Reading Volatility (1→2)

Read the market like a trader. Understand vol surfaces, skew, and what the options market is really telling you.

⏱️90-120 min

📊Math available, not required

🎯Impress your derivatives-trader father-in-law

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Course Map

01

The Building Blocks

Why vol traders see more than you do, and the two dimensions that matter: skew and term structure.

• 1. Why read volatility?
• 2. Skew (strike structure)
• 3. Term structure
• 4. The vol surface

02

Reading the Shape

What the shape of volatility tells you about market expectations, fear, and opportunity.

• 5. The smile and smirk
• 6. Vol regimes
• 7. Surface dynamics

03

Advanced Greeks

Beyond delta, gamma, theta, vega. The second-order sensitivities that professional traders watch.

• 8. Greeks beyond the basics
• 9. Reading your Greeks

04

Putting It Together

Real examples of reading vol before events, and developing intuition for when to buy or sell volatility.

• 10. What the market is telling you
• 11. Vol trading intuition

What You'll Learn

After this course, you'll be able to:

Skill	What It Means
Read a vol surface	Look at an options chain and understand the full picture of market expectations
Interpret skew	Know why OTM puts cost more than calls, and what changes in skew signal
Spot vol regimes	Identify high-vol vs low-vol environments and what changes
Use advanced Greeks	Understand vanna, volga, charm and what they tell you about your positions
Talk like a trader	Discuss vol term structure, skew dynamics, and vol risk premium fluently

How To Use This Course

Each lesson follows the same structure as Options Explainers:

1. Core intuition: The key concept explained without math
2. Visual diagrams: Interactive charts to build mental models
3. Math (collapsible): Formulas available for those who want them
4. Common mistakes: What trips people up
5. Self-check: Questions to test understanding

Example: Self-check format

Test your understanding before moving on.

Q: If put skew steepens, what does that typically signal?

💡 Tip: Try answering each question yourself before revealing the answer.

Prerequisites

Complete Options Explainers First

This course assumes you understand options basics: calls, puts, payoffs, Greeks (delta/gamma/theta/vega), and implied volatility. If terms like "ATM call" or "positive vega" aren't familiar, start with Options Explainers (0→1) first.

• Completed: Options Explainers (0→1)
• Comfortable with: Basic Greeks, IV concepts, option payoffs
• Helpful but not required: Some exposure to real options trading