Options Strategy Playbook & Lab

Explore 60 options structures categorized by Directional Bias and Greeks Exposure (+Vega / −Vega, +Gamma, +Theta). Click any card to launch the Interactive Payoff Simulator with dynamic strike, IV, DTE sliders, and real-time multi-leg Greeks.

Greek Regime:
BULLISH +Vega -Theta

Long Call

A basic bullish strategy where you buy a call option with the expectation that the underlying asset's price will rise significantly before expiration.

Strike
Stock Price
🎯 Ideal Timing & Regime:
Low IV (< 25%): Pre-earnings catalyst, trend breakout, vol spike
BullishUnlimited ProfitLimited Loss
1 Leg Structure Open Simulator »
BEARISH +Vega -Theta

Long Put

A basic bearish strategy where you buy a put option with the expectation that the underlying asset's price will fall significantly before expiration.

Strike
Stock Price
🎯 Ideal Timing & Regime:
Low IV (< 25%): Pre-earnings catalyst, trend breakout, vol spike
BearishHigh ProfitLimited Loss
1 Leg Structure Open Simulator »
BULLISH -Vega +Theta

Covered Call

A covered call option is a basic option strategy that aims to provide small but consistent income while owning a stock.

A
Stock Price
🎯 Ideal Timing & Regime:
High IV (> 50%): Post-earnings crush, rangebound pinning, time decay
IncomeLimited ProfitNearly Unlimited Loss
3 Leg Structure Open Simulator »
BULLISH -Vega +Theta

Cash-Secured Put

A cash-secured put involves writing a put option and simultaneously setting aside the cash to buy the stock if assigned.

Strike
Stock Price
🎯 Ideal Timing & Regime:
High IV (> 50%): Post-earnings crush, rangebound pinning, time decay
BullishIncomeHigh Loss
2 Leg Structure Open Simulator »
BULLISH +Vega -Theta

Protective Put

A protective put involves owning the underlying stock and buying a put option as an insurance policy against a drop in the stock price.

Strike
Stock Price
🎯 Ideal Timing & Regime:
Low IV (< 25%): Pre-earnings catalyst, trend breakout, vol spike
BullishProtectionLimited Loss
2 Leg Structure Open Simulator »
BULLISH -Vega +Theta

Bull Put Spread

A bullish vertical spread strategy which has limited risk and reward. It combines a long and short put which caps the upside, but also the downside.

AB
Stock Price
🎯 Ideal Timing & Regime:
High IV (> 50%): Post-earnings crush, rangebound pinning, time decay
BullishLimited ProfitLimited Loss
2 Leg Structure Open Simulator »
BEARISH -Vega +Theta

Bear Call Spread

A bearish vertical spread strategy with limited risk and reward. It involves selling a call option and buying another call with a higher strike price to protect against unlimited losses.

AB
Stock Price
🎯 Ideal Timing & Regime:
High IV (> 50%): Post-earnings crush, rangebound pinning, time decay
BearishLimited ProfitLimited Loss
2 Leg Structure Open Simulator »
BULLISH +Vega -Theta

Bull Call Spread

A bullish debit spread that reduces the cost of buying a call option by selling another call at a higher strike price.

AB
Stock Price
🎯 Ideal Timing & Regime:
Low IV (< 25%): Pre-earnings catalyst, trend breakout, vol spike
BullishLimited ProfitLimited Loss
2 Leg Structure Open Simulator »
BEARISH +Vega -Theta

Bear Put Spread

A bearish debit spread created by buying a put option and selling another put with a lower strike price.

AB
Stock Price
🎯 Ideal Timing & Regime:
Low IV (< 25%): Pre-earnings catalyst, trend breakout, vol spike
BearishLimited ProfitLimited Loss
2 Leg Structure Open Simulator »
NEUTRAL -Vega +Theta

Iron Butterfly

A neutral strategy similar to an iron condor, but the short put and short call are at the exact same strike price.

