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Options Strategy
A professional framework for using options as investment tools rather than speculation. Learn how pricing, volatility and time decay work, and how to build defined-risk strategies that generate income, hedge portfolios and improve entry and exit prices.
11 hours 30 lessons
Course introduction video
You will learn how option pricing, implied volatility and time decay determine the real odds behind every trade, and how to translate a market view into a structure with defined risk. Through practical strategy walkthroughs and position-management rules, you will develop the discipline to sell premium, hedge exposure and adjust or close positions using a repeatable process rather than intuition.
Course content
Module 1
Options foundations
- Calls, puts and contract mechanics
- Intrinsic value, extrinsic value and moneyness
- Expiration cycles, assignment and settlement
- Reading an option chain correctly
- Liquidity, spreads and execution quality
- Margin, buying power and leverage risk
- Defining your objective before the structure
Module 2
Pricing, volatility and the Greeks
- How options are priced in practice
- Delta and directional exposure
- Gamma and the acceleration of risk
- Theta and the economics of time decay
- Vega, implied volatility and volatility risk
- Implied versus realized volatility
- Volatility skew, term structure and events
- Estimating probability from the market
Module 3
Core strategies
- Covered calls for portfolio income
- Cash-secured puts as disciplined entries
- Protective puts and portfolio insurance
- Collars and cost-efficient hedging
- Vertical spreads for defined-risk directional views
- Calendar and diagonal spreads
- Iron condors and range-bound premium selling
- Straddles and strangles around catalysts
Module 4
Risk, sizing and position management
- Sizing option positions by maximum loss
- Choosing strikes, deltas and expirations
- Setting profit targets and stop rules in advance
- Rolling, adjusting and closing positions
- Managing assignment and earnings risk
- Hedging portfolio drawdowns with options
- Tracking performance and expected value
What you'll achieve
- Read option chains, pricing and volatility with confidence
- Match each market view to the right defined-risk structure
- Generate income and hedge portfolios without hidden leverage
- Manage, roll and close positions with predefined rules