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The exact opposite trade of a Long Call Condor: collect a credit betting the underlying moves well away from the middle, with a flat, defined loss if it lands there instead.

A Short Call Condor sells one call at the lowest strike, buys one call at a mid-low strike, buys another call at a mid-high strike, and sells one more call at the highest strike — the same four strikes a Long Call Condor uses, with every buy and sell reversed. Where a Long Call Condor profits from the underlying staying in the middle, this strategy profits from it moving well away from the middle in either direction.

The same five zones as a Long Call Condor, with profit and loss swapped:

1. At or below the lowest strike — flat, maximum profit (the net credit collected).
2. Between the lowest and mid-low strikes — profit shrinks as the underlying rises, crossing into loss at the lower breakeven.
3. Between the mid-low and mid-high strikes — flat, maximum loss across this zone.
4. Between the mid-high and highest strikes — loss shrinks as the underlying rises further, crossing back into profit at the upper breakeven.
5. At or above the highest strike — flat, maximum profit again.

A Short Call Condor fits a view that the underlying will make a significant move away from its current level, in either direction — the opposite thesis of an Iron Condor or Long Call Condor's range-bound bet. It's a defined-risk way to express a "big move coming, direction uncertain" view, similar in spirit to a Long Strangle, but with a capped rather than unlimited profit.

Suppose Nifty is trading at 24,000 with a weekly expiry coming up, and lot size is 65. You expect a significant move away from 24,000–24,300.

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

Quick reference for the same trade:

Based on the worked example above — the exact mirror image of the Long Call Condor page's diagram. Move the cursor over the chart to see profit/loss at any price.

• Four separate legs mean higher execution cost than a simpler two-leg spread.
• This strategy needs a real move to be profitable — if the underlying simply sits near the middle through expiry, you take the maximum loss.
• Index options on NSE are typically European-style and cash-settled — no early-assignment risk on the short legs.