A free curriculum for independent market learners
Method-first notes on backtesting, Indian options, risk, costs, and validation. No signals, no recommendations, no calls, no price targets. Use it as a reading discipline for every study you encounter — including ours.
Educational only. Nothing in this note is investment advice, a recommendation, a trading call, a tip, a signal, or a price target. Examples are illustrative — never live market guidance.
Six steps to read any research honestly
A linear sequence for new readers. Each step builds on the previous one.
- 1Step 1What is a backtest?
Set the right mental model before reading any historical study.
Start → - 2Step 2Common backtesting mistakes
Learn the patterns that quietly inflate amateur studies.
Start → - 3Step 3Slippage, brokerage & taxes
Understand the Indian cost stack that decides whether an edge is real.
Start → - 4Step 4How to read drawdowns
Move past max drawdown — read duration and clustering.
Start → - 5Step 5How to validate a study
Apply a neutral checklist to any published research.
Start → - 6Step 6How to read a report
Navigate every section of an OptionScience report with intent.
Start →
Start Here
If you are new to OptionScience, start with these notes to set the right reading discipline.
A clear definition of a backtest, what it can show, what it cannot, and how to read one honestly.
A guided tour of every section in every report — what to look for and what each piece means.
Regime shifts, microstructure changes, liquidity decay — the structural reasons historical edges disappear.
Backtesting Foundations
What a backtest is, the mistakes that quietly inflate one, and how to think about lookahead bias.
A clear definition of a backtest, what it can show, what it cannot, and how to read one honestly.
The handful of mistakes that quietly inflate almost every amateur backtest, with a red-flag checklist.
Why using future information — even accidentally — silently destroys a backtest.
Indian Options Market Basics
Structural features of Indian index and stock options that matter for research.
Premium, expiry, Greeks, margin, and the structural risk dimensions every options learner needs.
Why short-premium equity curves look beautiful — until the day they do not.
Risk, Drawdowns & Position Sizing
How to read drawdowns and how short-premium asymmetry shapes equity curves.
Magnitude, duration, and clustering — the three properties that make drawdowns meaningful.
Why short-premium equity curves look beautiful — until the day they do not.
Costs, Slippage & Liquidity
Why honest cost modelling matters more than headline metrics in Indian markets.
Overfitting & Validation
Why too-clean curves are warnings, and how walk-forward validation exposes fragility.
Why a too-clean equity curve is usually a warning, not a triumph.
A transparent way to separate true behaviour from optimisation bias.
A vendor-neutral checklist any reader can apply before assigning weight to a study.
Reading OptionScience Reports
A guided tour of the report structure and the limits of historical performance.
A guided tour of every section in every report — what to look for and what each piece means.
Regime shifts, microstructure changes, liquidity decay — the structural reasons historical edges disappear.
Glossary
Definitions for the terms used across the OptionScience library.
Downloadable Checklists
Compact one-page checklists distilled from the notes. Use them while reading any study.
Run this before forming a view on any backtested study.
How to read drawdown beyond the headline number.
Confirm an Indian options study survives realistic costs.
Identify the risk surface before forming any view.
A vendor-neutral way to stress any published study.