Level 2 — The Advanced Course · Index 1 of 20
Level 2 Index
The map of
Welcome to Level 2 of Alpha Academy — the advanced course for students who finished the Level 1 Academy and can already define every basic term, read a chart, and size a position. Level 1 taught you what everything is. Level 2 teaches you how the market actually works underneath: who is on the other side of your trade, why price pins at some levels and explodes through others, how professionals measure risk across a whole account, and how to prove a strategy works before risking a dollar on it.
Level 2 pairs with a companion: the Alpha Academy Practice Pack (workbooks, templates, the 30-Trade Paper Challenge, and the Final Exam).
The Level 2 Curriculum
| Code | Document | What You Will Learn |
|---|---|---|
| Level 2 Index | Level 2 Index & Curriculum Map | This map |
| Welcome to Level 2 | Welcome to Level 2 | From student to trader — what changes now |
| Level 2 Quotes & the Tape | Level 2 Quotes & the Tape | Depth of book, prints, and what they really show |
| Order Flow Basics | Order Flow Basics | Aggressive buyers/sellers, delta, absorption |
| Market Internals | Market Internals | Breadth, TICK, put/call — the market's dashboard |
| Volatility & the VIX A–Z | Volatility & the VIX A–Z | The fear gauge, term structure, and vol regimes |
| Trading Earnings & IV Crush | Trading Earnings & IV Crush | Expected moves and the post-earnings vol collapse |
| Calendar & Diagonal Spreads | Calendar & Diagonal Spreads | Trading time decay itself |
| Butterflies & Advanced Structures | Butterflies & Advanced Structures | Precision pin bets — and ratio-spread danger |
| Portfolio Greeks & Hedging | Portfolio Greeks & Hedging | Your whole account's exposure, and how to insure it |
| The DOM & Footprint Charts | The DOM & Footprint Charts | Inside the futures order book |
| Trading the Open | Trading the Open | A sane framework for the wildest 30 minutes |
| Swing Trading A–Z | Swing Trading A–Z | Holding for days — entries, sizing, routine |
| Building & Backtesting a System | Building & Backtesting a System | Expectancy, overfitting, and proving an edge |
| Gamma & Dealer Positioning | Gamma & Dealer Positioning | The hidden hand on price — GEX in plain English |
| Trading With GEX Levels | Trading With GEX Levels | The practical framework: flip, walls, environment |
| Long-Term Investing & Portfolio Building | Long-Term Investing & Portfolio Building | The other half of wealth |
| Retirement Accounts Deep Dive | Retirement Accounts Deep Dive | IRA, Roth & 401(k) — and the match rule |
| Trader Taxes Advanced | Trader Taxes Advanced | Section 1256, the 475 election, entities |
| Case Studies: Crashes & Manias | Case Studies: Crashes & Manias | 2008, 2020, and GameStop — what history teaches |
| Glossary — Expanded Edition | Alpha Trading Glossary — Expanded Edition | 850+ terms, fully searchable |
How to Take Level 2
- In order, the first time. The sections build: structure and flow first, then volatility and advanced options, then futures depth, then systems — and the Gamma section (Gamma & Dealer Positioning/15) lands hardest once you understand hedging and the Greeks.
- Pair every section with the Practice Pack. The Workbooks drill Level 1; the Final Exam certifies it. Level 2 study habit: read one module, then paper trade ONLY that module's concept for two weeks while journaling it.
- Finish with the Case Studies. Case Studies: Crashes & Manias is the perspective check — every tool in this course existed in 2008, 2020, and 2021, and none of them replaced risk management.
- Then the real graduation: the 30-Trade Paper Challenge from the Practice Pack, run on ONE setup, graded on rule-following. Pass that, and you are ready to trade as a trader, not a tourist.