Larry Benedict Vienna Cartel USO Options Strategy Explained

Quick Verdict

Larry Benedict’s One Ticker Trader centers on a simple idea: a group of 22 oil-producing nations meets monthly in Vienna and influences global oil prices. Those decisions raise costs for everyday Americans through higher gas, electricity, and grocery bills. Benedict, a veteran trader with decades of hedge-fund experience, shows how options on the United States Oil Fund (USO) can be used to aim for gains when oil prices move sharply in either direction. The current offer gives a full year of trade alerts plus free educational reports and a video course for $19, backed by a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Key Takeaways

• The “Vienna Cartel” refers to the monthly meetings of oil-exporting nations that set production levels and affect oil prices worldwide.
• Oil price swings influence gasoline, power bills, shipping, farming, and grocery costs for U.S. households.
• Larry Benedict recommends options on the ticker USO rather than simply buying the fund itself.
• Options allow potential profits from large moves up or down, with risk limited to the premium paid.
• Alerts tell members exactly what to buy, the price to pay, and when to exit; no chart reading is required.
• Historical examples cited include possible gains of roughly 21 % in two days, 77 % in eight days, and 87 % in six days on $10,000 positions (not typical).
• The current package includes 12 months of One Ticker Trader, three educational bonuses, and a 30-day full-refund guarantee for $19.
• The strategy is aimed at adults who already have a brokerage account with options approval and can afford to lose the money they put at risk.
• Volatility linked to cartel meetings and policy actions is presented as the source of trading opportunities.
• Always remember that average closed-position results cited since inception are approximately 10.45 % over an average 19-day hold; losses are possible and common in options trading.

Larry Benedict Vienna Cartel Pitch: The Core Idea

The presentation opens with a straightforward claim: a group of government officials from 22 oil-exporting countries meets every month in a building in Vienna, Austria. This group has operated since 1960. America is not a member. Their decisions decide how many barrels of oil will be produced and therefore where roughly $6.3 trillion in annual oil-related wealth will flow. The effects reach U.S. consumers within about 36 hours through higher or lower prices at the pump, on utility bills, and in grocery stores.

The presentation calls this group the Vienna Cartel. It states that the cartel’s production cuts or increases are a major reason household costs keep rising even when domestic policy changes. Examples given include a 2022 cut of two million barrels per day that occurred while inflation was already high. Reuters and other outlets reported the move. The U.S. government responded with investigations into possible collusion by large oil companies and attempts to pass the NOPEC bill, which would have allowed lawsuits against the cartel for price-fixing. The bill did not become law.

Recent events are framed as intensifying the situation. Actions involving Venezuela and Iran are described as efforts to reduce the cartel’s influence. The presentation notes that the United States still imports about seven million barrels of crude oil daily. Temporary disruptions, such as those linked to shipping routes, have pushed oil prices higher and produced large profits for producers. Independent energy agencies have warned that restoring full production after major disruptions can take up to two years and that inflation effects may linger longer.

The central idea is that these monthly meetings and the surrounding policy moves create repeated, large swings in oil prices. Most households simply absorb the higher costs. The presentation argues there is a legal way for ordinary investors to position themselves so that the same price swings can generate cash. The vehicle is not oil company stocks and not a simple long position in an oil fund. It is options contracts on the United States Oil Fund, ticker USO.

USO has tracked oil prices since 2006 and is available in any standard U.S. brokerage account that allows options trading. Buying shares of USO itself requires the price of oil to rise for the investor to profit. Options on USO work differently. A call option gains when the price rises; a put option gains when the price falls. Because the contracts are leveraged, a 10 % move in USO can produce a much larger percentage gain (or loss) on the option premium. The presentation stresses that the investor’s maximum loss is limited to the amount paid for the option.

