Dennis Maritim is a mortgage broker from Vancouver, Canada, who trades options in his spare time. He began trading in 2017 and has since transitioned from buying calls and puts to selling volatility. His goal: to generate consistent cash flow while protecting his downside.

Why options trading strategies matter

For retail traders, options can feel overwhelming. But the right options trading strategies can create steady returns without constant screen-watching. In this interview, Dennis shares three strategies he actively uses in 2025 — each with a different time frame and risk profile.

All three options trading strategies have in common that they are simple to understand and execute.

Watch Dennis Maritim explain his three options trading strategies

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Strategy 1: Weekly ETF put credit spreads

Every Monday, Dennis sells a 40-delta put on ETFs like SPY, QQQ, IWM, and DIA. To hedge, he pairs it with a cheap 8-delta put. The trade expires on Friday, and most weeks, he lets it expire rather than buying it back. If he is assigned, he sells covered calls on the position the next Monday, thus essentially making this a version of The Wheel strategy.

Why this works:

• Weekly cash flow from premium collected
• The possibility of assignment, which transitions into covered calls
• Focus on broad-market ETFs with positive drift

Since starting this strategy in July 2025, Dennis has already made about $13,000 on an account size of roughly $190,000. He notes the main risk comes if the market sells off hard, forcing him to either wait out positions or take losses.

Strategy 2: 0DTE SPX iron condors

Dennis also trades 0DTE (zero days to expiration) SPX iron condors. He usually enters around 10:30 AM EST with 20-delta shorts and $10-wide wings. His goal is to close the trade for 25–50% profit the same day.

Key details:

• Stop-loss set on the whole Iron Condor at 100% of the credit received
• Premiums typically range from $2.10–$2.60
• Uses small lot sizes (two contracts) to keep risk manageable

This strategy has been profitable in most occurrences since he started in August 2025. While risk is higher compared to his weekly trades, Dennis finds it effective for generating same-day income when managed with discipline.

Strategy 3: LEAPS with covered calls

The third strategy combines long-term leaps with weekly covered calls, also known as the Poor Man’s Covered Call. Dennis buys deep-in-the-money leaps on SPY and QQQ, typically at 90-delta with 1.5–2 years until expiration. Against these, he sells 10–15 delta weekly calls.

Why he likes this approach:

• Mimics a “poor man’s covered call”
• Generates consistent weekly income
• Keeps long exposure to market upside

The main risk is if the underlying stock declines significantly, causing the leap to lose value. To limit this, Dennis closes leaps when they reach about 180 days to expiration, rolling into new ones.

• Check out some of our other video interviews:
• Ravish Ahuja: Two low-risk options trading strategies you need to know
• Ross Young: Jade Lizard options strategy explained: No upside risk
• Brian Terry: Post-earnings credit spreads: A safer earnings strategy with high win rates
• Simon Black: The Time Flies Spread: A smarter way to trade theta?

Risk profile of the strategies

Dennis rated his strategies as follows:

• Weekly ETF put credit spreads: 6/10 risk
• Zero DTE SPX iron condors: 8/10 risk
• Leaps with covered calls: 3/10 risk

This shows how traders can balance different strategies depending on their account size, risk tolerance, and time availability.

Key takeaways

Dennis’s experience highlights several lessons for retail traders:

• Selling volatility and using time decay can be more reliable than buying calls and puts.
• Weekly ETF put spreads provide steady cash flow with manageable risk.
• 0DTE strategies offer faster profits but require stricter risk management.
• Leaps with covered calls create long-term growth with weekly income.

Most importantly, Dennis emphasizes discipline: keeping position sizes small, managing risk carefully, and avoiding the temptation to swing for the fences.

Books recommended in this video

For traders wanting to dive deeper, Dennis recommends:

• Lawrence McMillan: Options as a Strategic Investment
• Mark Sebastian and Dennis chen: The Option Trader’s Hedge Fund