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Not investment advice. Educational reading. See Disclaimer.
L.2 · ADVANCED · 2 MIN

Iron Condors: Profiting from Range-Bound Markets

An iron condor combines a bull put spread and a bear call spread — you profit if the stock stays within a range. It’s the classic strategy for selling premium in range-bound markets.

Quiz · 5 questions ↓
§ 01
Iron Condor: Sell OTM Put + Buy further OTM Put + Sell OTM Call + Buy further OTM Call
§ 02

Iron condors have a high win rate (typically 60–80%) but unfavorable risk/reward. You might collect $250 per condor but risk $250–$500. The math works because of the high probability of profit, but one big loss can erase several wins.

§ 03
Look at a stock that has been range-bound for 3+ months. Price an iron condor with short strikes at the 16-delta level (~1 standard deviation). This targets ~68% probability of profit.
§ 04
Your iron condor has a 70% probability of profit. You’ll collect $200 if it works and lose $500 if it doesn’t. Is this positive expected value?
§ 05

Iron condors work best when IV is high (collect more premium) and the stock is genuinely range-bound. Selling condors on trending stocks or before major catalysts is the most common amateur mistake.

§ 06
Iron condor: sell $95 put + buy $90 put + sell $105 call + buy $110 call. Stock at $100. Max profit if stock stays in $95-105 range. Max loss?
Five questions · AI feedback

Sit with the ideas.

You sell an iron condor: short $95 put, long $90 put, short $105 call, long $110 call. You collect $2.50 total premium. What is the maximum loss and the breakeven range?

Why:
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