Options Strategies

Covered calls, cash-secured puts, spreads and condors.

1. Covered Calls — A covered call means owning 100 shares and selling a call against them for extra income. Here is how it works, what you give up and a hypothetical example on Coca-Cola.
2. Cash-Secured Puts — A cash-secured put means selling a put while holding enough cash to buy the shares if assigned. Here is how it works, why some investors use it to buy stocks at a discount and the risk they take.
3. Vertical Spreads — A vertical spread buys one option and sells another with the same expiration but a different strike. Here is how debit and credit spreads work, why they cap both risk and reward and how to calculate their limits.
4. Iron Condors — An iron condor sells a put spread and a call spread at the same time, betting a stock or index stays within a range. Here is how it is built, how to find its breakevens and why it can go wrong quickly.
5. Rolling Positions — Rolling means closing an option and opening a similar one with a later date or different strike. Here is how and why traders roll, what it costs and when rolling is just avoiding a loss.
6. Strategy Risk & Assignment — Assignment turns an option into a stock trade, sometimes when you least expect it. Here is how assignment works, when early assignment is likely and the risks that catch options sellers off guard.