Options Trading
The leverage-and-asymmetry layer of the market. This track starts with what an options contract actually is - multiplier, expiration, intrinsic vs extrinsic - then builds the math: moneyness and strike selection, the five Greeks and how they move together, and implied volatility as the price of uncertainty (skew, smile, IV rank, the crush around earnings). From there it covers the working strategy toolkit - verticals, straddles and strangles, iron condors, butterflies, calendars and diagonals - with honest payoff diagrams and the trade-offs each structure makes between probability, defined risk, and theta. Closes with assignment and expiration mechanics most traders learn the hard way, and a portfolio framework for sizing trades and selecting structure by IV regime.
What you'll learn
- How options contracts price - intrinsic, extrinsic, and the role of time and volatility
- The five Greeks and how delta, gamma, theta, and vega interact across strike and DTE
- Implied volatility - skew, smile, IV rank, term structure, and the earnings IV crush
- The vertical-spread family - debit vs credit, max risk/reward, and when each beats a single leg
- Multi-leg structures - iron condors, butterflies, calendars, diagonals, and when each fits
- Assignment, exercise, pin risk, and how to size and select strategies as a portfolio
Traders comfortable with market mechanics and risk math who want to add options to their toolkit - beyond YOLO calls into structures that actually express a thesis.
All 10 lessons
Options Contract Mechanics
What an options contract actually is - multiplier, expiration, exercise style, intrinsic vs extrinsic value, and the bid/ask economics that decide your fill before any thesis matters.
Moneyness and Strike Selection
How ITM, ATM, and OTM options actually behave, the delta-as-probability heuristic, and a working framework for picking strikes by directional conviction, time horizon, and capital.
The Greeks, Deep Dive
Delta, gamma, theta, vega - what each Greek measures, how they interact across strike and DTE, and the working intuition that turns Greek values from numbers into trade decisions.
Implied Volatility, Skew, and Smile
IV vs realized vol, the volatility surface, why equity skew exists, IV rank vs IV percentile, term structure, and the earnings IV crush that punishes uninformed buyers.
Vertical Spreads
Bull call, bear put, bull put, bear call - debit vs credit framing, max risk and reward math, and a rule of thumb for when each beats a single leg.
Straddles, Strangles, and Volatility Plays
Long and short straddles and strangles, breakeven math, and using IV rank plus the earnings IV crush to time entries that explicitly trade volatility instead of direction.
Iron Condors and Butterflies
Four-leg, defined-risk neutral structures - iron condors for income trades, butterflies for pinpointed bets, wing-width selection, and managing the tested side.
Calendar and Diagonal Spreads
Time-spread mechanics, exploiting term-structure differences in IV, and converting calendars into diagonals when you want directional bias on top of the time edge.
Assignment, Expiration, and Exercise
American vs European, early exercise economics, pin risk, ex-dividend assignment, settlement, and what actually happens to your account at 4pm Friday.
Portfolio Greeks and Strategy Selection
Sizing options trades by buying power and theta, aggregating portfolio Greeks across positions, and a decision tree for choosing structure given thesis and IV regime.
Frequently asked
Do I need a big account to trade options?
No. Single long calls and puts can be opened for a few hundred dollars. Defined-risk spreads (verticals, iron condors) tie up only the difference between strikes minus credit received. Portfolio margin and naked short premium need real capital - $25k+ for PDT plus margin requirements - but that's the advanced end.
Should I sell premium or buy it?
Selling premium has a higher win rate but bounded upside and tail risk on the losses; buying premium has a lower win rate but unbounded upside and capped loss. Most consistently profitable retail options traders are net premium sellers in high-IV environments and selective premium buyers in low-IV ones. The 'Implied Volatility' lesson explains the regime call.
How important are the Greeks if I'm only holding for a few days?
Critical. Theta and vega both move significantly day-to-day, and gamma risk explodes in the last week of life on near-the-money contracts. Even a 2-day hold on an OTM weekly is dominated by Greeks, not direction.
Why do my long calls lose money even when the stock goes up?
Because IV crushed (vega loss outpaced delta gain), or theta decay over the holding period exceeded the price move's intrinsic value gain, or the move was already priced in. The 'Implied Volatility' and 'Greeks' lessons cover this in detail - it's the single most common retail options mistake.