Stock Options Trading

Trade calls and puts on stocks and ETFs, either by sending an exact contract or by letting EZPZ Trader pick one from the option chain.

On this page

How options trading works
Sending an exact contract
Picking a contract from the chain
Calls, puts and buy/sell
Quantity, prices and time in force

How options trading works

EZPZ Trader trades single-leg options: buying or selling calls and puts. Spreads and other multi-leg strategies aren't supported. One options position per underlying is held per account.

There are two ways to choose the contract:

Send the exact contract in ticker.
Send the underlying (for example SPY) and let the subscription pick a contract from the option chain.

Sending an exact contract

These formats are all read as the same SPY call, expiring 2026-11-20 at a 580 strike:

Format	Example
Underlying, space, date, C/P, strike	`SPY 261120C580`
No space (TradingView style)	`SPY261120C580.0`
OCC (strike × 1000, 8 digits)	`SPY261120C00580000`
No C/P, with `optionType`	`SPY 261120580` + `"optionType": "call"`

{
    "ticker": "SPY 261120C580",
    "action": "buy",
    "quantity": 1
}

If optionType is also sent, it must match the contract's C/P, or the signal is refused (invalid-ticker-and-option-type).

Picking a contract from the chain

Send the underlying, and the subscription's Options contract settings choose the contract:

Setting	What it does
Option type	Calls, puts, or both (calls when bullish, puts when bearish).
Intrinsic value	In the money or out of the money.
Expiration type	Any, 0DTE, daily, weekly, monthly, end of month, quarterly or LEAPS.
Expiration	The first expiration on or after this: a date (`2026-11-20`), a relative time (`+1 month`), or blank / `0 days` for the nearest.
Strike count	How many strikes around the money to read (even, 2 to 20).
Strikes away	Which strike from the money to pick: 1 is the nearest.

With Allow signal override on, the signal can set these itself:

{
    "ticker": "SPY",
    "action": "buy",
    "optionType": "call",
    "intrinsicValue": "itm",
    "expiration": "+2 weeks",
    "strikesAway": 2
}

Contract picking needs a broker that provides the option chain. See Broker Support.

Calls, puts and buy/sell

Option type	`buy`	`sell`
Calls (default)	Buy calls to open	Sell calls to open
Puts	Buy puts to open	Sell puts to open
Puts + Invert puts	Sell puts to open	Buy puts to open
Both	Buy calls	Buy puts

Both lets you be bullish or bearish without ever selling options. Invert puts makes buy mean "bullish" for puts too, so a chart running on the underlying can trade puts directly. An open position on the other side is closed first, just like shares.

Quantity, prices and time in force

Quantity is a number of contracts (1 contract = 100 shares). Dollar and percent sizing divide by the contract's cost (price × 100), rounded down to whole contracts.
Options orders use DAY time in force.
Take profit and stop loss for options are priced on the option's price, not the stock's.