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The classic, original four-strike condor shape, built entirely from calls — a defined-risk bet that the underlying finishes inside a range, with a flat profit plateau instead of a single peak.

A Long Call Condor buys one call at the lowest strike, sells one call at a mid-low strike, sells another call at a mid-high strike, and buys one more call at the highest strike — four strikes, all calls, same expiry. This is the all-call counterpart to an Iron Condor: instead of mixing calls and puts to build the two spreads, everything here is built from the same option type.

The two sold calls in the middle are what create the profit if the underlying lands between them. The two bought calls at the outer strikes cap the risk on either side — without them, this would just be a Bear Call Spread stacked on a Bull Call Spread, with much larger risk.

Splitting the price axis into five zones at expiry, the same structure an Iron Condor has:

1. At or below the lowest strike — maximum loss, fully capped and flat.
2. Between the lowest strike and the mid-low strike — loss shrinks as the underlying rises, crossing into profit at the lower breakeven.
3. Between the mid-low and mid-high strikes (the profit plateau) — maximum profit, flat across the whole zone, not a single peak.
4. Between the mid-high strike and the highest strike — profit shrinks as the underlying rises further, crossing into loss at the upper breakeven.
5. At or above the highest strike — maximum loss again, fully capped and flat, mirroring zone 1.

A Long Call Condor fits a range-bound view, the same core thesis as an Iron Condor — you expect the underlying to settle inside a specific band by expiry. The choice between the two often comes down to pricing: whether building the position entirely from calls or as a mixed call-and-put structure offers a better net cost for the strikes you want.

Suppose Nifty is trading at 24,000 with a weekly expiry coming up, and lot size is 65. You expect it to stay roughly between 24,000 and 24,300.

1. Confirm the setup. You expect Nifty to settle inside the 24,000–24,300 range.
2. Buy 1 call at the 23,700 strike for a premium of 325.
3. Sell 1 call at the 24,000 strike, collecting a premium of 145.
4. Sell 1 call at the 24,300 strike, collecting a premium of 60.
5. Buy 1 call at the 24,600 strike for a premium of 24.
6. Calculate the net debit: (325 + 24) − (145 + 60) = 144 points, or ₹9,360 at this lot size — your maximum possible loss.
7. Understand the plateau: between 24,000 and 24,300, maximum profit of ₹10,140, flat across the whole zone.
8. Understand the breakevens: roughly 23,844 on the downside and 24,456 on the upside.
9. See how it resolves at expiry:
   • Nifty finishes between 24,000 and 24,300 → maximum profit of ₹10,140.
   • Nifty finishes at or beyond 23,700 or 24,600 → maximum loss of ₹9,360, capped either side.
   • Nifty finishes right at either breakeven → you exactly break even.

Quick reference for the same trade:

Based on the worked example above. Compare the flat plateau here to the single peak an Iron Butterfly or Long Put Butterfly would show — the wider middle section between two short strikes is what defines a condor shape. Move the cursor over the chart to see profit/loss at any price.

• Four separate legs mean higher execution cost (bid-ask spread on each) than a simpler two-leg spread.
• The profitable plateau is narrower than the full distance between the outer wings — check the actual width between the two short strikes, not the full condor width, when judging how much room for error the position has.
• Index options on NSE are typically European-style and cash-settled — no early-assignment risk on the short legs.