Options Trading
Collar option strategy combines a protective put with a covered call to hedge your stock position — often at zero net cost. Learn setup, P&L analysis, and Excel tracking.
Vertical options spread strategies let you define your risk and reward before entering any trade. Learn bull call, bear put, and credit spreads with real Excel examples using MarketXLS.
Arbitrage profits from a price gap for the same asset or equivalent positions. Stock arbitrage across exchanges, put-call parity for options, and the risks.
Eight common options trading strategies explained: covered put, collar, short strangle, bull put spread, bear call spread, calendar spreads, and long butterfly.
Bull put spread explained with a worked TSLA-style example: max profit, max loss, breakeven, and how to model the strategy in an Excel template.
A bear call spread sells a lower-strike call and buys a higher-strike call for a net credit. Max profit, max loss, breakeven with a worked example and an Excel template.
Collar option strategy showing stock plus put plus call equals zero-cost hedging with payoff diagram
Christmas tree spread is a multi-strike options strategy using a 1-3-2 structure for limited-risk directional bets. Learn the setup with calls and puts, P&L analysis, Greeks impact, and how to model it in Excel with MarketXLS.
A protective put is buying a put on stock you own to cap your downside. Maximum loss is the stock price minus the strike plus the premium; upside stays open.
A long call butterfly buys one low-strike call, sells two middle-strike calls, and buys one high-strike call. Max loss is the debit; max profit comes at the middle strike.
A short strangle sells an out-of-the-money call and put with the same expiry to collect premium when a stock stays in a range. Risk is unlimited.
Options trading income requires careful tracking of premiums collected, assignment events, and net P&L. Learn how to build a complete income tracker in Excel with real formulas.
Trade Options on Robinhood with this complete beginner's guide covering approval levels, order types, strategies, Greeks, and how MarketXLS enhances your options analysis in Excel.
Options theta measures the daily time decay of an option's price. How theta works by moneyness, expiration, and volatility, plus MarketXLS formulas for Greeks analysis in Excel.
What are Long Call Options?A long call is buying a call option because you expect the underlying stock to rise above the strike price plus the premium before expiration.
SPY, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust, launched in 1993 as the first US-listed ETF and tracks the S&P 500. How it works and why SPY options are so heavily traded (data as of Feb 2021).