Long Put Condor Calculator: Payoff and Breakevens

Long Put Condor at a glance

Construction	Buy 1 put 3 strikes above the money, sell 1 put 1 strike above the money, sell 1 put 1 strike below the money, and buy 1 put 3 strikes below the money, all in the front month expiration.
Outlook	Neutral
Volatility view	Wants falling IV
Max profit	Highest strike minus the second highest strike, minus the net debit, times 100.
Max loss	Net debit paid, times 100.
Breakeven	Lower breakeven equals the lowest strike plus the net debit.
Experience level	Advanced
Also called	Put condor

How a long put condor works

The long put condor, also called a put condor, combines two put verticals. The upper half is a bear put spread: you buy the put at the highest strike and sell the put one strike above the money. The lower half is a bull put spread: you sell the put one strike below the money and buy the put at the lowest strike. The in the money bear put spread costs more than the out of the money bull put spread collects, so you pay a net debit, and the stock starts in the middle of the profit zone.

At expiration the payoff looks like a flat topped mesa. Anywhere between the two short strikes, the upper put spread is worth its full width and the lower spread expires worthless, so you earn the maximum profit. Below the lowest strike, the full value of the upper spread is cancelled by the full loss on the lower spread, and you lose the debit. Above the highest strike, every put expires worthless and you also lose the debit. Between each wing and its neighboring short strike, profit changes one for one with the stock, creating sloped sides that pass through the two breakevens.

Before expiration the mesa is rounded and much lower, because the short puts still hold time value you would have to buy back. Time decay is your friend while the stock sits between the inner strikes: the short puts near the money decay faster than the wings, and the position drifts toward its expiration value. A rise in implied volatility usually hurts, since it lifts the options you are short more than the far wings. Most of the profit tends to arrive in the final weeks, which is why the condor is usually built in the front month.

Long Put Condor example with real numbers

Long Put Condor payoff diagram: profit and loss at expiration (solid) and today (dashed) for the example below. Yellow dots mark breakevens.

With the stock at $100, implied volatility at 30%, a 4.1% risk free rate and no dividend, you would buy 1 107.5 put (32 days) at $8.35, sell 1 102.5 put (32 days) at $4.79, sell 1 97.5 put (32 days) at $2.27, buy 1 92.5 put (32 days) at $0.84. That is a net debit of $213. At expiration a maximum profit of $287 and a maximum loss of $213, with breakevens at $94.63 and $105.37. The lognormal chance of profit is 45%.

These are theoretical American option prices from the Bjerksund and Stensland model, not live quotes. Load any ticker in the long put condor calculator above to run the same math on real market prices.

When to use a long put condor

You expect the stock to stay inside a defined range through expiration but want more room than a butterfly's narrow peak.
Implied volatility looks rich and you expect it to settle, for example after an earnings report or other scheduled event has passed.
You want a range bound trade with a known maximum loss and no naked short options.
A dividend falls inside the trade, so you prefer building the condor with puts rather than holding an in the money short call.

Max profit, max loss and breakeven

Maximum profit

Highest strike minus the second highest strike, minus the net debit, times 100. You earn it when the stock closes anywhere between the two short strikes at expiration, because the upper put spread is then worth its full width.

Maximum loss

Net debit paid, times 100. This is the most you can lose, and it happens if the stock closes at or below the lowest strike or at or above the highest strike at expiration.

Breakeven

Lower breakeven equals the lowest strike plus the net debit. Upper breakeven equals the highest strike minus the net debit. The trade is profitable at expiration anywhere between these two prices.

Long Put Condor Greeks

Delta: Delta starts close to zero because the stock sits in the middle of the profit zone. It turns positive as the stock nears the lower wing and negative as it nears the upper wing, so the position always favors a move back toward the center.
Gamma: Gamma is negative across the middle of the range, so large moves in either direction hurt. Close to expiration it concentrates around the short strikes, where small moves can swing the profit quickly.
Theta: Theta is positive while the stock stays between the short strikes, so time works for you. It shrinks and can turn negative once the stock moves near or beyond a long wing.
Vega: Vega is negative in the profit zone, so a drop in implied volatility helps and a rise hurts. Volatility matters less as expiration nears and the condor converges to its intrinsic value.

