Every option strategy in one table
This table puts all 30 Academy option strategies side by side. Each row shows the market phase the strategy suits, the driver you actually get paid by, the maximum profit and loss, whether the risk is defined, the number of legs, the broker approval level needed, and the experience level it suits. Every strategy name links to a full detail page with a worked example and an explanation. Use the bar below to filter by market phase, driver, experience, approval level, risk or category — filtering only hides rows, and the URL stays shareable.
- Direction
- bullish / neutral
- Max profit
- C
- Max loss
- K - C
- Risk defined
- Legs
- 1
- Level
- 2
- Experience
- Beginner
- Direction
- strongly bullish
- Max profit
- unlimited
- Max loss
- K + D
- Risk defined
- Legs
- 2
- Level
- 4
- Experience
- Advanced
- Direction
- neutral to bullish over the long run
- Max profit
- no single payoff - the sum of the credits plus or minus the price move
- Max loss
- full stock risk in phases 2 and 3, less every credit collected
- Risk defined
- Legs
- 1
- Level
- 2
- Experience
- Beginner
Legend
Driver colours
- Direction
- Delta - you get paid because price moves your way
- Time decay
- Theta - you get paid because time passes and premium decays
- Volatility
- Vega - you get paid on a change in implied volatility
- Movement
- Gamma / realised vol - you get paid on the size of the move, whichever way it goes
- Price path
- Path-dependent - the outcome depends on WHEN price is where, not just where it ends up
Notation
- K
- strike
- Kp
- put strike
- Kc
- call strike
- K_low
- lower strike
- K_high
- higher strike
- S0
- your cost basis in the stock
- S_T
- price at expiration
- D
- net debit paid
- C
- net credit received
- W
- width of the spread (K_high - K_low)
Why the driver is the column that matters most
Market phase tells you where price is supposed to go. The driver tells you what you actually get paid by — direction, time decay, volatility, movement, or the path price takes. Two strategies can suit the same market phase and still work in completely different ways. Sort or filter by driver and you see at once which strategies run on the same mechanism — far more useful than sorting by name or by number of legs. So start from the question: what should your profit depend on? Then filter the table for it.
Payoff values are per unit of the underlying at expiration, before fees. Every formula was validated numerically against a brute-force payoff scan. Not investment advice.
This material is general information about option strategies, written for a general audience. It is not investment advice, not a recommendation, and not financial analysis. Options can lose their entire value, and uncovered positions can lose more than the amount committed. Anything said about tax is general in nature and is no substitute for professional tax advice. Last reviewed: 2026-08-06.