Also known as: IC · Short Iron Condor
Sell put + buy lower put + sell call + buy higher call. Profit if price stays between shorts.
Shape illustration on a normalized underlying — open the Lab below to price it on a real option chain.
Sell an out-of-the-money put spread AND an out-of-the-money call spread on the same expiration. You collect both credits; profit if the stock finishes between the short strikes.
The flagship income structure for range-bound markets with rich implied volatility. Our nightly scans hunt condors whose breakevens sit more than a full daily range from the price — room to be wrong.
Defined but real: maximum loss is the wing width minus the credit, and it arrives at EITHER edge. The classic failure mode is winning many small credits and losing one full width — size and manage accordingly.
Similar: Both are four-leg, defined-risk premium sells that want the stock to sit still.
Different: The condor gives a wide profit zone with smaller credit; the butterfly concentrates at one strike for a bigger credit.
Similar: Same core bet — sell both sides, collect the middle.
Different: The condor buys wings that cap the disaster case; the strangle keeps more credit with unlimited risk.
New to options? Start with the free curriculum — or see which strategy fits your outlook.
Educational content — not investment advice. Options involve substantial risk and are not suitable for every investor. All trading on Opus Options Trading is simulated.