Looking Back: Option Samurai in 2025

As 2025 comes to a close, it's a good moment to step back and look at what has been one of the most transformative years in Option Samurai's history. Markets shifted quickly this year, from volatility in the first months (do you remember Liberation Day?) to periods of strong momentum (Markets are at an all-time high, fueled by the Magnificent Seven and the new QE). 

But it doesn't matter what the markets are doing. Our mission stayed the same: to help you make better decisions in the options market.

This was our sixth consecutive year building and refining Samurai, and 2025 stands out in a big way. We continued releasing quarterly versions, but one innovation in particular defined this year and reshaped what's possible on our platform.

Let's take a look at what we accomplished together.

The Breakthrough of 2025: The Custom Strategy Options Screener

There's no doubt about it: the most important milestone of 2025 was the launch of the Custom Strategy Options Screener.

Options trading allows you a great deal of flexibility. You have many ways to express your views on the market. We wanted to support how you trade, so we've built a unique screener that gives you more flexibility, lets you create unique structures, customize legs, and scan the market for ideas beyond predefined templates.

With the Custom Strategy Screener, you can build any multi-leg strategy you can imagine and scan the market for it: from modified covered calls, to asymmetric condors, to entirely new combinations of your own design. You can compare trades, adjust legs individually, and generate opportunities that aren't available anywhere else.

Throughout the year, we continued expanding it with:

• New predefined scans for inspiration
• Delta ranges beyond ±1 for sophisticated structures
• Additional templates and examples to help you explore its full potential

This feature has already helped us find trades internally - and we've received many comments from our users about how this feature has already paid for many years of subscription.

Improved Usage and Experience Across the Platform

This year, we focused heavily on making Option SamurAI smoother, faster, and easier to use, whether you're scanning during market hours or reviewing trades after hours.

We rebuilt core parts of the platform, modernized the interface, and added tools that help you organize ideas, navigate faster, and learn features you may have missed.

Here are the key improvements that shaped your day-to-day experience:

• A Faster, More Modern Platform

We upgraded major parts of the frontend to deliver a responsive, fluid experience. The app now loads faster, feels smoother, and supports richer educational tools and upcoming features.

• A More Unified & Flexible Scanning Experience

We streamlined filters across strategies, making multi-leg workflows more intuitive and consistent. This foundation also enabled the release of the Custom Strategy Scanner later in the year.

• Dark Mode Is Here 🌙

A top user request - now available across the entire platform.

• Smarter Organization With Saved Scan Lists

Power users can now group scans into custom folders: bullish setups, income ideas, drafts, personal systems, and more. This is making it easier to manage multiple playbooks and research paths.

• Improved Tutorials and Guided Tours

We expanded walkthroughs across key pages so new and experienced traders can quickly discover features and get more value from the platform.

• A Cleaner, More Intuitive Trade Log

The refreshed layout makes reviewing your trading history and performance faster and easier.

Research & Insights: Turning Data Into Actionable Edges

During the year, we expanded our research tools and market studies to help you better understand the forces driving option prices and to put those insights to work in real trades. From new data points to in-depth backtests and ready-made templates, our goal has been to give you more ways to test ideas, validate assumptions, and trade with confidence.

• New Data Points

We added new data points, including Gamma, Put/Call Ratio, and more, to make it easier to evaluate positioning, momentum, and risk across the market.

• Quantitative Studies to Sharpen Your Edge

We published research throughout the year to help you discover new opportunities and stress-test your assumptions:

• A full-year backtest on using the Open Interest Report to find high-conviction setups
• A statistical exploration of the Santa Rally, including a Colab notebook so you can test any ticker yourself
• More research is underway and will be published next year!

These resources help translate raw data into structured, repeatable insights.

• New Predefined Scans & Excel Templates

We released new starting points for different styles of trading, including:

• LEAPS-focused scans
• Collar and rolling templates
• Strategy-specific scans inspired by real market behavior

These templates make it simple to explore scenarios, test variations, and integrate research into your workflow.

Looking Ahead to 2026

This year was all about expanding what's possible with options screening. With the Custom Strategy Scanner now live and improving every quarter, we're better positioned than ever to bring you advanced tools, new analytics, and even more flexibility in the year ahead.

Thank you for being part of the Option Samurai community and for your feedback, which helps shape every version we release.

Here's to an even sharper edge in 2026! ⚔️

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