Vertical spread (bull and bear spreads)
A vertical spread buys one option and sells another of the same type and expiry at a different strike. It caps both the maximum gain and the maximum loss, lowers the cost of a directional view and reduces the position's sensitivity to implied volatility compared with a single option.
Senzoukria · Glossary · Updated September 2026
At a glance
- Construction
- Long one option, short another, same type and expiry, different strikes
- Max value at expiry
- Distance between strikes
- Variants
- Bull call, bear put (debit); bull put, bear call (credit)
Worked example: bull call spread
Underlying at 100, 30 days, 20% implied volatility, zero rates. Buy the 100 call for 2.29 and sell the 105 call for 0.64: the spread costs 1.64. At expiry it is worth 0 below 100, the distance to 100 between the strikes, and 5 above 105. The maximum gain is 5 − 1.64 = 3.36, the maximum loss is the 1.64 paid, and the breakeven is 101.64.
| Underlying at expiry | Spread value | P&L |
|---|---|---|
| 95 | 0 | −1.64 |
| 101.64 | 1.64 | 0 |
| 103 | 3.00 | +1.36 |
| 105 or above | 5.00 | +3.36 |
Debit and credit versions
- Bull call spread (debit): long the lower-strike call, short the higher one; bullish with capped gain.
- Bear put spread (debit): long the higher-strike put, short the lower one; bearish with capped gain.
- Bull put spread (credit): short the higher-strike put, long the lower one; collects premium if the underlying stays above the short strike.
- Bear call spread (credit): short the lower-strike call, long the higher one; collects premium if it stays below.
Greeks
The short leg offsets part of the long leg's greeks. In the example the spread's delta is 0.31 against 0.51 for the 100 call alone, and its vega 0.033 per volatility point against 0.114. The position is mostly a directional bet over a defined range, with limited exposure to implied volatility at inception. As the underlying moves between the strikes and expiry approaches, the spread's gamma and theta change sign depending on which leg is closer to the money.
On a flow tape and in Senzoukria
A vertical spread prints as two legs of the same type and size, one bought and one sold, usually at the same instant. Read separately, the tape shows a large call purchase and a smaller call sale; the real exposure is the difference. Senzoukria's Option Flow tags such same-size prints within 25 milliseconds as MULTI. Its net premium measure signs the two legs in opposite directions, which is consistent with a spread's net debit, but the legs may still be misclassified when the package prints at prices inside or outside the individual quotes.
Related
In the same section
- Visible range volume profile
- Velocity logic
- VIX
- Vega exposure
- Volatility cone
- Vega
- Volatility crush
- Variation margin
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Frequently asked questions
- Why use a spread instead of buying one option?
- To pay less and reduce exposure to implied volatility and time decay, at the price of capping the gain. It suits a view with a target: the trader expects a move toward the short strike, not beyond it.
- Can a vertical spread lose more than the premium?
- A debit spread cannot lose more than its cost if held to expiry. A credit spread's maximum loss is the distance between strikes minus the credit received. Early assignment of the short leg of an American-style spread can create temporary positions that need managing.