Single options

Bullish

Debit

Risk: Defined: the premium paid

Long call

Also called: Buy call, CE buy

Buy one call option: the right to gain from a rise above the strike by expiry, for a fixed upfront premium that is the most you can lose.

Payoff sketch (per unit, index points)

At expiry

Today (7 days left)

Net premium

Debit 195 pts

Max profit

Unlimited above the chart

Max loss

−195 pts (₹12,704 per lot)

Breakeven

25,195

Legs: Buy CE ATM. Illustration, not live prices: an index at 25,000, strikes 100 points apart, Black-Scholes premiums at 13% implied volatility, 7 days to expiry, 6.5% interest, no skew and before charges. Rupees per lot use a NIFTY lot of 65.

How it works

You pay a premium for a call. At expiry it is worth the amount by which the underlying settles above the strike, and nothing below it. Before expiry its price also carries time value, which shrinks every day and fastest in the last week.

The position gains only if the underlying rises far enough, soon enough, to cover the premium and charges. Being right about direction but slow, or right after a fall in implied volatility, can still lose money.

When traders use it

A view that the price will rise by more than the premium before expiry, with the loss capped at the premium.
A limited-risk substitute for buying futures when the downside of futures is unacceptable.
Ahead of an event when the trader expects a move larger than the one priced into the option.

Greeks

Delta	Positive: about +0.5 at the money, rising toward +1 as the call goes in the money and falling toward 0 as it goes out.
Gamma	Positive and largest at the money, especially in the final days: delta changes fast when the price crosses the strike.
Theta	Negative: the option loses time value every day, and the loss accelerates into expiry.
Vega	Positive: a rise in implied volatility lifts the price; a fall (an "IV crush" after an event) cuts it even if the underlying does not move.

Profit, loss and margin

Max profit	Unlimited in principle: at expiry, (settlement − strike − premium) × quantity above the breakeven.
Max loss	The premium paid plus charges, if the underlying settles at or below the strike.
Breakeven	Strike + premium paid (a little higher after charges).
Margin	No margin: the premium is paid in full upfront.

In India

Buyers pay the full premium upfront and need no further margin; the most they can lose is the premium plus charges.
A long option that finishes in the money is exercised automatically. STT is then charged on its intrinsic value at the exercise rate (0.15% from 1 April 2026 in Arthfy's cost model), instead of the sale rate on the premium (also 0.15%) that applies when the option is sold before the close. See the lesson on the STT exercise trap.
Since 20 November 2024 each exchange keeps one weekly index expiry: NIFTY on NSE and SENSEX on BSE. Since September 2025 NSE contracts expire on Tuesdays and BSE contracts on Thursdays. BANKNIFTY, FINNIFTY, MIDCPNIFTY and stock options expire monthly (NSE on the last Tuesday). A holiday moves the expiry to the previous trading day.
Contracts trade in exchange-set lots. As of October 2026: NIFTY 65, BANKNIFTY 30, FINNIFTY 60, MIDCPNIFTY 120, SENSEX 20, and typically a few hundred shares for a stock. Lots are revised from time to time, so check the live lot before sizing.

Arthfy numbers

Long call: what it did since 2016

Long call, at the money, entered 8-15 days before expiry.

0-2 d

3-7 d

8-15 d

16-30 d

31-45 d

Try it in the F&O hub

Opens the tool with this structure on today's NIFTY chain. Reading is free with an Arthfy account; some runs use free attempts.

Open in the builderPayoff, Greeks, scenario grid and charges on today's NIFTY chain

Backtest since 2016Daily data, every NIFTY expiry

Replay on expiry daysMinute data since October 2024

Open the option chainLive premiums, IV and Greeks

Single options

Protective put (against futures)

For education: how the structure works and what it did historically, not a recommendation to trade it.