BOSS

Short Strangle

Description

Selling an out-of-the-money call and an out-of-the-money put, collecting premium on a bet that the underlying stays within a range.

Setup

  1. Sell one out-of-the-money call.
  2. Sell one out-of-the-money put, same expiry.

Context

Used when a large move is considered unlikely; the wider strikes than a short straddle give the underlying more room before the position starts to lose.

Risk Profile

Maximum gain is the combined premium collected, realized if the underlying finishes between the two strikes. Loss grows without bound on a large move in either direction.

Pros

  • Wider profit range than a short straddle.
  • Collects premium up front.
  • Benefits from a drop in implied volatility.

Cons

  • Unlimited loss potential on a large move.
  • Requires significant margin.
  • Smaller premium collected than a short straddle for the same underlying.

Effect of Time

Time decay favors the position every day the underlying stays between the two strikes.

Effect of Volatility

A rise in implied volatility hurts the position by inflating the value of both short options.

Look-Alike Strategies

Live Structure

Saves the structure above, at the execution prices on screen, to Paper trading in this browser.

Live
Index price: $74877.7000
Position?Right?RatioStrikeExpiryIV?Premium?Fill Price?Liquidity?Est. Fee?
Short Call 1 $76000.0000 20 Nov 2026 38.2% $1500.0516 $1462.5503 8.5000 $22.5008
Short Put 1 $74000.0000 20 Nov 2026 39.2% $1500.0516 $1462.5503 122.7000 $22.5008
Max Profit?$2880.0991
Max Loss?Uncapped
Prob. of Profit?57%
Max Profit / Max Loss?—
DTE?10
Loss is unlimited: a large enough move against this position can cost more than any figure shown here.
Net Cost?-$2880.0991
Delta?-0.0250
Gamma?-0.0002
Vega?-99.0539
Theta?183.6381
Rho?0.3212
Breakeven(s)? $71119.9009, $78880.0991

Net cost, breakevens, the payoff chart and the scenario table are after costs: every leg filled by crossing the spread, estimated fees included -- the same numbers the Scanner ranks by.

Estimated Cost to Assemble

An estimate of what entering this structure right now would really cost: filling every leg by crossing the spread (the ask when buying, the bid when selling) instead of at the mid-price, plus an estimated exchange fee. Real fees and fills can differ from this estimate.

Mid-Price Cost-$3000.1032
Slippage?+$75.0026
Execution Cost-$2925.1006
Estimated Fees?+$45.0015
Total Estimated Cost-$2880.0991

Compare venues

These exact contracts -- same strikes, expiries and ratios -- on every venue BOSS tracks for this currency, at execution: what selling (bid) or buying (ask) each leg there comes to, after that venue's own fee. Green marks the best venue for each leg and for the whole structure.

Deribit this pageBybitOKX
Index?$74877.7000$74971.8651$74879.7000
Mid-Price Cost-$3000.1032-$2985.0000-$3000.3985
Slippage?+$75.0026+$5.0000+$37.5050
Estimated Fees?+$45.0015+$45.0793+$45.0060
Total Estimated Cost-$2880.0991-$2934.9207$54.8200 better than this page-$2917.8875$37.7900 better than this page
Max Profit?$2880.0991$2934.9207$2917.8875
Max Loss?UncappedUncappedUncapped
Breakeven(s)?$71119.9009, $78880.0991$71065.0793, $78934.9207$71082.1125, $78917.8875
Structure IV?38.7%38.4%38.4%
Open on this venue →Open on this venue →

Each leg: what it nets there per contract (fill price with the fee folded in), then the fill price, fee, IV and the size quoted at that price.

Pro Per-leg prices and the best venue for each leg are BOSS Pro. See what Pro includes

For comparing prices, not a recommendation: quotes move by the second, size is only what's shown at the top of the book, fees are each venue's published estimate, and the venues settle against different indexes and margin separately.

Market Context

This expiry as the Dashboard sees it: how the legs are priced against at-the-money and realized volatility, and where the expiry's forward sits against spot.

Structure IV?38.7%
ATM IV (this expiry)?38.5%
RV 7d?55.7%
IV − RV?-17.2
Forward?$75000.6800
Basis?+0.165% (+5.8% /yr)

Volatility Smile?

Implied volatility across strikes at this expiry; the marked lines are this structure's strikes. Buying on the high part of the curve pays up for volatility; selling there collects it.

Leg bought Leg sold

Payoff & Greeks vs. Underlying Price

The Greeks curves are a Black-Scholes model using each leg's current implied volatility, holding time to expiry fixed -- not live exchange data at every price, which only exists at the current price (dashed line).

Payoff at Expiration

After costs At mid price

This structure's value and profit/loss at expiration, at a handful of specific prices: every leg's strike, every breakeven, the current spot, and the chart's own range.

Underlying PriceValue at ExpirationProfit / LossReturn on Cost
$71119.9009 breakeven -$2880.0991 $0.0000 +0.0%
$72000.0000 -$2000.0000 $880.0991 +30.6%
$74000.0000 $0.0000 $2880.0991 +100.0%
$75002.5800 current $0.0000 $2880.0991 +100.0%
$76000.0000 $0.0000 $2880.0991 +100.0%
$78000.0000 -$2000.0000 $880.0991 +30.6%
$78880.0991 breakeven -$2880.0991 $0.0000 +0.0%

Delta (model)?

Gamma (model)?

Vega (model)?

Theta (model)?

Rho (model)?

Alternatives

From the Scanner's latest pass (21:31:48 UTC), priced at execution like everything above.

Same payoff through other strategies

None found in the latest scan.

Other strikes and widths of this strategy

Strategy Market vs. this one Credit/Debit Max Profit? Max Loss? Prob. of Profit? Max Profit / Max Loss?
Short Strangle70000/78000 Deribit · BTC — -$1230.0106 $1230.0106 Uncapped 71% —
Short Strangle71000/79000 Deribit · BTC — -$1155.0082 $1155.0082 Uncapped 71% —
Short Strangle69000/77000 Deribit · BTC — -$1410.0100 $1410.0100 Uncapped 70% —
Pro "If opened N days ago" is BOSS Pro. See what Pro includes