ABC
Stock Price
🎯 Ideal Timing & Regime:
High IV (> 50%): Post-earnings crush, rangebound pinning, time decay
NeutralLimited ProfitLimited Loss
3 Leg Structure Open Simulator »
NEUTRAL -Vega +Theta

Iron Condor

A non-directional (neutral) option strategy consisting of four different options of the same expiration: a bull put spread and a bear call spread.

ABCD
Stock Price
🎯 Ideal Timing & Regime:
High IV (> 50%): Post-earnings crush, rangebound pinning, time decay
NeutralLimited ProfitLimited Loss
4 Leg Structure Open Simulator »
NEUTRAL +Vega -Theta

Long Put Butterfly

A neutral strategy using puts instead of calls.

ABC
Stock Price
🎯 Ideal Timing & Regime:
Low IV (< 25%): Pre-earnings catalyst, trend breakout, vol spike
NeutralLimited ProfitLimited Loss
3 Leg Structure Open Simulator »
NEUTRAL +Vega -Theta

Long Call Butterfly

A neutral strategy using three different strike prices.

ABC
Stock Price
🎯 Ideal Timing & Regime:
Low IV (< 25%): Pre-earnings catalyst, trend breakout, vol spike
NeutralLimited ProfitLimited Loss
3 Leg Structure Open Simulator »
NEUTRAL -Vega +Theta

Inverse Iron Butterfly

The Inverse Iron Butterfly (also called a Reverse Iron Butterfly) is the long version of an iron butterfly: you buy the at-the-money straddle and sell a wider strangle against it to offset cost.

ABC
Stock Price
🎯 Ideal Timing & Regime:
High IV (> 50%): Post-earnings crush, rangebound pinning, time decay
VolatileLimited ProfitLimited Loss
3 Leg Structure Open Simulator »
NEUTRAL -Vega +Theta

Inverse Iron Condor

A directional volatility strategy where you expect a large move but are unsure of the direction.

ABCD
Stock Price
🎯 Ideal Timing & Regime:
High IV (> 50%): Post-earnings crush, rangebound pinning, time decay
VolatileLimited ProfitLimited Loss
4 Leg Structure Open Simulator »
NEUTRAL -Vega +Theta

Short Put Butterfly

A Short Put Butterfly is the inverse of a long put butterfly: you sell the outer puts and buy two puts at the middle strike, collecting a net credit.

ABC
Stock Price
🎯 Ideal Timing & Regime:
High IV (> 50%): Post-earnings crush, rangebound pinning, time decay
NeutralLimited ProfitLimited Loss
3 Leg Structure Open Simulator »
NEUTRAL -Vega +Theta

Short Call Butterfly

A Short Call Butterfly mirrors the short put butterfly using calls: sell the outer strikes and buy two calls at the middle strike for a net credit.

ABC
Stock Price
🎯 Ideal Timing & Regime:
High IV (> 50%): Post-earnings crush, rangebound pinning, time decay
NeutralLimited ProfitLimited Loss
3 Leg Structure Open Simulator »
NEUTRAL +Vega (Term) +Theta

Calendar Call Spread

A time-decay strategy where you buy a longer-term call and sell a shorter-term call at the same strike.

Strike
Stock Price
🎯 Ideal Timing & Regime:
Low IV (Contango): Near-term pin with future IV expansion
NeutralTime DecayLimited Loss
2 Leg Structure Open Simulator »
NEUTRAL +Vega (Term) +Theta

Calendar Put Spread

A calendar put spread sells a near-term put and buys a longer-term put at the same strike, profiting from the faster time decay of the short-dated option.

Strike
Stock Price
🎯 Ideal Timing & Regime:
Low IV (Contango): Near-term pin with future IV expansion
NeutralTime DecayLimited Loss
2 Leg Structure Open Simulator »
NEUTRAL +Vega (Term) +Theta

Diagonal Call Spread

A diagonal call spread buys a longer-dated call and sells a shorter-dated call at a different (usually higher) strike, blending a calendar spread with a vertical spread.

