Options Basics

A numbered beginner course covering everything you need before placing a first options trade: reading an options chain, calls versus puts, strike prices, expirations, moneyness, order types, the Greeks, bid-ask spreads, volume and open interest, and choosing a broker. Most lessons include a short companion video.

1. 1
   Options Chainvideo

   An options chain lists every call and put for a stock by expiration and strike price, with live bid, ask, volume, and open interest data.

2. 2
   Calls and Putsvideo

   A call gives the buyer the right to buy 100 shares at a fixed price; a put gives the right to sell. Here is exactly how each works, with numbers.

3. 3
   Strike Pricesvideo

   The strike price is the fixed price at which a contract can be exercised, and it determines an option's intrinsic value, moneyness, and cost.

4. 4
   Expirationsvideo

   Options expire on a fixed schedule — weekly, monthly, quarterly, or as long-dated LEAPS — and the cycle you choose affects cost and time decay.

5. 5
   Moneynessvideo

   Moneyness describes whether a strike price is above, below, or near the stock's current price, and the rules run in opposite directions for calls and puts.

6. 6
   Order Actionsvideo

   Every options order opens or closes a position, and buys or sells. This lesson maps all four combinations and the assignment risk behind them.

7. 7
   Greeks Beginnervideo

   A plain-English introduction to delta, gamma, theta, vega, and rho, the five risk measures that explain why an option's price moves the way it does.

8. 8
   Bid & Askvideo

   How the bid and ask prices on an options chain work, why the spread between them is a real trading cost, and why limit orders matter most on options.

9. 9
   Volume and Open Interestvideo

   The difference between options volume and open interest, why both matter for a fair fill, and why neither one tells you which way a stock will move.

10. 10
    Selecting a Brokervideo

    What to compare when choosing an options broker: approval levels, per-contract fees, assignment costs, margin requirements, and platform quality.

11. 11
    Your First Options Trade

    A cautious, step-by-step walkthrough of a first options trade: picking the underlying and expiration, sizing the position, and planning the exit.

12. 12
    Basic Options Risk Management

    How risk actually works in options trading: position sizing, total loss of premium, the larger risk of short and naked positions, and assignment.