Futures & Options
Master Greeks, strategies, and the math behind F&O.
Margin in Futures: Initial Margin and Exposure Margin
A beginner's guide to margin in futures — what SPAN and exposure margin are, how initial margin is worked out on one Nifty lot, SEBI's 100% upfront rule, and why your margin keeps moving.
Mark-to-Market (MTM) in Futures: How Daily Settlement Works
Mark-to-market in futures, explained for beginners — how your open position is quietly settled to a new price every single day, a worked Nifty example in rupees, and why an MTM loss can trigger a margin call.
Contango vs Backwardation: The Indian Guide
Contango vs backwardation in Indian futures — what each shape means on the NSE, why the curve normally slopes up, when it flips into a discount, and how traders read it day to day.
Cost of Carry in Futures: The Indian Trader's Guide
Cost of carry in futures explained — the formula, a worked Reliance example, why the next month trades at a premium, and how the curve becomes a signal.
F&O Ban List Explained: What It Means
What the F&O ban list actually restricts, how the 95 per cent FutEq OI vs MWPL rule works after the October 2025 framework, and the one misunderstanding that quietly costs Indian retail traders real money.
Futures vs Options: Full Comparison for Indian Traders
Futures vs options for Indian traders — right vs obligation, margin, payoff shape, time decay, current NSE expiry rules and lot sizes, with a worked Nifty trade showing exactly what each one costs.
Index Futures: Nifty vs Bank Nifty Explained
Nifty and Bank Nifty futures explained for beginners: the current January 2026 lot sizes (Nifty 65, Bank Nifty 30), the new Tuesday expiry, margins, worked rupee examples and which one to actually start with.
Rollover in Futures: How It Works for Indian Traders
Rollover in futures explained for Indian traders: how the two-leg roll works on the NSE, what it costs, when to roll, the Tuesday-expiry rules, and which rollover signals actually matter.
Stock Futures Explained: Lot Size, Margin & F&O Ban
Stock futures on the NSE: how lot size, higher margins, monthly expiry, physical settlement and the F&O ban list shape single-stock futures for Indian traders.
What Are Futures in India? Lot Size, Margin and MTM
A futures contract locks a buy-or-sell price today for a later date. Here is how NSE futures really work for Indian beginners — lot size, margin, mark-to-market, the new Tuesday expiry, and why the leverage, not the contract, is the real risk.
Margin Requirements for Options Selling
Selling an option means posting margin — SPAN plus exposure — typically ₹1–1.5 lakh per Nifty lot. Here's how options selling margin works and why.
STT on Options: The Expiry-Day Trap
STT on options in India is 0.15% of premium, but letting an in-the-money option expire can cost more. The expiry-day trap in index vs stock options.
Time Value vs Intrinsic Value in Options, Explained
Learn how every option premium splits into intrinsic value and time value, with NIFTY examples, formulas, and theta decay explained for beginners.
Call vs Put Options: The Only Diagram You Need
Understand call vs put options with a simple payoff diagram, CE vs PE meaning, buyer vs seller roles, breakeven formulas, and a NIFTY example for Indian traders.
How to Read an Option Chain
An option chain shows every available call & put strike for an index or stock. Here's how to read NSE's chain — strike, LTP, OI, IV — without drowning in data.
Implied Volatility (IV) Explained
Implied volatility (IV) is what option prices reveal about the size of the move the market expects. Here's how to read it, use it, and avoid the IV-crush trap.
Max Pain Theory — Useful or Noise?
Max Pain theory has real evidence — and serious limits. What 25 years of data, market-maker hedging, and Nifty expiry days actually tell us.
Open Interest Explained
Open Interest is the total number of F&O contracts still open in the market. Learn how OI is calculated, how to read it with price, and where most traders go wrong.
Strike Price Explained Simply
Strike price is the fixed price at which an option can be exercised. Here's exactly what it means, how NSE sets it, and how to pick the right one — explained simply.
How to Pledge Shares in Zerodha and Get Margin from Holdings
Learn how to pledge shares in Zerodha — collateral margin calculation, pledge charges, haircut rules, cash vs non-cash collateral, the option-buying rule, and key risks.
ITM, ATM, OTM Options — What Each Means
A beginner-friendly explanation of In-the-Money, At-the-Money, and Out-of-the-Money options — using petrol-coupon analogies, real Nifty examples, and a visual strike map.
Straddle Premium Chart: A Beginner's Guide
The straddle premium chart tracks the cost of an at-the-money option pair through the day vs its historical average. Here's how to read it — without the jargon.
Real trading, explained simply.
Daily videos showing how trading actually works in real life — walked through step by step, in plain language, by VRD Rao.