AB
Stock Price
🎯 Ideal Timing & Regime:
Low IV (Contango): Near-term pin with future IV expansion
NeutralTime DecayLimited Loss
2 Leg Structure Open Simulator »
NEUTRAL +Vega (Term) +Theta

Diagonal Put Spread

A diagonal put spread buys a longer-dated put and sells a shorter-dated put at a different (usually lower) strike, blending a calendar spread with a vertical spread.

AB
Stock Price
🎯 Ideal Timing & Regime:
Low IV (Contango): Near-term pin with future IV expansion
NeutralTime DecayLimited Loss
2 Leg Structure Open Simulator »
NEUTRAL -Vega +Theta

Collar

A collar combines a covered call with a protective put: you own the stock, buy a put for downside protection, and sell a call to help fund it.

PutCall
Stock Price
🎯 Ideal Timing & Regime:
High IV (> 50%): Post-earnings crush, rangebound pinning, time decay
NeutralProtectionLimited Loss
3 Leg Structure Open Simulator »
BULLISH -Vega +Theta

Short Put

A naked short put is a bullish to neutral strategy where you sell a put option.

Strike
Stock Price
🎯 Ideal Timing & Regime:
High IV (> 50%): Post-earnings crush, rangebound pinning, time decay
BullishLimited ProfitHigh Loss
2 Leg Structure Open Simulator »
BEARISH -Vega +Theta

Short Call

A naked short call is a bearish to neutral strategy where you sell a call option without owning the underlying stock.

Strike
Stock Price
🎯 Ideal Timing & Regime:
High IV (> 50%): Post-earnings crush, rangebound pinning, time decay
BearishLimited ProfitUnlimited Loss
2 Leg Structure Open Simulator »
NEUTRAL -Vega +Theta

Short Straddle

A neutral strategy involving the sale of both a put and a call option at the same strike price.

A
Stock Price
🎯 Ideal Timing & Regime:
High IV (> 50%): Post-earnings crush, rangebound pinning, time decay
NeutralHigh ProfitUnlimited Loss
2 Leg Structure Open Simulator »
NEUTRAL -Vega +Theta

Short Strangle

A neutral strategy where you sell an out-of-the-money put and an out-of-the-money call.

AB
Stock Price
🎯 Ideal Timing & Regime:
High IV (> 50%): Post-earnings crush, rangebound pinning, time decay
NeutralIncomeUnlimited Loss
2 Leg Structure Open Simulator »
NEUTRAL +Vega -Theta

Long Call Condor

A long call condor buys a low-strike call, sells two calls at higher strikes, and buys an even higher strike call, creating a wide flat-topped profit zone.

ABCD
Stock Price
🎯 Ideal Timing & Regime:
Low IV (< 25%): Pre-earnings catalyst, trend breakout, vol spike
NeutralLimited ProfitLimited Loss
4 Leg Structure Open Simulator »
NEUTRAL +Vega -Theta

Long Put Condor

A long put condor is built entirely from puts: buy a high-strike put, sell two puts at lower strikes, and buy an even lower strike put.

ABCD
Stock Price
🎯 Ideal Timing & Regime:
Low IV (< 25%): Pre-earnings catalyst, trend breakout, vol spike
NeutralLimited ProfitLimited Loss
4 Leg Structure Open Simulator »
BULLISH -Vega +Theta

Call Ratio Backspread

A highly bullish strategy created to profit from large upward moves, usually put on for a credit.

AB
Stock Price
🎯 Ideal Timing & Regime:
High IV (> 50%): Post-earnings crush, rangebound pinning, time decay
VolatileUnlimited ProfitLimited Loss
2 Leg Structure Open Simulator »
NEUTRAL -Vega +Theta

Put Broken Wing

A put broken wing butterfly is a put butterfly with an uneven (wider) wing on one side, which removes the risk of loss on that side entirely.

