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ThetaViz is built for education, not trading advice. Browse 72 guides on options, stocks, spreads, taxes, and how to use our tools before you put capital at risk.

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New to options? Read these in order, then open the builder to experiment.

1
What Are Options? Contracts, Rights, and Obligations
Stock options in plain English: rights vs obligations, premium, strikes, expiration, and how they differ from owning shares.
2
Call Options Explained
Call options: right to buy at the strike, payoff at expiration, breakeven, delta, and when buyers vs sellers use calls.
3
How to Read an Options Payoff Chart
Read options P/L diagrams: axes, breakeven, max gain and loss, kinks at strikes, and how Greeks change the curve before expiry.
4
Long Call: Definition, Payoff, and When Traders Use It
How a long call works, breakeven, max loss, and when it beats buying shares for a bullish view.

Options basics

American vs European Options

Difference between American and European exercise styles and what most stock options use.

Assignment, Exercise, and Early Exercise

What happens when options are exercised or assigned, and early exercise basics.

Call Options Explained

Call options: right to buy at the strike, payoff at expiration, breakeven, delta, and when buyers vs sellers use calls.

Expiration Dates and Theta (Time Decay)

How option expiration works, why time value erodes (theta), weeklies vs monthlies, and $100 stock examples for long and short options.

How to Read an Options Chain

Options chain columns: bid, ask, volume, open interest, expirations, strikes, IV, and how to scan calls and puts on a $100 stock.

How to Read an Options Payoff Chart

Read options P/L diagrams: axes, breakeven, max gain and loss, kinks at strikes, and how Greeks change the curve before expiry.

Implied Volatility: What Moves Option Prices

Implied volatility (IV) in plain English: how it affects premiums, vol crush, vega, and examples on a $100 stock before earnings.

Intrinsic vs Extrinsic Value in Premiums

Split option premium into intrinsic and extrinsic (time) value, see how theta and IV affect each, with $100 stock examples.

Multi-Leg Strategies: Why Combine Options?

Why traders combine options legs, debit vs credit spreads, and how payoffs add together.

Put Options Explained

Put options: right to sell at the strike, payoff zones, hedging stock, delta and theta, and risks for buyers vs sellers.

Strike Price, ITM, ATM, and OTM

Strike price and moneyness (ITM, ATM, OTM) for calls and puts, with examples at $100 stock and links to delta and premium splits.

The 100-Share Contract Multiplier

Why one option contract controls 100 shares and how to scale profit and loss.

Volume vs Open Interest

How volume and open interest differ and what they tell you about liquidity.

What Are Options? Contracts, Rights, and Obligations

Stock options in plain English: rights vs obligations, premium, strikes, expiration, and how they differ from owning shares.

Single-leg strategies

Cash-Secured Put: Getting Paid to Wait

Sell a put with cash reserved to buy stock at the strike if assigned.

Collar: Capping Upside to Limit Downside

Long stock, long put, and short call combined for a defined risk range.

Covered Call: Income on Stock You Own

Sell a call against shares you own to collect premium and cap upside.

Long Call: Definition, Payoff, and When Traders Use It

How a long call works, breakeven, max loss, and when it beats buying shares for a bullish view.

Long Put: Hedging and Bearish Bets

How a long put works, payoff, and using puts to hedge stock positions.

Long Stock Payoff vs Options

Linear stock P/L compared to option payoffs and when to use each.

Owning Stock: Shares, Dividends, and Total Return

Basics of stock ownership, dividends, and how stocks differ from options.

Protective Put: Portfolio Insurance

Buy a put on stock you own to limit downside over a defined period.

Short (Naked) Call: Unlimited Risk Explained

Why selling uncovered calls is dangerous and what margin brokers require.

Short Put: Credit, Margin, and Assignment

Selling puts for premium, margin requirements, and assignment outcomes.

Synthetic Long/Short: Options That Mimic Stock

How option combos replicate stock payoffs and common synthetic structures.

Spreads and multi-leg

Bear Call Spread (Credit)

Credit call spread for a neutral to bearish range with defined risk.

Bear Put Spread

Debit put spread for a bearish view with defined risk and reward.

Bull Call Spread

Debit spread with a long lower-strike call and short higher-strike call for capped bullish exposure.

Bull Put Spread (Credit)

Credit spread that profits when the stock stays above the short put strike.

