Stock Options
How to read and analyze a stock option chain — from the Options 101 basics (calls/puts, strike, expiry, the greeks) to chain analysis (open interest walls, max pain, IV skew, put/call ratio, dealer positioning). Educational, not financial advice.
2026-06-09 Intermediate
The Calendar Spread, Explained: Selling Fast Time, Buying Slow Time at the Same Strike
An educational walkthrough of the long calendar (time) spread: sell a near-dated option and buy a longer-dated one at the same strike, profit from faster front-month theta decay and rising implied volatility. Includes a worked example, max-loss math, and standard management.
2026-06-08 Intermediate $NVDA
How to Read an Option Chain: Open Interest, Volume, IV, and the Greeks — via a Live NVDA Snapshot
A plain-language guide to reading an option chain — bid/ask, volume vs open interest, implied volatility and the smile, and the greeks — walked through a real NVDA call-side snapshot from June 8, 2026, including why the at-the-money IV print can't be trusted.
2026-06-08 Intermediate
The Poor Man's Covered Call: A LEAPS Diagonal That Imitates Owning 100 Shares for a Fraction of the Cash
A poor man's covered call (PMCC) is a long call diagonal debit spread: buy one deep in-the-money LEAPS call (roughly 0.70-0.85 delta) as a stock substitute, then sell shorter-dated out-of-the-money calls against it for income. It replicates a covered call while tying up far less
2026-06-07 Intermediate
The Iron Condor, Explained: A Defined-Risk Way to Sell Range
An educational walkthrough of the short iron condor: how its four legs combine a put credit spread and a call credit spread, how max profit, max loss, and the two breakevens are calculated, and why traders sell it when implied volatility is elevated. Includes a worked example
2026-06-07 Intermediate
The Wheel Strategy: Cash-Secured Puts and Covered Calls, on a Loop
An educational walkthrough of the options "wheel": sell a cash-secured put, take assignment of 100 shares if it goes in the money, sell covered calls against them, and restart once shares are called away. Covers breakeven and max-loss math (strike minus premium), why put-call
2026-06-06 Intermediate
Beta hedging — stripping out market risk with index options
Beta hedging strips market (systematic) risk while keeping a stock's idiosyncratic bet. Covers beta-weighted notional, sizing an index hedge with SPY shares/futures/puts, a worked example, and how it differs from delta hedging. Educational, not financial advice.
2026-06-06 Intermediate
A quarterly options-hedging calendar — the H2 2026 risk cadence
A generic, repeatable options-hedging calendar for H2 2026: monthly expiries & quad witching, earnings de-risk windows, FOMC dates, a standing put/collar program, VIX regime checks, and year-end tax-loss harvesting. Education, not financial advice.
2026-06-06 Advanced
A Wall Street-level stock risk-hedging execution plan
A six-step institutional playbook welding position-sizing discipline to a hedging calendar: set risk limits, map beta/delta exposure, pick the hedge, execute on schedule, rebalance on triggers, govern the loop. Combines our risk + calendar guides. Educational, not advice.
2026-06-01 Advanced
Options risk & leverage — the math that decides position size (and how to not blow up)
The leverage in options cuts both ways: notional vs premium, defined vs undefined risk, the risk greeks (delta/gamma/theta/vega), and how to size by max loss — not by premium. Educational, not financial advice.
2026-05-29 Intermediate
Stock option chain analysis — reading the board for positioning, not just price
The analytical layer above Options 101: how to read open-interest walls as support/resistance, max pain, the put/call ratio, IV skew, volume-vs-OI, unusual activity, and dealer gamma — to infer how a stock is positioned into expiration. Educational, not advice.
2026-05-29 Beginner
Options 101 — how to read a stock option chain (a builder's basic tutorial)
A plain-English beginner tutorial: what calls and puts are, the five things every option has, how to read each column of an option chain (bid/ask, volume, OI, IV), ITM/ATM/OTM, intrinsic vs time value, and the greeks. Educational, not financial advice.