Reference
Glossary
Every concept and strategy, A to Z →
- Delta
- How much an option's price is expected to move for a $1 rise in the underlying: between 0 and +1 for a call, between −1 and 0 for a put. Selling the option flips the sign. Read more →
- Gamma
- How much delta itself is expected to change for a $1 rise in the underlying. Positive for an option you own, negative for one you have sold. Read more →
- Vega
- How much an option's price is expected to move for a 1 percentage point rise in implied volatility. Positive for an option you own (it gains when implied volatility rises), negative for one you have sold. Read more →
- Theta
- How much an option's value is expected to change per day, all else equal, purely from time passing. Usually negative for an option you own (the value it loses each day) and positive for one you have sold. Read more →
- Rho
- How much an option's price is expected to move for a 1 percentage point rise in interest rates: positive for a call, negative for a put. Selling the option flips the sign. Read more →
- Capped / Uncapped
- Whether a strategy's maximum loss (risk) or maximum gain (reward) is a known, bounded number, or can grow without a fixed limit. Read more →
- Breakeven
- The underlying price at expiration where a strategy's profit is exactly zero -- above or below it, the position moves into profit or loss. Read more →
- Moneyness
- Where a strike sits relative to the current underlying price: in the money (has intrinsic value), at the money (strike close to the current price), or out of the money (no intrinsic value). Read more →
- Premium
- The price paid (if long) or received (if short) for an option, per contract. Read more →
- Strike
- The fixed price at which an option's holder may buy (call) or sell (put) the underlying. Read more →
- Expiry
- The date after which an option no longer exists and settles based on the underlying's price at that time. Read more →
- Implied Volatility (IV)
- The market's expectation of the underlying's future volatility, implied by an option's current price. Read more →
- Leg
- One individual option (or underlying position) within a multi-part strategy. Read more →
- Net Debit / Net Credit
- Whether a strategy costs money to enter (debit) or pays money up front (credit), summed across all its legs. Read more →
- Slippage
- The extra cost of filling an order immediately by crossing the bid-ask spread, instead of at the theoretical mid-price. Read more →
- Fee
- What the venue charges to trade a contract: a small percentage of the underlying's price, capped at a percentage of the option's own price, so cheap options pay less. Read more →
- Forward price
- The price agreed today for the underlying on a future date -- for an option, its expiry. Set by the futures market, it usually sits a little above spot, and it is the price options are valued against. Read more →
All Strategies
- Bear Call Spread
- Bear Put Spread
- Bull Call Spread
- Bull Put Spread
- Call Diagonal Spread
- Call Ratio Backspread
- Call Ratio Spread (Front Spread)
- Covered Call
- Covered Put
- Diagonal Butterfly
- Double Diagonal
- Long Box
- Long Call
- Long Call Butterfly
- Long Call Calendar Spread
- Long Call Condor
- Long Call Ladder (Christmas Tree)
- Long Combo
- Long Guts
- Long Iron Butterfly
- Long Iron Condor
- Long Put
- Long Put Butterfly
- Long Put Calendar Spread
- Long Put Condor
- Long Put Ladder
- Long Straddle
- Long Strangle
- Protective Call
- Protective Put (Married Put)
- Put Diagonal Spread
- Put Ratio Backspread
- Put Ratio Spread (Front Spread)
- Short Box
- Short Call (Naked Call)
- Short Call Butterfly
- Short Call Calendar Spread
- Short Call Condor
- Short Call Ladder
- Short Combo
- Short Guts
- Short Iron Butterfly
- Short Iron Condor
- Short Put (Naked Put)
- Short Put Butterfly
- Short Put Calendar Spread
- Short Put Condor
- Short Put Ladder
- Short Straddle
- Short Strangle
- Strap
- Strip
- Synthetic Long Call
- Synthetic Long Put
- Synthetic Long Stock
- Synthetic Short Call
- Synthetic Short Put
- Synthetic Short Stock