Also known as: Put Credit Spread · Short Put Spread · Bull Put Vertical · Put Spread (credit)
Sell a put + buy a lower-strike put. Collect a credit; defined risk; profits if the stock holds above the short strike.
Shape illustration on a normalized underlying — open the Lab below to price it on a real option chain.
You sell a put below the current price and buy another put lower still, same expiration. The sale brings in more premium than the purchase costs, so you open for a net credit — the most you can make. If the stock finishes above your short strike, both puts expire worthless and you keep it all.
When you think a stock holds a level rather than needing it to soar — and especially when options are expensive, because you are the one being paid. The long lower put is what separates this from a cash-secured put: it caps the disaster and slashes the capital required.
Maximum loss is the width between strikes minus the credit received, hit if the stock closes below your long strike. Known at entry, unlike a naked short put. Assignment on the short leg is possible before expiration if it goes in the money.
Similar: Both collect premium and profit if the stock holds up.
Different: Buying the lower put caps the worst case and frees most of the capital a cash-secured put ties up — smaller credit, far smaller risk.
Similar: Both are defined-risk bullish verticals.
Different: This one is paid UP FRONT and wins if the stock merely holds still; the call spread pays a debit and needs an actual rise. In rich volatility the credit version is usually the better deal.
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Educational content — not investment advice. Options involve substantial risk and are not suitable for every investor. All trading on Opus Options Trading is simulated.