Options strategies
43 strategy guides with payoff diagrams, from single-leg basics to expert structures. Open any of them in the calculator with the legs already filled in.
All strategies
43 strategiesBeginner
9 strategiesSingle-leg trades that show how calls and puts behave.
Long Call
Buy a call. Unlimited upside, loss capped at the premium paid.
Long Put
Buy a put. Profits as the stock falls, loss capped at the premium.
Short Call
Sell a call with no stock or hedge behind it. Collects the premium, but loss is theoretically unlimited if the stock rallies.
Short Put
Sell a put without setting aside the cash to buy the stock if assigned. Collects the premium, but risk runs to the strike.
Covered Call (Buy-Write)
Own the stock, sell a call against it for income.
Covered Put
Short the stock, sell a put against it for income - the bearish mirror of a covered call.
Cash-Secured Put
Sell a put on stock you'd be happy to own at that strike.
Protective Put (Married Put)
Own the stock, buy a put as downside insurance - buying both in the same trade is often called a married put.
Protective Call
Short the stock, buy a call as upside insurance - the bearish mirror of a protective put.
Intermediate
15 strategiesTwo-leg spreads and straddles with defined risk.
Call Debit Spread (Bull Call Spread)
Buy a call, sell a further OTM call to lower the cost.
Put Debit Spread (Bear Put Spread)
Buy a put, sell a further OTM put to lower the cost.
Call Credit Spread (Bear Call Spread)
Sell a call, buy a further OTM call to cap your risk.
Put Credit Spread (Bull Put Spread)
Sell a put, buy a further OTM put for protection - a defined-risk way to collect premium bullishly.
Long Straddle
Buy a call and a put at the same strike - profits on a big move either way.
Short Straddle
Sell a call and a put at the same strike. Big premium, unlimited risk on a large move.
Long Strangle
Like a straddle, but with wider strikes for a lower cost.
Short Strangle
Like a short straddle with wider strikes - still unlimited risk on a large move either way.
Collar Strategy
Own the stock, buy a put and sell a call against it - bounded loss and bounded gain.
Short Iron Condor
Sell a call spread and a put spread - profits if the stock stays in range.
Short Iron Butterfly
A tighter iron condor centered on today's price for a bigger credit.
Long Call Butterfly
Buy a lower-strike call, sell two middle-strike calls, buy a higher-strike call - profits if the stock pins the middle strike.
Long Put Butterfly
The same pinned-strike payoff as a call butterfly, built entirely with puts.
Long Condor Spread
Like a butterfly with the middle strikes spread apart - a wider profit zone for a bit more cost.
Long Iron Butterfly
Buy a straddle, sell a strangle around it - a defined-risk bet on a big move, the opposite of a short iron butterfly.
Advanced
19 strategiesFour-leg and time-based structures for range and volatility views.
Long Call Broken-Wing Butterfly
An iron butterfly with one wing widened - removes risk on one side in exchange for more on the other.
Bearish Broken-Wing Butterfly
A put broken-wing butterfly skewed bearish - removes risk on the downside wing in exchange for more on the upside.
Synthetic Long Stock
Buy a call and sell a put at the same strike - mimics owning the stock outright.
Synthetic Short Stock
Buy a put and sell a call at the same strike - mimics shorting the stock, with the same unlimited upside risk.
Risk Reversal
Sell an OTM put, buy an OTM call - a low-cost, unhedged bet on a stock's move higher.
Call Frontspread
Buy one call, sell two further OTM calls for a net credit - profits from a modest rise but exposed above the short strikes.
Put Frontspread
Buy one put, sell two further OTM puts for a net credit - profits from a modest drop but exposed below the short strikes.
Long Call Calendar Spread (Horizontal Spread)
Sell a near-term call, buy a longer-dated call at the same strike - profits from time decay and rising IV.
Long Put Calendar Spread
Sell a near-term put, buy a longer-dated put at the same strike - the put version of a calendar spread.
Long Call Diagonal Spread (Poor Man's Covered Call)
Replace the 100 shares with a deep ITM long-dated call, then sell short-term calls against it.
Long Put Diagonal Spread (Poor Man's Covered Put)
Replace the short stock with a deep ITM long-dated put, then sell short-term puts against it.
Call Ratio Spread
Buy one call, sell more of a further-OTM call - the extra uncovered short carries unlimited risk past a point.
Put Ratio Spread
Buy one put, sell more of a further-OTM put - the extra uncovered short carries unlimited risk on a sharp drop.
Call Backspread (Ratio Volatility Spread)
Sell one call, buy two further OTM calls - a bet on a big move higher, with limited risk if it happens.
Put Backspread
Sell one put, buy two further OTM puts - a bet on a big move lower, with limited risk if it happens.
Bull Call Ladder
A bull call spread with an extra short call added further out, for more credit but uncapped risk above the top strike.
Bear Put Ladder
A bear put spread with an extra short put added further down, for more credit but uncapped risk below the bottom strike.
Stock Repair Strategy
Buy a call and sell two further OTM calls against stock you're already down on - lowers your breakeven without adding new capital.
Box Spread
A synthetic long plus a synthetic short at different strikes - a defined, interest-rate-like payoff.
Expert
NewRatio, lizard and broken-wing structures for experienced traders.
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