Options trading
The Options Greeks Explained: Delta, Gamma, Theta, Vega and Rho
A plain-English guide to the option greeks: what delta, gamma, theta, vega and rho measure, how they change, and how traders use them to understand risk.
Options trading
Options strategies, greeks, volatility and risk profiles, explained with payoff diagrams.
Options trading
The Covered Call: How It Works, Payoff, Risks and When to Use It
How a covered call works, its payoff at expiration, a worked example, the risks of assignment and capped upside, and how to track covered calls in a journal.
Options trading
The Cash-Secured Put: Getting Paid to Wait for a Lower Price
How selling a cash-secured put works, its payoff, a worked example with break-even and assignment, the risks, and how it compares with a covered call.
Options trading
The Iron Condor: A Defined-Risk Strategy for Range-Bound Markets
How an iron condor works, its four legs, maximum profit and loss, break-even prices, a worked example, and how to manage it before expiration.
Options trading
Vertical Spreads: Bull Call and Bear Put Debit Spreads Explained
How debit vertical spreads work, how to calculate maximum profit, maximum loss and break-even, and why traders use spreads instead of single options.
Options trading
Credit Spreads: Bull Put and Bear Call Spreads for Income
How credit spreads work, how to calculate the credit, maximum loss and break-even, how they compare with naked options, and how to manage them.
Options trading
Straddle vs Strangle: Trading Big Moves in Either Direction
How long straddles and strangles work, their costs and break-evens, how volatility affects them, and when traders choose one over the other.
Options trading
Implied Volatility Explained: What Option Prices Say About Future Moves
What implied volatility is, how it relates to expected moves, IV rank and percentile, volatility crush after events, and how IV affects option strategies.
Options trading
Theta Decay: How Time Erodes Option Value
How theta and time decay work, why decay speeds up near expiration, how it affects long and short option positions, and how to use it in your strategy.
Options trading
How to Read an Options Risk Profile Chart
A guide to options risk profile (payoff) charts: the expiration line, the today line, break-evens, maximum profit and loss, and how to use the chart before and during a trade.
Options trading
Butterfly Spreads and the Iron Butterfly: Targeting a Price
How long call butterflies and iron butterflies work, their maximum profit, maximum loss and break-evens, with worked examples and management tips.
Options trading
Protective Puts and Collars: Insuring a Stock Position
How a protective put limits downside on stock you own, how a collar pays for that protection by selling a call, with payoffs, examples and trade-offs.
Options trading
Options Assignment and Expiration: What Happens and How to Prepare
What happens to options at expiration, how exercise and assignment work, early assignment risk, pin risk, and how to avoid surprises in your account.
Options trading
How to Track Options Trades in a Trading Journal
What to record for options trades, how to handle multi-leg spreads, rolls, assignment and expiration in a journal, and which metrics matter for options traders.