A short strangle gives you the obligation to buy the stock at strike price A and the obligation to sell the stock at strike price B if the options are assigned.

You are predicting the stock price will remain somewhere between strike A and strike B, and the options you sell will expire worthless. By selling two options, you significantly increase the income you would have achieved from selling a put or a call alone. But that comes at a cost. You have unlimited risk on the upside and substantial downside risk.

To avoid being exposed to such risk, you may wish to consider using an iron condor instead. Like the short straddle , advanced traders might run this strategy to take advantage of a possible decrease in implied volatility.

If implied volatility is abnormally high for no apparent reason, the call and put may be overvalued. After the sale, the idea is to wait for volatility to drop and close the position at a profit. You may wish to consider ensuring that strike A and strike B are one standard deviation or more away from the stock price at initiation.

Option Strangle (Long Strangle) Explained | Online Option Trading Guide

That will increase your probability of success. However, the further out-of-the-money the strike prices are, the lower the net credit received will be from this strategy. This strategy is only for the most advanced traders who like to live dangerously and watch their accounts constantly. You are anticipating minimal movement on the stock. If the stock goes down, your losses may be substantial but limited to strike A minus the net credit received. Margin requirement is the short call or short put requirement whichever is greater , plus the premium received from the other side.

The net credit received from establishing the short strangle may be applied to the initial margin requirement. After this position is established, an ongoing maintenance margin requirement may apply. That means depending on how the underlying performs, an increase or decrease in the required margin is possible. Keep in mind this requirement is subject to change and is on a per-unit basis. For this strategy, time decay is your best friend.

It works doubly in your favor, eroding the price of both options you sold. That means if you choose to close your position prior to expiration, it will be less expensive to buy it back.

After the strategy is established, you really want implied volatility to decrease. An increase in implied volatility is dangerous because it works doubly against you by increasing the price of both options you sold.

That means if you wish to close your position prior to expiration, it will be more expensive to buy back those options. An increase in implied volatility also suggests an increased possibility of a price swing, whereas you want the stock price to remain stable between strike A and strike B.

Options involve risk and are not suitable for all investors. For more information, please review the Characteristics and Risks of Standardized Options brochure before you begin trading options. Options investors may lose the entire amount of their investment in a relatively short period of time.

Multiple leg options strategies involve additional risks , and may result in complex tax treatments. Please consult a tax professional prior to implementing these strategies.

Implied volatility represents the consensus of the marketplace as to the future level of stock price volatility or the probability of reaching a specific price point.

The Greeks represent the consensus of the marketplace as to how the option will react to changes in certain variables associated with the pricing of an option contract. There is no guarantee that the forecasts of implied volatility or the Greeks will be correct. System response and access times may vary due to market conditions, system performance, and other factors.

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Strangle (options) - Wikipedia

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What's the difference between a straddle and a strangle?

The Options Playbook Featuring 40 options strategies for bulls, bears, rookies, all-stars and everyone in between. The Strategy A short strangle gives you the obligation to buy the stock at strike price A and the obligation to sell the stock at strike price B if the options are assigned. Options Guy's Tip You may wish to consider ensuring that strike A and strike B are one standard deviation or more away from the stock price at initiation. The Setup Sell a put, strike price A Sell a call, strike price B Generally, the stock price will be between strikes A and B NOTE: Both options have the same expiration month.

Who Should Run It All-Stars only NOTE: When to Run It You are anticipating minimal movement on the stock. Break-even at Expiration There are two break-even points: Strike A minus the net credit received. Strike B plus the net credit received. The Sweet Spot You want the stock at or between strikes A and B at expiration, so the options expire worthless.

Maximum Potential Profit Potential profit is limited to the net credit received. Maximum Potential Loss If the stock goes up, your losses could be theoretically unlimited. TradeKing Margin Requirement Margin requirement is the short call or short put requirement whichever is greater , plus the premium received from the other side.

Strangle vs. Straddle Option Trading Strategies | DailyForex

As Time Goes By For this strategy, time decay is your best friend. Implied Volatility After the strategy is established, you really want implied volatility to decrease. Use the Probability Calculator to verify that both the call and put you sell are about one standard deviation out-of-the-money.

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