Option chain
The table of all listed options on an underlying, organized by expiration and strike, showing bids, asks, volume, open interest, and implied volatility for each contract. Reading a chain fluently is a basic literacy skill for options traders.
A chain compresses an enormous amount of information: where liquidity concentrates, how the market prices the odds of different outcomes, and how implied volatility varies by strike and month.
Beginners should start by reading the at-the-money region of one or two expirations rather than drowning in hundreds of rows. Most of the story is there.
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