OptionScout
A friendlier way to learn options

Options, made simple — one concept at a time.

Most options content is written for professionals. OptionScout is built for retail traders — everyday investors who want clear explanations, not jargon walls. Short reads, interactive calculators, and plain-English walkthroughs that make complex strategies actually click.

Try a calculatorRead a short article
AAPL$177.50
+0.42%
LESSONCovered call on AAPL
30 days
Break-even
$177.50
Max profit
+$12.50
Annualized
16.9%
Plug in a stock you already own and we'll walk through the trade together.
This week's teaching case

Covered call, worked example of the week

One hand-picked covered call every Monday — a familiar ticker, a specific strike and expiry, and the reasoning walked through end to end. It's not a trade alert; it's a worked example you can learn from.

Worked example of the weekWeek of April 22
AAPLApple Inc.
Consumer tech

Apple is in a quiet stretch between earnings windows, trading a few percent below its 200-day average. Selling the 220 call one month out collects a meaningful premium while still leaving ~3.5% of upside to the strike — a textbook covered-call setup on a name most readers already own.

See the math →Open in calculator

Educational example. Prices as of Apr 22, 2026. Not a recommendation.

The trade
Sell 220 call · May 22
1.46% yield
Spot
$212.40
Strike
$220.00
Premium
$3.10
Days to expiry
30d
Break-even
$209.30
Max profit
$10.70 / share
Annualised yield
17.8%
What's inside

Four ways in, depending on how you learn

Some people want to read. Some want to play with a calculator until the pattern clicks. Pick whichever fits your mood — they all tell the same story from different angles.

Tools
Calculators that explain themselves

Punch in a trade, see the numbers that matter, and read a plain-English line under each one telling you what it actually means.

Open the toolbox →
Strategies
Walkthroughs, not textbooks

Each strategy starts with the story — why someone would use it — then shows the payoff shape, the risks, and a worked example on a familiar stock.

Pick a strategy →
Articles
Short reads on the things that confuse everyone

Five-minute explainers on the parts of options that always look scary at first — the chain, the Greeks, IV, assignment — written in the voice of a friend.

Browse the library →
Glossary
Every term, in one searchable page

Delta, theta, IV rank, assignment — each defined in one sentence, with a second sentence showing how it shows up in real life.

Look up a term →
Why this exists

Options aren't gambling. They also aren't as scary as the internet makes them look.

How most options content reads
Δcall = N(d1)
d1 = [ln(S/K) + (r + σ²/2)T] / σ√T
d2 = d1 − σ√T
Γ = φ(d1) / (S · σ√T)
Θ = −(S · φ(d1) · σ) / (2√T) − rKe−rTN(d2)
𝒱 = S · φ(d1) · √T
ρ = K · T · e−rT · N(d2)
How we explain it
Delta tells you how much an option's price moves when the stock moves $1. That's it.
Theta is how much value an option quietly loses every day as expiration gets closer. Options are a melting ice cube.
Implied volatility is the market's guess at how bumpy the ride will be — higher IV, higher option prices.

OptionScout is the patient tutor your high-school econ class never had. We introduce ideas with real examples, show the math when it helps, and skip it when it doesn't. Everything is free and educational — we're not trying to sell you a trade.

First lesson

Ready to start?

Start with the covered-call calculator — it's the gentlest way in, and it's the strategy most people use first.

Start with the covered call