Options Page Guide
This page explains the main components of the Rails options trading page, including contract selection, the option chain, and post-trade views.
Use the sections below to jump directly to contract selection, chain filters, the option chain, and your post-trade views.
New to Options?
If you have never traded options before, we recommend starting with our Intro to Options article before proceeding through this section.
Market selector and expiries
The Options screen starts with two key choices: the underlying asset and the expiry date.
Pick the asset first. Then choose the expiry you want to analyze or trade. The chain updates to show only the contracts for that expiry.
The top row helps you orient quickly:
Underlying market selector: Chooses the asset for the options chain — BTC or ETH.
Expiry buttons: Switch between listed expiries for that asset. Contracts are listed on weekly and monthly schedules, and all contracts expire at 08:00 UTC on their expiry date.
Selected expiry: Controls the contracts shown in the chain below.
Chain filters
Rails includes quick filters above the chain to reduce noise and focus on the most relevant strikes.
These filters help in different ways:
Approximately ATM: Centers the chain around strikes that are closest to the current underlying price, so you can focus on contracts that are near at-the-money (ATM).
Strike Range: Controls how many strikes Rails shows above and below the current market area, so you can widen or narrow the visible section of the chain.
Use these filters when you want a faster view of the most active or most relevant contracts around the market.
Option chain
The option chain is the core market view for options trading on Rails. It shows calls on the left, puts on the right, and the strike ladder in the center.
Above the chain, Rails displays the current Underlying Price, the selected expiry date, and the time until expiration for that contract set.
The chain columns help you compare contracts quickly:
Calls / Puts: Calls appear on the left. Puts appear on the right.
Strike: The central strike price for each contract pair.
Bid / Ask: The best available buy and sell prices for that contract.
Mark: The platform's model-based fair value, used for margin, unrealized P&L, and liquidations. It is a reference price and is not necessarily the same as the last traded price.
Bid Size / Ask Size: The visible size available at the best bid or ask.
The Ask is what you pay to buy now.
The Bid is what you receive to sell now.
The Mark is the reference price used by the platform for risk and valuation.
Delta: The contract's delta, which estimates how much the option price tends to change when the underlying moves.
Position: Your current size in that exact contract. A dash means you do not hold that contract.
Open: Open interest for that contract.
24H Vol.: The contract's trading volume over the last 24 hours.
The active strike row is highlighted to make the current area of interest easier to scan:
For a deeper explanation of moneyness, premiums, and delta, see Intro to Options and Black-76 & the Greeks.
Trade summary tabs
Below the chain, Rails groups your contract activity into tabs so you can monitor positions and orders without leaving the trading screen.
The Positions tab shows your currently open option contracts.
It helps you confirm what you hold and how the contract is performing in real time.
The visible fields include:
Instrument: The contract you hold, including its expiry, strike, and call or put type.
Side: Whether your position is long or short.
Value / Size: The current contract value and contract count.
Avg. Price: Your average entry price for that contract.
Mark Price: The current reference price used for valuation.
RSPL: Realized profit or loss already locked in on the position.
USPL: Unrealized profit or loss based on the current mark price.
P&L: The total profit or loss view for that position.
Close by: Quick actions to close with a Limit or Market order.
The Open Orders tab lists working orders that have been submitted but not fully filled yet.
Use it to review active orders, remaining size, and any orders that are still waiting in the market.
The visible fields include:
Instrument: The contract you are awaiting fills, including its expiry, strike, and call or put type.
Price / Quantity: The premium paid or received and the number of contracts involved.
Type/ID: The order type (either Limit or Market), and the Order ID.
Filled: The % of your order that has been filled.
Created At: The order creation timestamp.
The Recent Trades tab shows your latest options order activity.
Use it to review recent submissions, fills, partial fills, and cancellations in one place, capped at the last 50 trades executed.
This tab is similar to Open Orders, but only shows the most recent filled orders. For full order execution history, visit the Portfolio dashboard.
The Settlements tab shows option contracts that have already settled.
Use it to review the final outcome of expired contracts, including the settlement price, final P&L, and whether the contract expired in or out of the money.
The visible fields include:
Instrument: The settled option contract, including its expiry, strike, and call or put type.
Price / Quantity: The premium paid or received and the number of contracts involved.
Settlement Price: The underlying reference price used at settlement.
P&L: The final profit or loss for that settled contract.
Moneyness: Whether the option settled ITM or OTM.
Settlement Time: The timestamp when the contract settled.
Account summary
The Account Summary panel (bottom right of your screen) keeps your key account figures visible while you trade.
The panel shown here includes:
Available Balance: Funds currently available to support new orders.
Account Balance: The current total balance of the account you are trading from.
P&L: Your account-level profit and loss.
Fees: Your total all-time account fees charged.
Volume: Your all-time options trading volume.
Unrealized P&L: The P&L of your open positions.
The Margin Ratio bar shows you how close you are to liquidation.
Keep this panel in view when you write options or manage multiple open contracts, since available collateral directly affects what you can open and maintain.
To learn how balances, margin usage, and liquidation risk work on options, see Margin & Liquidation and the Options Metrics Guide.
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