Options Paper Trading¶
OVERVIEW¶
The options paper trading desk is the options half of the Simulator: the same fake-money account, pointed at the options chain instead of the stock ticket. Pick a contract from the live chain, buy or sell it with practice cash, watch the position mark against real quotes, and close it or hold it to expiration.
Note
Every fill is booked at the real market price, never a flattering one. Prices and mechanics are real; nothing here is a recommendation.
FEATURES¶
Fill Behavior¶
| Order Type | Fill Condition |
|---|---|
| Market buy | Fills at the ask |
| Market sell | Fills at the bid |
| Limit buy | Fills when ask is at or below your price |
| Limit sell | Fills when bid is at or above your price |
Tip
A limit order that is not immediately marketable rests in the queue — it does not fill instantly.
Note
When the bid/ask spread exceeds 10% of the mid, the fill carries a wide-spread warning. Thin options routinely print wide spreads; treat the warning as a prompt to review what you paid.
Fills never occur at the mid or the mark — those are display numbers only. If a contract has no bid or ask, the order rejects with a plain reason. The simulator never invents a price.
Margin and Buying Power¶
| Strategy | Margin Treatment |
|---|---|
| Long options | Premium only — the maximum loss is capped at cost |
| Covered calls | Requires 100 shares of the underlying per contract, held in the same simulator account |
| Cash-secured puts | Sets aside the full buy price (strike × 100 × contracts) |
| Naked calls and puts | Available via the "More strategies" control after a risk disclosure; loss is not capped by the premium collected |
| Vertical spreads | Booked as one atomic position; margin is spread width minus the credit, not both legs added together |
Expiration and Settlement¶
All positions settle in cash at expiration, the same way index options do.
| Position State | Outcome |
|---|---|
| Long, in the money | Exercised — intrinsic value credited to cash |
| Short, in the money | Assigned — intrinsic value debited; margin was held for this |
| Out of the money | Expires worthless; premium spent or kept is the full result |
Note
The simulator never assigns a short position before expiration. Positions settle after market close on expiration day (or the following day) and settle exactly once, even though the settlement engine runs multiple times.
HOW TO USE¶
- Open the Simulator and select the Options tab.
- Browse the live options chain and select a contract.
- Choose Buy or Sell and set your order type (market or limit).
- Review the margin or buying power impact shown before submission.
- Confirm the order. The fill is booked at the real bid or ask.
- Monitor open positions against live quotes on the positions panel.
- Close the position manually or hold it through expiration for automatic cash settlement.
Tip
Options trade in contracts of 100 shares. A quoted price of $2.10 costs $210 per contract. There are no per-contract commissions in the simulator — real trading does have them, and they matter on small trades.
Note
One-time migration: Positions practiced while signed out are moved to your account once upon sign-in and then sync across all devices.