55 Options Strategies — Complete Guide

Group 1 — Single-Leg

Group 2 — Covered & Protected

Group 3 — Vertical Spreads

Group 4 — Calendar Spreads

Group 5 — Diagonal Spreads

Group 6 — Ratio Spreads

Group 7 — Straddles & Strangles

Group 8 — Butterflies

Group 9 — Condors

Group 10 — Ladders

Group 11 — Synthetic Positions

Group 12 — Combos & Advanced

What are the main categories of options strategies?

Guy Cohen organizes the 55 strategies into 12 groups: Single-Leg (long/short calls and puts), Covered & Protected (covered calls, collars, protective puts), Vertical Spreads (bull/bear spreads), Calendar Spreads, Diagonal Spreads, Ratio Spreads, Straddles & Strangles, Butterflies, Condors, Ladders, Synthetic Positions, and Combos & Advanced. Each group serves a different market outlook and risk tolerance.

What is the best options strategy for beginners?

The best beginner options strategies are covered calls, cash-secured puts (Short Naked Put), bull call spreads, and bull put spreads. They all have fully defined risk, are easy to understand, and pair well with a stock selection system. The covered call and cash-secured put are the foundation of the popular wheel strategy — alternating premium collection in both bullish and neutral markets.

How do I choose between a debit and credit options strategy?

In low implied volatility (IV) environments, buying debit strategies (long calls, long puts, long spreads) is generally more capital-efficient because options are cheaper. In high IV environments, selling credit strategies (covered calls, iron condors, short strangles) captures premium that is likely to decay faster than realized volatility warrants. The EdgeOS IV environment indicator on each strategy page guides this decision.

Browse by Market Condition

Popular Comparisons