ABC
Stock Price
🎯 Ideal Timing & Regime:
High IV (> 50%): Post-earnings crush, rangebound pinning, time decay
NeutralLimited ProfitLimited Loss
3 Leg Structure Open Simulator »
BULLISH -Vega +Theta

Inverse Call Broken Wing

An inverse call broken wing flips the broken wing butterfly: sell the near strike and buy two calls further out, skewing the wings so one side has no loss potential.

ABC
Stock Price
🎯 Ideal Timing & Regime:
High IV (> 50%): Post-earnings crush, rangebound pinning, time decay
DirectionalLimited ProfitLimited Loss
3 Leg Structure Open Simulator »
BEARISH -Vega +Theta

Put Ratio Backspread

A put ratio backspread is the bearish mirror of a call ratio backspread: sell one higher-strike put and buy two (or more) lower-strike puts, usually for a small credit or low cost.

AB
Stock Price
🎯 Ideal Timing & Regime:
High IV (> 50%): Post-earnings crush, rangebound pinning, time decay
VolatileUnlimited ProfitLimited Loss
2 Leg Structure Open Simulator »
NEUTRAL -Vega +Theta

Call Broken Wing

A call broken wing butterfly uses calls with an uneven wing width, eliminating risk on one side of the trade in exchange for a wider loss zone on the other.

ABC
Stock Price
🎯 Ideal Timing & Regime:
High IV (> 50%): Post-earnings crush, rangebound pinning, time decay
NeutralLimited ProfitLimited Loss
3 Leg Structure Open Simulator »
BEARISH -Vega +Theta

Inverse Put Broken Wing

An inverse put broken wing flips the put broken wing: sell the near strike and buy two puts further out of the money, skewing the risk to one side.

ABC
Stock Price
🎯 Ideal Timing & Regime:
High IV (> 50%): Post-earnings crush, rangebound pinning, time decay
DirectionalLimited ProfitLimited Loss
3 Leg Structure Open Simulator »
NEUTRAL -Vega +Theta

Covered Short Straddle

A covered short straddle combines owning the stock with selling a straddle (a call and a put at the same strike).

Strike
Stock Price
🎯 Ideal Timing & Regime:
High IV (> 50%): Post-earnings crush, rangebound pinning, time decay
IncomeLimited ProfitHigh Loss
3 Leg Structure Open Simulator »
NEUTRAL -Vega +Theta

Covered Short Strangle

A covered short strangle pairs stock ownership with selling an out-of-the-money put and call.

AB
Stock Price
🎯 Ideal Timing & Regime:
High IV (> 50%): Post-earnings crush, rangebound pinning, time decay
IncomeLimited ProfitHigh Loss
3 Leg Structure Open Simulator »
NEUTRAL -Vega +Theta

Short Call Condor

A short call condor sells the outer strikes and buys the inner strikes, the inverse of a long call condor.

ABCD
Stock Price
🎯 Ideal Timing & Regime:
High IV (> 50%): Post-earnings crush, rangebound pinning, time decay
VolatileLimited ProfitLimited Loss
4 Leg Structure Open Simulator »
NEUTRAL -Vega +Theta

Short Put Condor

A short put condor is the all-puts version of a short condor: sell the outer strikes, buy the inner strikes.

ABCD
Stock Price
🎯 Ideal Timing & Regime:
High IV (> 50%): Post-earnings crush, rangebound pinning, time decay
VolatileLimited ProfitLimited Loss
4 Leg Structure Open Simulator »
BULLISH -Vega +Theta

Bull Call Ladder

A bull call ladder starts as a bull call spread, then adds a third short call at an even higher strike.

ABC
Stock Price
🎯 Ideal Timing & Regime:
High IV (> 50%): Post-earnings crush, rangebound pinning, time decay
BullishLimited ProfitUnlimited Loss
3 Leg Structure Open Simulator »
NEUTRAL -Vega +Theta

Bear Call Ladder

A bear call ladder is a bear call spread with an extra long call added at an even higher strike.

