OptionStrategyBuilder.in Market closed
Advertisement
300 × 600

Options Strategy Guide

Plain-language explanations of options strategies — how each one works, when traders use it, a worked example with real numbers, and a payoff diagram for every one. Educational content only, not investment advice.

Single-leg

Long Call
The simplest bullish strategy — buy a call, capped risk, unlimited upside.
Long Put
The bearish mirror image — buy a put, capped risk, large downside profit potential.
Short Call
Sell a call for premium — capped profit, genuinely unlimited risk.
Short Put
Sell a put for premium — capped profit, large but technically bounded risk.

Vertical Spreads

Bull Call Spread
A capped-cost, capped-profit way to express a moderately bullish view.
Bull Put Spread
The same bullish view, collected as a credit instead of paid as a debit.
Bear Put Spread
A capped-cost, capped-profit way to express a moderately bearish view.
Bear Call Spread
The same bearish view, collected as a credit instead of paid as a debit.

Volatility (Straddles & Strangles)

Short Strangle
Collect a bigger credit than an Iron Condor, in exchange for undefined risk.
Short Straddle
The tightest, highest-premium range-bound bet — same strike for both legs.
Long Straddle
Bet on a big move, either direction, with a known maximum cost.
Long Strangle
The cheaper version of Long Straddle — two strikes instead of one.
Long Guts
Crossed in-the-money strikes — pricier than a strangle, with a flat loss zone instead of a point.
Short Guts
The exact opposite side — a large credit and a flat profit zone, undefined risk on both sides.
Strap
A Long Straddle tilted bullish — two calls and one put instead of one each.
Strip
A Long Straddle tilted bearish — one call and two puts instead of one each.

Butterflies

Iron Butterfly
The tighter, higher-credit sibling of an Iron Condor — one shared strike instead of two.
Long Put Butterfly
The classic butterfly shape — a defined-risk bet the underlying settles near a specific price.
Long Call Butterfly
The same classic butterfly shape, built with calls instead of puts.
Short Put Butterfly
The inverse bet — profits from a big move, loses if the underlying stays put.
Short Call Butterfly
The same big-move bet as Short Put Butterfly, built with calls instead.

Condors

Iron Condor
Collect premium betting the underlying stays inside a range through expiry.
Reverse Iron Condor
The exact opposite side — profit from a big move away from the middle instead of staying in it.
Long Call Condor
The classic all-call version — a flat profit plateau instead of a single peak.
Long Put Condor
The same classic condor shape, built with puts instead of calls.
Short Call Condor
The exact opposite side — profit from a big move away from the middle instead of staying in it.
Short Put Condor
The same big-move thesis as Short Call Condor, built with puts instead.

Ratio Spreads

Call Ratio Backspread
Unlimited upside on a big rally, defined max loss on a moderate move.
Put Ratio Backspread
The bearish mirror image — large profit on a big fall, defined max loss on a moderate one.
Front Ratio Spread (Call)
The exact opposite side of a Call Ratio Backspread — defined loss, unlimited risk instead of profit.
Front Ratio Spread (Put)
The exact opposite side of a Put Ratio Backspread — defined loss, large risk instead of profit.

Exotic / Advanced

Broken Wing Put Butterfly
Uneven wings that can eliminate risk entirely on one side.
Broken Wing Call Butterfly
The mirror image — protects the downside instead of the upside.
Christmas Tree (Call)
A defined loss on one side, genuinely unlimited risk on the other.
Christmas Tree (Put)
The mirror image — unlimited risk on the downside instead of the upside.
Box Spread
A fixed, locked-in payoff regardless of price — not a directional bet at all.
Jade Lizard
A short put plus a call spread, structured so there's genuinely no risk on the upside.
Reverse Jade Lizard
The mirror image — no risk on the downside, unlimited risk on the upside instead.

Synthetic Positions

Synthetic Long Stock
Recreate owning the underlying with a small options position instead.
Synthetic Short Stock
The bearish mirror image — recreate a short position instead.
Synthetic Put
Short the underlying plus a long call — recreate a put's payoff without buying one.

Income (Stock + Options)

Covered Call
One of the most widely used real-world strategies — own the underlying, sell a call against it.
Protective Put
Own the underlying, buy a put as insurance against a fall.
Collar
Combine a Covered Call and a Protective Put — defined risk on both sides.

Glossary

The core concepts behind how options are priced and quoted — the Greeks, open interest, moneyness, and other terms you'll run into on any option chain.

Delta
How much an option's price moves for every 1-point move in the underlying.
Gamma
How fast Delta itself changes as the underlying moves.
Theta
How much value an option loses each day, purely from time passing.
Vega
How much an option's price changes for a 1-point move in implied volatility.
Implied Volatility (IV)
The market's own estimate of future movement, priced directly into every option.
Open Interest (OI)
How many contracts are currently open at a strike — and what rising or falling OI tells you.
Moneyness: ITM, ATM, OTM
Where a strike sits relative to the current price, and how it splits price into intrinsic and extrinsic value.
Option Chain
How to read the full table of strikes — LTP, OI, IV, and Greeks all in one place.
Put-Call Ratio (PCR)
A sentiment gauge comparing total put and call activity — read two different ways.
Max Pain
The strike that minimizes total payout to option holders, brute-force computed from real OI.
India VIX
NSE's market-wide volatility index — and how to convert it into an actual expected price range.
Delta Hedging
How to offset directional risk using the underlying — a full worked example with rebalancing.
STT on Options
The current tax rate and rules — and why the old 'STT trap' reputation is largely outdated.
F&O Rollover
Closing an expiring position and opening the next — the standard rollover % formula, worked through.
Weekly vs. Monthly Options
Which indices currently have weekly expiries, and how Theta and Gamma differ between the two.
SPAN Margin
Why naked option selling ties up far more capital than a hedged spread — a real worked comparison.
Nifty Lot Size
The current lot size, why it gets revised, and the capital impact of the most recent change.
Assignment & Exercise
How India's automatic, European-style exercise and settlement actually work.
Advertisement
300 × 600
About us FAQ Contact us Privacy policy Terms & conditions Refund policy
OptionStrategyBuilder.in — a calculator, not investment advice, and not a SEBI-registered investment adviser or research analyst. All figures are computed from live market data and can occasionally be delayed or inaccurate — always verify independently before acting; nothing here is a recommendation.
© 2026 OptionStrategyBuilder.in