other premium-selling strategies — and deploy them as automated bots. The bots execute trades through connected brokerage accounts according to predefined rules: entry criteria, position sizing, profit targets, and stop conditions.
Each bot strategy comes with extensive backtesting data showing historical performance, win rate, average return, maximum drawdown, and Sharpe ratio. Subscribers can paper trade any strategy before deploying real capital — a feature that demonstrates genuine confidence in the product.
The educational component is massive. Kirk Du Plessis has built what many consider the best free options education library on the internet — covering options pricing, Greeks, probability of profit calculations, strategy selection, and portfolio management. The premium tiers add advanced content, but the free material is genuinely comprehensive.
Signal format is algorithmic rather than discretionary. You don't receive "buy the XYZ March 50 call" — you deploy a bot with defined parameters and it executes when conditions are met. This removes emotion from trading but also removes the discretionary overlay that human traders use to adapt to unusual conditions.
Performance Analysis
Options Alpha's verification is "partial" in our framework because the performance is backtested rather than independently audited on live accounts. Backtesting shows what a strategy would have done historically, not what it will do going forward — and the gap between backtested and live performance is well-documented in quantitative finance.
That said, OA is more transparent about this than most. Monthly performance reports are published, the backtesting methodology is explained, and the parameters are visible so subscribers can evaluate the assumptions. Kirk openly discusses the limitations of backtesting and the risks of premium selling strategies.
The practical subscriber experience varies. In normal volatility environments, the premium-selling bots tend to generate steady small wins. During volatility spikes (market crashes, unexpected events), the strategies can experience outsized losses — this is the fundamental risk of selling options premium. Several subscribers report painful drawdowns during the 2022 selloff and other volatility events.
The honest assessment: OA's strategies have a positive expected value in normal conditions but carry significant tail risk. If you run the bots long enough across enough strategies with proper position sizing, the math works out over time. But individual months or quarters can be brutal, and many subscribers don't have the stomach or the account size to ride through the rough patches.
Strengths
- Probability-based methodology with extensive backtesting data — strategies are grounded in quantitative analysis, not gut feel
- Automated bot execution removes emotional decision-making and ensures consistent application of the strategy
- Free educational content is genuinely world-class — better than most paid options courses
- Paper trading mode allows risk-free strategy testing before deploying real capital
- Transparent monthly performance reports that include losses, not just winners
- Brokerage integration for automated execution — not just alerts you need to act on manually
Weaknesses
- Backtested performance frequently diverges from live results, especially during market stress events
- Premium selling strategies carry significant tail risk — volatility spikes can cause outsized losses
- Mechanical execution means riding out every drawdown with no discretionary override
- Requires $25K+ account for proper diversification across bot strategies
- Not independently audited — verification relies on backtests and published monthly reports, not third-party audit
- No human discretionary overlay to adapt during unprecedented market conditions
Pricing & Value
Options Alpha offers a genuinely generous free tier — the educational content, research, and some basic tools are available at no cost. This alone would rank it highly against many paid options courses.
The premium tiers are $49/month (Essential) and $99/month (Pro), adding bot automation, advanced backtesting, and more customisation options. For what you get — algorithmic options trading with paper trade testing and brokerage integration — the pricing is fair.
The hidden cost is account size. To properly diversify across multiple bot strategies (the recommended approach for managing tail risk), subscribers generally need $25K+ in their trading account. Running a single bot on a $5K account creates concentrated risk that defeats the purpose of the probabilistic approach.
For comparison: tastytrade (#8) offers free content with a similar philosophy but no automated execution. The Trading Analyst (#9) provides manual options alerts for $28/month. Neither offers the backtested automation that is OA's core product.
How It Compares
Against Vector Ridge (#1) and the top equity/forex services, OA is a fundamentally different product. Those are discretionary signal services from skilled traders. OA is an algorithmic platform for systematic options selling. Comparing them is like comparing a personal chef to an automated meal kit service — different models for different preferences.
Against tastytrade (#8), the philosophies overlap (both focus on selling options premium with a probability-based framework) but the delivery differs completely. Tastytrade is media content where you extract ideas. OA is automated execution where bots do the work. If you want to learn and trade manually, tastytrade is better. If you want automation, OA is better.
Against The Trading Analyst (#9), OA offers a more sophisticated approach with automation and backtesting, at a higher price point. TTA provides simpler, manual options alerts. Again, different products for different traders.
The key competitor for OA isn't really another signal service — it's the question of whether systematic options selling is the right strategy for you. If you believe in probabilistic edge and have the account size to survive drawdowns, OA is among the best implementations available.
Who Is This For?
Options traders who prefer systematic, probability-based trading over discretionary decision-making. Ideal for traders with $25K+ accounts who want to remove emotion from the process and are comfortable with the mathematical reality that small, steady wins come with occasional large losses. Also excellent for options beginners who want to learn from the free educational content before committing capital.
Not ideal for traders who want discretionary, conviction-based trade calls, anyone with a small account unable to diversify across strategies, or traders who can't tolerate periodic sharp drawdowns in exchange for long-term positive expected value.
Our Verdict
Options Alpha earns #6 for genuine innovation in automated options trading and the best free educational content in the options space. Kirk Du Plessis has built something meaningfully different from the typical guru-signal-service model — a quantitative platform that democratises systematic options selling.
The backtested-vs-live performance gap and tail risk exposure in premium selling strategies prevent a higher ranking. The mathematics work over long periods, but the psychological and financial cost of riding through drawdowns is real, and many subscribers discover they can't stomach it in practice.
If you believe in systematic, probability-based trading and have the account size and temperament to implement it properly, OA is among the best platforms available. If you want a human trader making discretionary calls based on market reading, look elsewhere.