Butterflies and Condors Overview

Range-bound strategies using three or four strikes across calls and puts.

Calendar Spread (Time Spread)

Same strike, different expirations: long back month, short front month.

Credit Spreads vs Debit Spreads

Money in vs money out at entry and how that maps to outlook and risk.

Diagonal Spread

Different strikes and expirations for directional bias plus time decay play.

Iron Butterfly

Neutral strategy centered on one strike with tighter profit zone than an iron condor.

Iron Condor

Four-leg neutral strategy combining bull put and bear call spreads for range-bound outlooks.

Iron Condor vs Iron Butterfly

Compare profit zones, credit, and when to use condors vs butterflies.

Jade Lizard and Reverse Jade Lizard

Short put combined with a bear call spread for credit with defined upside risk.

Long Call Butterfly

Low-cost debit structure betting on a specific strike at expiration.

Long Straddle

Long call and long put at the same strike for a big move either direction.

Long Strangle

OTM call plus OTM put for a cheaper volatility bet than a straddle.

Ratio Spreads: Unequal Leg Sizes

Spreads with different numbers of long and short legs and uneven risk.

Short Straddle and Strangle Risks

Why selling straddles and strangles is dangerous for most retail traders.

Vertical Spreads Overview

Same expiration, different strikes: the family of bull/bear call/put spreads.

Using ThetaViz

Options Chain Visualizer Guide

How to use the ThetaViz chain table to scan strikes and expirations.

Options Greeks: Overview and Using Them in ThetaViz

What delta, gamma, theta, vega, and rho measure, how signs work for long vs short options, and how to explore greeks in the payoff builder.

Saved Strategies and Mark-to-Market P/L

Save builder setups and track modeled profit and loss with current quotes.

Using the ThetaViz Payoff Builder

How to pick a strategy, load chain data, read the chart, and share builder links.

Taxes and reporting

Options, Stocks, and Taxes: Overview

High-level US tax topics for options and stock investors (not tax advice).

Qualified vs Ordinary Dividends

Difference between qualified dividends and ordinary income for stock investors.

Reporting Options on Your Tax Return (Intro)

Intro to Forms 1099-B, Schedule D, and where options trades may appear.

Short-Term vs Long-Term Capital Gains

Holding periods for stocks and options and why the distinction matters for taxes.

Tax Loss Harvesting Basics

Selling losers to offset gains, and constraints like wash sales.

Wash Sale Rule Basics

What wash sales are and how they can defer stock losses for tax purposes.

Markets and instruments

ETFs and Index Funds Basics

How ETFs and index funds track markets and relate to options trading.

Futures Contracts Explained

What futures are, contract specs, and how they differ from stock options.

Futures Margin and Leverage

Initial and maintenance margin on futures and why leverage cuts both ways.

Index Options vs Single-Stock Options

Cash settlement, contract size, and tax treatment differences at a high level.

Stocks vs Options vs Futures

Compare stocks, listed options, and futures on leverage, expiry, and use cases.

Analysis and mechanics

Delta Explained: Direction, Magnitude, and Hedge Ratio

What option delta means, how it changes with price and time, and how traders use delta to read directional exposure.

Fundamental Analysis Basics

Earnings, revenue, and valuation concepts for stock pickers.

Gamma Explained: When Delta Changes Fastest

What gamma measures, pin risk near expiration, and why ATM options have the most delta sensitivity.

Market Orders vs Limit Orders

Execution types for stocks and options and when to use each.

Moving Averages: SMA and EMA

Simple and exponential moving averages for trend context.

Risk Management and Position Sizing

Limit loss per trade and size positions relative to account equity.

Support and Resistance

Price levels where stocks have historically stalled or bounced.

Technical Analysis Basics

Charts, trends, and indicators used to study price action.

Theta Explained: Time Decay Day by Day

How theta erodes option value, why decay accelerates near expiration, and which strategies benefit from time passing.

Vega Explained: Implied Volatility and Premium

How vega links option prices to implied volatility, IV crush after events, and which strategies win or lose when IV moves.

Risk and account rules

Margin Accounts vs Cash Accounts

How margin accounts work for stocks and options approval levels.

Options Risk Disclosure (Educational)

Key risks of options trading every beginner should read.

Pattern Day Trader (PDT) Rule

US FINRA pattern day trader rule summary for margin accounts.

Portfolio Diversification Basics

Spread risk across assets and why concentration increases volatility.

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