Historical illustrations are given. After a June 2023 cartel decision to extend production cuts, a recommended options trade on USO is said to have offered a 21 % gain in two days. After an October 2025 meeting that increased output and sent oil prices down, another trade is said to have offered an 87 % gain in six days. After a January 2026 meeting held shortly after events in Venezuela, a trade is said to have offered a 77 % gain in eight days. On a hypothetical $10,000 position these percentages translate into the dollar figures $2,482, $8,704, and $7,623 respectively. The presentation also notes an average seven-day return of 17 % across similar trades since 2023, while cautioning that not every signal works and that past results are not typical.

The same principle is applied to other tickers throughout the year. Examples listed include short-term options on IBIT, XHB, and QQQ that produced multi-thousand-dollar gains on $10,000 notional positions in a single day or a few hours. The common thread is that the trades are timed by a set of technical indicators rather than by guessing the next news headline.

The indicators themselves are described simply. After any large move in oil (up or down), prices often reverse like a stretched rubber band. A combination of the 50-day moving average and the Relative Strength Index (RSI) is used to identify when the move has become extreme. When those signals align, an alert is issued. Members do not need to interpret the indicators; they receive a one-line instruction that states the exact option contract, the price to pay, and the exit plan.

The presentation emphasizes speed. The next cartel meeting is scheduled for the beginning of the following month. Policy actions can occur with little notice. Anyone who waits may miss the next signal. That urgency is the reason a low-priced trial membership is offered immediately.

The Guru Behind the Strategy: Larry Benedict

Larry Benedict has spent more than forty years in the financial markets. He began in the trading pits of Wall Street and the Chicago Board Options Exchange. He later managed a hedge fund that at one point controlled nearly one billion dollars for clients that included the Canadian government, the Bank of New York, and members of the Saudi royal family. The Saudi connection is cited as giving him direct insight into how large oil-producing nations think about supply and price.

Barron’s ranked the fund in the top 1 % of hedge funds worldwide. Benedict recorded twenty consecutive years without a losing year. In one year when the S&P 500 fell 37 %, his clients still earned $95 million in profits. He is one of the traders profiled in Jack Schwager’s Market Wizards series, appearing alongside Paul Tudor Jones and Ray Dalio. Major outlets including The Washington Post, CNBC, and Bloomberg have quoted him as a market expert.

Benedict left full-time fund management because he wanted ordinary Americans to have access to the same tools that institutional clients used. He states that the public is largely unaware of how the monthly oil meetings affect household budgets and that the same meetings create trading opportunities that most retail investors never see. His current service, One Ticker Trader, is the vehicle he uses to deliver those opportunities in plain language.

Risk management is a recurring theme in descriptions of his style. The Market Wizards profile notes that “risk management dominates Benedict’s approach.” He repeatedly stresses a 2–3 % rule: no single trade should risk more than a small fraction of the total capital allocated to options. This keeps losses limited even when a signal fails.

One Ticker Trader: What Is It and How It Works?

One Ticker Trader is a subscription alert service. Members receive email or platform notifications that contain complete trade instructions. Each alert specifies:

• the exact option contract (ticker, strike, expiration),
• the maximum price to pay,
• the suggested exit price or time frame,
• and any stop or adjustment rules.

No chart reading, no indicator calculation, and no market watching are required. The member opens a brokerage app that already has options approval, types the details, and submits the order. The process is described as taking under one minute.

The primary focus is options on USO. Because the fund moves with oil prices, and because oil prices react to cartel decisions and policy events, USO regularly experiences large percentage swings. Options amplify those swings. A call benefits from rising oil; a put benefits from falling oil. The investor does not need to predict direction correctly in advance; the system waits for an extreme move and then positions for the expected snap-back.

Additional alerts appear throughout the year on other liquid underlyings. Examples given in the presentation include short-dated options on bitcoin-related funds, homebuilder ETFs, and major index ETFs. The same indicator framework is applied: identify stretched conditions, issue a clear instruction, and manage the exit.

Members also receive continuous access to a password-protected website that displays every open position, the original entry details, and the current status. A model portfolio shows the cumulative results of the recommended trades so that members can track performance without calculating it themselves. Customer support is available by phone or email during regular business hours for questions about the membership itself (not personalized investment advice).