ABC
Stock Price
🎯 Ideal Timing & Regime:
High IV (> 50%): Post-earnings crush, rangebound pinning, time decay
VolatileHigh LossUnlimited Profit
3 Leg Structure Open Simulator »
BULLISH -Vega +Theta

Bull Put Ladder

A bull put ladder is a bull put spread with an extra short put added at an even lower strike.

CAB
Stock Price
🎯 Ideal Timing & Regime:
High IV (> 50%): Post-earnings crush, rangebound pinning, time decay
BullishLimited ProfitUnlimited Loss
3 Leg Structure Open Simulator »
BEARISH -Vega +Theta

Bear Put Ladder

A bear put ladder is a bear put spread with an extra short put added at an even lower strike.

CAB
Stock Price
🎯 Ideal Timing & Regime:
High IV (> 50%): Post-earnings crush, rangebound pinning, time decay
BearishLimited ProfitHigh Loss
3 Leg Structure Open Simulator »
NEUTRAL -Vega +Theta

Jade Lizard

A neutral to slightly bullish strategy that combines a short put with a bear call spread.

PutCall1Call2
Stock Price
🎯 Ideal Timing & Regime:
High IV (> 50%): Post-earnings crush, rangebound pinning, time decay
NeutralIncomeHigh Loss
3 Leg Structure Open Simulator »
NEUTRAL -Vega +Theta

Reverse Jade Lizard

A reverse jade lizard flips the jade lizard: combine a bull put spread with a short call, collecting enough premium that there's no defined downside risk.

ABC
Stock Price
🎯 Ideal Timing & Regime:
High IV (> 50%): Post-earnings crush, rangebound pinning, time decay
NeutralIncomeUnlimited Loss
3 Leg Structure Open Simulator »
NEUTRAL -Vega +Theta

Call Ratio Spread

A call ratio spread buys one call at a lower strike and sells two calls at a higher strike, usually for a small net credit or low cost.

AB
Stock Price
🎯 Ideal Timing & Regime:
High IV (> 50%): Post-earnings crush, rangebound pinning, time decay
NeutralLimited ProfitUnlimited Loss
2 Leg Structure Open Simulator »
NEUTRAL -Vega +Theta

Put Ratio Spread

A put ratio spread buys one put at a higher strike and sells two puts at a lower strike, typically for a small net credit.

AB
Stock Price
🎯 Ideal Timing & Regime:
High IV (> 50%): Post-earnings crush, rangebound pinning, time decay
NeutralLimited ProfitHigh Loss
2 Leg Structure Open Simulator »
BULLISH +Vega -Theta

Long Synthetic Future

A long synthetic future replicates owning the stock outright using options: buy a call and sell a put at the same strike and expiration.

Strike
Stock Price
🎯 Ideal Timing & Regime:
Low IV (< 25%): Pre-earnings catalyst, trend breakout, vol spike
BullishUnlimited ProfitUnlimited Loss
2 Leg Structure Open Simulator »
BEARISH -Vega +Theta

Short Synthetic Future

A short synthetic future replicates shorting the stock: sell a call and buy a put at the same strike and expiration.

Strike
Stock Price
🎯 Ideal Timing & Regime:
High IV (> 50%): Post-earnings crush, rangebound pinning, time decay
BearishUnlimited ProfitUnlimited Loss
2 Leg Structure Open Simulator »
BEARISH +Vega -Theta

Synthetic Put

A synthetic strategy that replicates the payoff of a long put option.

Strike
Stock Price
🎯 Ideal Timing & Regime:
Low IV (< 25%): Pre-earnings catalyst, trend breakout, vol spike
BearishHigh ProfitLimited Loss
2 Leg Structure Open Simulator »
BULLISH -Vega +Theta

Long Combo

A long combo (risk reversal) sells an out-of-the-money put and buys an out-of-the-money call, approximating long stock at a lower cost.

AB
Stock Price
🎯 Ideal Timing & Regime:
High IV (> 50%): Post-earnings crush, rangebound pinning, time decay
BullishUnlimited ProfitHigh Loss
2 Leg Structure Open Simulator »
BEARISH -Vega +Theta

Short Combo

A short combo is the bearish mirror of the long combo: sell an out-of-the-money call and buy an out-of-the-money put, approximating a short stock position.

