Options Strategy Builder
Model a position before you take it
What the Strategy Builder is
The Options Strategy Builder is the what-if workbench in Optionomics. Pick a symbol, pick a strategy (or build one leg by leg on the strike rail), and the page draws the P&L diagram, computes Greeks, finds breakevens, and lets you simulate what happens if price moves, IV expands or contracts, or time decays before expiration.
It is the place to answer questions like:
- “What does a vertical here actually pay if the underlying gets to the target?”
- “If IV crushes 30% post-earnings, do I still make money on this strangle?”
- “What does my position look like with five days less DTE?”
- “Where exactly are the breakevens, and what is the modeled probability of profit?”
Availability: All plans (Delta and higher). The custom-backtest hand-off at the end requires Vega.
Open it: Sidebar → Strategy Builder (also at /build), or the Build tab on any Stock Workspace, which carries the symbol with it.
Load a symbol and pick a strategy
Type a ticker and load its chain. A snapshot selector lists the available chain sessions—choose Latest or an exact historical date, and step between sessions with the previous/next buttons. The status strip always says which snapshot you are looking at; the builder never silently substitutes another session.
The Strategy picker offers 58 presets grouped by experience level:
| Group | Strategies |
|---|---|
| Starter | Long Call, Long Put, Covered Call, Cash-Secured Put, Protective Put |
| Intermediate | Bull Call/Put Spreads, Bear Call/Put Spreads, Iron Condor, Iron Butterfly (and inverses), Long Call/Put Butterflies, Calendar and Diagonal Spreads, Straddle, Strangle, Collar, and more |
| Advanced | Short options, Short Straddle/Strangle, Condors, Ratio Backspreads, Broken Wings, Ladders, Jade Lizard, and more |
| Expert | Ratio Spreads, Synthetics, Combos, Strip, Strap, Guts, Double Diagonal, and more |
Choosing a preset fills the legs, snapped to real quoted contracts when a chain is loaded. A badge strip then shows the strategy’s direction (bullish / bearish / neutral) and whether max profit and max loss are limited or unlimited.
The strike rail
The rail under the chart is the fastest way to compose or adjust a position:
- Click a strike to add a leg there; drag a leg to move it to another strike.
- Zoom the rail to the strikes that matter: ±6%, ±18%, or All.
- + Call / + Put buttons add a model-priced at-the-money leg without touching the chain.
- An expiration pill row above the rail switches expiries, each labeled with its date and DTE.
Every leg appears in the Option Legs card as a one-line summary (e.g. “Buy $150 Call”) with an Adjust disclosure for its full controls—type, side, contracts, strike, premium, days, implied volatility—plus Flip (buy↔sell) and Remove. Editing a leg by hand reprices it from the model; adding it from the chain ties it to the real contract.
Three panes: P&L, Risk Lab, Options Chain
- Profit & Loss — the payoff diagram across underlying prices, updating live as you change legs or drag the simulation sliders, with a net cost/credit badge.
- Risk Lab — a scenario grid: stock-price moves across the columns, implied-volatility shocks (in additive vol points) down the rows, at a scenario horizon you choose up to the first expiry. Named scenario tiles highlight representative combinations. The grid is a sensitivity study, not a forecast—its horizon stops at the earliest expiration, and assignment or early exercise is not modeled.
- Options Chain — the loaded chain in a single calls-versus-puts table (OI, volume, delta, IV, bid, ask per side), opened pre-scrolled to the highlighted at-the-money rows. Add legs straight from the chain when you want real quotes behind every leg.
Position summary
The summary panel reads out the headline numbers for whatever legs are active:
| Metric | What it means |
|---|---|
| Model-Implied Probability of Profit | Estimate of finishing profitable, computed from current IV and time to expiry |
| Max Profit / Max Loss | The bounds of the position (∞ when unlimited) |
| Net Debit / Net Credit | What the position costs or collects |
| Return on Risk | Max profit relative to max loss for risk-defined positions |
| Breakeven(s) | Underlying prices where the position turns profitable at expiration |
| Position Greeks | Delta, Gamma, Theta, Vega for the package |
Use these to sanity-check that the shape of your risk matches the thesis—a “neutral” strategy with strong long delta isn’t neutral; a “high theta” short strangle with too much vega exposure into earnings isn’t the carry trade you think it is.
Simulation controls
Three sliders stress-test the position, repricing the curve and Greeks as you drag:
| Slider | What it changes |
|---|---|
| Price Move | Shift the underlying ±30% |
| IV Change | Scale implied vol from −50% to +100% |
| Days Forward | Roll the clock forward up to the first expiry |
Share a position
Link to position puts the whole build on the URL—symbol, snapshot date, and every leg—so pasting the link rebuilds the same position against the same chain snapshot. It appears once every leg names a real contract from the chain. Use it to hand a structure to a friend, or to keep dated snapshots of positions you are tracking.
The Trade Ideas detail page’s Model in Builder link uses the same mechanism in reverse: it opens the builder pre-filled with an idea’s legs.
Backtest This Package (Vega)
With a chain snapshot loaded and every leg taken from it, the Backtest This Package card sends the exact package into a custom strategy backtest: choose a start date, end date, and risk budget, and run. The card explains its requirements inline—option legs only, one expiration, real two-sided quotes behind every leg, bounded risk, and a modest leg count—so you know before running whether the package qualifies.
A typical workflow
- Load the symbol and pick a preset, or click strikes on the rail to compose a custom structure.
- Read the P&L diagram and position summary — does max loss feel right? Are the breakevens reasonable?
- Drag the simulation sliders — what happens at the target? At the stop? Day of expiry?
- Open the Risk Lab — how does the position hold up across a grid of price and vol shocks?
- Check the Greeks — does the position match your thesis (directional vs neutral, long vs short vol, positive vs negative theta)?
- Adjust legs until the curve and risk profile match what you want, then Link to position to keep it—or, on Vega, Run Custom Backtest.
Important context
- The builder is a modeling tool. Real fills, slippage, early assignment, dividend risk, and broker margin treatment can differ from what you see here.
- Greeks and the probability of profit are theoretical outputs from standard pricing; they assume the inputs (IV, rate, time) hold. Early exercise is not modeled.
- The builder can use the latest chain or an exact historical snapshot. Always check the status strip.
- Multi-leg strategies with uncovered short options can have undefined or very large losses; treat ∞ seriously and use real position sizing.
Remember: The Strategy Builder shows you what a position could look like under specific assumptions. It does not predict where price, vol, or time will actually go. Combine with daily analytics, flow, and your own rules.
Related:
- Stock Workspace — chart, daily analytics, flow, and earnings for the symbol you’re modeling
- Volatility Surface — IV across strikes and expiries
- Backtesting — replay strategies across historical windows