The educational side of the service is delivered through three free bonuses that arrive immediately upon joining:

1. How to Collect an Income From the Oil Cartel – a written report that walks a complete beginner through the mechanics of placing a first USO options trade. It covers account setup, order entry screens, and basic terminology.
2. Larry’s Fast-Track to Options Mastery – a nine-part video series totaling 104 minutes. The first three minutes explain calls, puts, strikes, expirations, and premiums in everyday language. Later modules cover the 2–3 % risk rule, how to spot early trends, using options as portfolio insurance, and a live trade walkthrough with Benedict’s real-time thinking.
3. The One Ticker Retirement Plan – a report that outlines three wealth-building rules Benedict has used. Topics include buying assets at a discount, a simple high-probability day-trade structure that once produced a $10 million gain, common mistakes with gold, a historical pattern after Federal Reserve rate hikes, and a market-built risk-management tool that professional traders use daily.

Together the bonuses are intended to give members both the ready-made alerts and the background knowledge to understand what they are doing. Members who prefer to follow only the alerts can ignore the educational material; members who want to trade independently can study the course and apply the same principles on their own.

What’s Included in the Current Offer?

Here’s the list with all benefits:

• Full 12-month membership to One Ticker Trader (normal list price $499).
• Real-time trade alerts focused on USO options plus additional options ideas across other tickers.
• 24/7 access to the members’ website and model portfolio.
• Professional customer support during business hours.
• Free report: How to Collect an Income From the Oil Cartel (valued at $199).
• Free video course: Larry’s Fast-Track to Options Mastery (normally $5,000-level retail pricing for similar courses).
• Free report: The One Ticker Retirement Plan (valued at $99).

Pricing

The complete package is offered for $19 for the entire year—a 96 % discount from the regular $499 price. That works out to less than forty cents per week.

Guarantee

A 30-day ironclad money-back guarantee applies. If a member decides the service is not suitable for any reason, a full refund of the $19 is issued with no questions asked. All reports and the video course remain the member’s property even after a refund.

Who It Is For

The service is designed for adults aged 21 and older who already have a brokerage account that permits options trading and who can comfortably risk the capital they allocate to each trade.

It is aimed at people who feel the pinch of rising energy and food costs and who want a structured way to participate in the price swings that accompany those costs. It is not intended for absolute beginners who have never opened a brokerage account, for anyone who cannot afford to lose the money placed in options, or for anyone seeking guaranteed income.

Pros and Cons

Pros

• Clear, one-line trade instructions remove the need for technical analysis.
• Risk on each trade is limited to the premium paid.
• Small starting amounts ($300–$500) are presented as sufficient for many of the illustrated trades.
• Educational materials are included at no extra cost.
• Low entry price and full refund window reduce the financial barrier to testing the service.
• Focus on a recurring, calendar-driven catalyst (monthly cartel meetings) provides a predictable schedule of potential signals.

Cons

• Options trading can produce rapid and total loss of the premium.
• Past illustrated gains are not typical; the stated average closed-position result is roughly 10.45 % over 19 days.
• Success depends on timely execution and on the underlying market continuing to produce the volatility the system is built to capture.
• Members still need options approval from their broker, which may require experience or a minimum account size.
• No personalized advice is provided; each member remains responsible for every trading decision.

Conclusion

The Vienna Cartel presentation lays out a clear chain of cause and effect: monthly production decisions by a group of oil-exporting nations influence the price of oil, which in turn influences the cost of living for American households.

Larry Benedict’s response is a rules-based options strategy centered on the ticker USO and delivered through simple alerts.

The current $19 annual offer packages those alerts with educational material and a full refund window, making it possible for interested adults to test the approach at low cost.

Anyone considering the service should understand that options involve substantial risk, that no system works on every signal, and that only capital that can be lost should be used. For those who meet the practical requirements and accept the risks, the package provides a structured way to respond to the same oil-price moves that affect everyday expenses.

FAQ – One Ticker Trader and the Vienna Cartel Strategy