my TradeOptions
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Reading an Option Chain

The desk note is a structure and a DTE (days to expiration), not a fill. Read the delayed chain, pick the ticket, or stand aside.

This site’s pad is calls on the left, strike in the middle, puts on the right. Bid is what you sell (STO (sell to open)). Ask is what you buy (BTO (buy to open)). Mid is the classroom mark. Delta is Yahoo’s number, or a teaching figure marked t — or a dash. A delayed last is a research print, not a broker fill.

A desk note might say “cash-secured put on AAPL, 30 DTE (days to expiration).” That names a structure and a clock. It does not buy or sell anything. Find that expiration, find the strike, read bid/ask. If a Greek is missing, leave it blank. Confidence on the card is not probability of profit.

Teaching row: AAPL last $100, 30 DTE (days to expiration), $95 put bid $2.80 / ask $3.00. Card says cash-secured put. Ticket is STO (sell to open) that put. You need $9,500 cash for assignment. Practice would mark the mid. Journal is a fill you already have. Neither is the card.

The lab is that short $95 put. Slide the stock: delta goes more negative as AAPL drops. The card still did not buy or sell anything.

How a delayed option chain maps to an AI desk note and a ticketA teaching chain with calls on the left, strike in the middle, puts on the right. Ask is the buy to open price. Bid is the sell to open price. The desk note is a structure and a DTE, not a fill. Stand aside means leave the pad blank.Chain → desk note → ticketDelayed Yahoo · teaching sketchDelayed chainAAPL last $100 · 30 DTECALLS bid · ask · deltaSTRIKEPUTS bid · ask · delta5.806.100.621002.402.60−0.383.103.300.42952.803.00−0.321.401.550.22904.204.50−0.58Ask = BTO (buy)Bid = STO (sell)Δ blank → leave blankNo quote → stand asideClick ask to buy, bid to sell. Classroom mid is a teaching mark — not your broker fill.DESK NOTECash-secured put30 DTE · AAPL last $100 delayedStructure: STO the $95 putMap to the gold row — bid 2.80, ask 3.00Not a fill. Not a broker ticket.Confidence % is not probability of profit.If a Greek is missing, this desk leaves it blank.TICKETSTO 1× $95 putYou sell. Cash for 100 shares at $95.Close later with BTC — or assignment.STAND ASIDENo ticketEarnings inside the DTE · empty bid/askDo not BTO, STO, or invent a spread.
The card names a structure and a DTE. You find that row on the delayed chain, then pick the ticket — or stand aside. Teaching numbers only.

Teaching lab

The card named a cash-secured put — here are its Greeks

AAPL last $100, 30 DTE, $95 put. The card is not a fill. Slide to see what the short put does.

P/L / share
+2.01
×100
+201
Delta
+0.211
Gamma
-0.0403
Theta / day
+0.0318
Vega / vol pt
-0.0828

P/L / share

vs the lesson entry

2.90-31.75$60$80$100$120$140

Delta

share-equivalent

1.000.00$60$80$100$120$140

Gamma

peaks near the strikes

0.000-0.059$60$80$100$120$140

Theta / day

clock

0.0390.000-0.012$60$80$100$120$140

Vega / vol pt

fear priced in

0.000-0.108$60$80$100$120$140

Rho / rate pt

small at 30 days

0.0780.000$60$80$100$120$140

Mid $2.90 is the classroom mark. Journal is a fill you typed. Neither is the card.

Try it: Notes (read the card, do not treat it as a fill)

Tickets for this structure

BTO (buy to open) · STO (sell to open) · BTC (buy to close) · STC (sell to close). Illustrative fills only. We never send these orders.

BTO (buy to open)

Open a long

Buy to open

Card says long call, 21 DTE (days to expiration), near ATM (at the money). That is BTO (buy to open) the listed call at the ask.

STO (sell to open)

Open a short

Sell to open

Card says cash-secured put or covered call. That is STO (sell to open). Need cash or 100 shares.

BTC (buy to close)

Close a short

Buy to close

Later note says close the short put. That is BTC (buy to close) the same put. Still not an order.

STC (sell to close)

Close a long

Sell to close

Later note says take profits on the long call. That is STC (sell to close). Stand aside = no new ticket.

What each cell is for

Strike is K. DTE (days to expiration) is how many days that expiration still has. Bid/ask are delayed Yahoo, when Yahoo sends them. Volume and open interest matter on a live tape; this pad shows bid, ask, and delta. If bid or ask is empty, do not invent a quote.

ATM (at the money) is the strike nearest the delayed last. ITM (in the money) calls sit below that last; ITM (in the money) puts sit above it. The card’s “~ATM (at the money), 21 DTE (days to expiration)” means: pick that expiration, then the strike closest to last.

What “stand aside” means on the ticket

Stand aside is not a fifth ticket. It means do not BTO (buy to open), do not STO (sell to open), and do not invent a spread because the chain or the calendar is dirty — earnings inside the DTE (days to expiration), no quote, a blank Greek you were about to lean on, event headlines.

How the Greeks move

A short put has negative delta and you collect theta. Slide the stock down: gamma and theta jump near $95. The card’s confidence is not this delta. If a Greek is missing on the live chain, leave the cell blank.

Checking for a quiz…

Teaching numbers only — not a live quote, not a fill, not financial advice. All lessons · Back to Practice · Replay · Journal.