Long 100 shares, short an out-of-the-money call and short an out-of-the-money put; income from both sides with an obligation to buy more stock on a fall.
This is a covered-call and a cash-secured-put on the same underlying at the same time. You collect two premiums, cap your upside at the call strike, and agree to double your share position at the put strike.
The risk is that the position is long stock and short volatility on both wings, so a sharp decline hurts twice: the shares fall and you are assigned more of them. Treat the true exposure as 200 shares, not 100, when sizing it — most blow-ups here come from sizing on the current position rather than the potential one.
Example: XYZ at $50 with 100 shares owned. Sell the 45-day $55 call at $0.80 and the $45 put at $0.90 for $1.70 total. Above $55 you sell at $56.70 effective. Below $45 you own 200 shares at an average near $46.65.
Original diagrams for the ideas on this page. Illustrative, not real market data.
Buying a call: payoff at expiry. A 105-strike call bought for 3 loses that whole 3 if the price finishes at or below 105, breaks even at 108, then gains a dollar for every dollar higher. The loss is capped at the premium; the upside is not capped.Working out a position size. Three numbers decide how big a trade is: the account, the share of it put at risk, and the distance from entry to stop. One percent of $25,000 is a $250 budget, and a $0.50 stop divides into that 500 times.
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