AB
Stock Price
🎯 Ideal Timing & Regime:
High IV (> 50%): Post-earnings crush, rangebound pinning, time decay
BearishHigh ProfitUnlimited Loss
2 Leg Structure Open Simulator »
BEARISH +Vega -Theta

Strip

A strip is a long straddle with an extra put: buy 1 call and 2 puts at the same strike, giving the position a bearish bias.

Strike
Stock Price
🎯 Ideal Timing & Regime:
Low IV (< 25%): Pre-earnings catalyst, trend breakout, vol spike
BearishHigh ProfitLimited Loss
2 Leg Structure Open Simulator »
BULLISH +Vega -Theta

Strap

A strap is a long straddle with an extra call: buy 2 calls and 1 put at the same strike, giving the position a bullish bias.

Strike
Stock Price
🎯 Ideal Timing & Regime:
Low IV (< 25%): Pre-earnings catalyst, trend breakout, vol spike
BullishHigh ProfitLimited Loss
2 Leg Structure Open Simulator »
NEUTRAL -Vega +Theta

Guts

Guts involves buying an in-the-money call and an in-the-money put at different strikes, similar to a strangle but built entirely from ITM options.

AB
Stock Price
🎯 Ideal Timing & Regime:
High IV (> 50%): Post-earnings crush, rangebound pinning, time decay
VolatileHigh ProfitLimited Loss
2 Leg Structure Open Simulator »
NEUTRAL -Vega +Theta

Short Guts

Short guts sells an in-the-money call and an in-the-money put at different strikes, collecting a large premium up front.

AB
Stock Price
🎯 Ideal Timing & Regime:
High IV (> 50%): Post-earnings crush, rangebound pinning, time decay
NeutralIncomeUnlimited Loss
2 Leg Structure Open Simulator »
NEUTRAL +Vega (Term) +Theta

Double Diagonal

A double diagonal combines a call diagonal spread and a put diagonal spread around a central price range, selling near-term options and buying longer-term options at wider strikes.

ABCD
Stock Price
🎯 Ideal Timing & Regime:
Low IV (Contango): Near-term pin with future IV expansion
NeutralTime DecayLimited Loss
2 Leg Structure Open Simulator »
NEUTRAL +Vega -Theta

Long Straddle

A market-neutral volatility strategy created by buying an at-the-money call and an at-the-money put with the same strike and expiration date.

ATM
Stock Price
🎯 Ideal Timing & Regime:
Low IV (< 25%): Pre-earnings catalyst, trend breakout, vol spike
VolatileUnlimited ProfitLimited LossEarnings Play
2 Leg Structure Open Simulator »
NEUTRAL +Vega -Theta

Long Strangle

A volatility strategy where you buy an out-of-the-money call and an out-of-the-money put at different strike prices with the same expiration date.

A (Put)B (Call)
Stock Price
🎯 Ideal Timing & Regime:
Low IV (< 25%): Pre-earnings catalyst, trend breakout, vol spike
VolatileUnlimited ProfitLimited LossBreakout
2 Leg Structure Open Simulator »
BULLISH +Vega -Theta

Synthetic Call

A synthetic strategy that replicates the payoff profile of a long call option by combining 100 shares of long stock with a protective long put option.

Strike A
Stock Price
🎯 Ideal Timing & Regime:
Low IV (< 25%): Pre-earnings catalyst, trend breakout, vol spike
BullishSyntheticUnlimited ProfitLimited Loss
2 Leg Structure Open Simulator »
NEUTRAL 0 Vega 0 Theta

Box Spread

An advanced 4-leg synthetic structure combining a bull call spread and a bear put spread with the same pair of strike prices.

AB
Stock Price
🎯 Ideal Timing & Regime:
Neutral: Interest Rate financing
ArbitrageNeutralFixed PayoffSynthetic Financing
2 Leg Structure Open Simulator »
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