See the live numbers for your position in the Greeks tab of the calculator, or explore a single option in the options Greeks calculator.

Early exercise and assignment risk

The long put condor is built with American style puts, and the short put one strike above the money starts in the money. A put holder may exercise early when the put is deep in the money with almost no time value left, because exercising delivers the strike price in cash now, which can then earn interest. If that short put is assigned, you buy 100 shares at that strike. Your long put at the highest strike still caps the downside, so the risk stays defined, but you now hold stock and need the buying power to carry it.

Dividends affect puts in the opposite way to calls. An upcoming dividend makes early exercise of a put less attractive until after the ex dividend date, because the expected price drop adds value to the put. That is one reason traders sometimes prefer the put condor over the call condor when a dividend falls inside the trade. At expiration, watch for pin risk if the stock closes near either short strike, since you may not know whether you will be assigned. Closing the whole condor before the final day avoids a surprise stock position over the weekend.

The calculator's Early exercise risk tab flags short legs that are likely to be assigned. For a single option, use the early exercise calculator or read how early exercise and assignment work.

Pros and cons

Pros

Defined risk on both sides, with no naked short options.
Wider profit zone than a long put butterfly with the same center.
Benefits from time decay and falling implied volatility while the stock stays in range.
Using puts avoids the dividend driven early assignment that affects in the money short calls.

Cons

Maximum profit is capped and lower than a butterfly's peak for a similar cost.
Four legs mean more commissions and wider combined bid ask spreads.
Profit builds slowly and depends heavily on the final weeks before expiration.
The in the money short put can be assigned early, more so when interest rates are high.

How to manage a long put condor

Many traders take profits at a set fraction of maximum profit rather than holding for the last few dollars, which carry the most gamma risk.
If the stock drifts toward one wing, you can close the threatened half and keep the other vertical, or roll the whole condor to recenter it.
Place the short strikes around the price range you expect, and keep the wings equal in width so the payoff stays symmetric.
Close or adjust before expiration day if the stock is near a short strike to avoid pin risk and unwanted assignment.

Long Put Condor FAQ

Is a long put condor bullish or bearish?

A long put condor is neutral: it profits when the stock stays between the two short strikes. It does not need the stock to move, and it loses if the stock breaks far out of the range in either direction. Traders use it when they expect a quiet period rather than a trend.

What is the difference between a long put condor and a long call condor?

With the same four strikes and expiration, a long put condor and a long call condor have the same payoff at expiration. The difference is which options are in the money: the put condor holds in the money puts on the upper strikes, while the call condor holds in the money calls on the lower strikes. That changes the early assignment risk, the bid ask spreads you trade and sometimes the net debit.

What is the max loss on a long put condor?

The max loss on a long put condor is the net debit you paid, times 100 per condor. You reach it if the stock closes at or beyond either outer strike at expiration. Because both wings are long options, the loss cannot grow beyond the debit.

How do I choose strikes for a put condor?

Place the two short strikes around the range you expect the stock to hold through expiration, then set the long wings an equal distance beyond them. A wider gap between the short strikes raises the chance of profit but lowers the maximum profit and raises the cost. The calculator shows that tradeoff directly in the probability of profit and the payoff chart.

Long Call Condor

A long call condor is a neutral, defined risk strategy built entirely from calls: buy one low strike call, sell one call at each of two middle strikes, and buy one high strike call.

NeutralAdvanced

Iron Condor

An iron condor is a neutral, defined risk credit strategy that sells an out of the money put spread and an out of the money call spread on the same stock and expiration.

NeutralIntermediate

Long Put Butterfly

A long put butterfly is a neutral, defined risk strategy that buys one higher strike put, sells two middle strike puts and buys one lower strike put, all with the same expiration.