Most options tools start with the structure. You pick a long call or an iron condor, choose strikes, and the tool prices it for you. OptionStrat and the options ticket in Thinkorswim both work this way: build first, evaluate after. That order quietly puts the hardest decision — which structure to use — ahead of the one that should drive it, which is what you actually expect the stock to do.
The Trader runs the other way. You give it a view, and it returns the structures that fit, ranked. The discipline it enforces is the one experienced traders keep coming back to: decide what has to happen for a trade to make money before you choose how to bet on it. Direction is part of that, but so are magnitude and timing. A call that needs a 20% move in 4 months and a call that needs a 5% move in 18 months are different trades that share a name.
Start with the thesis, not the strategy
Open the Trader on a ticker, often by handing off from the Analyzer, which carries the target price across. Along the input strip you set your view and your limits: a Target price and an Expiry, the Dividend Yield (autofilled), and 3 risk limits — Max Loss, Min Gain, and Min Expected PnL. The target and expiry say where you think the stock is going and by when. The 3 limits act as filters: any structure that breaches them drops out before you ever see the ranking.
Three modes sit alongside the inputs. Optimized, the default, ranks every structure against your inputs. Manual lets you pick a structure and set the strikes yourself. Compare puts 2 or 3 side by side. This walkthrough stays in Optimized.
We will use Automatic Data Processing (ADP) throughout, with live figures. ADP trades at about $229 as of 8 June 2026, and the example works from a bullish target above that price. ADP is the payroll and human-capital-management company: cloud HCM, payroll, HR outsourcing, and PEO services across roughly 140 countries and more than 1.1 million employer clients, per the Finapolis Reporter research report dated 16 April 2026. The target price is a fair-value estimate the platform produces, an input to the Trader, not a signal to act.
Set Max Loss, Min Gain, and Min Expected PnL before you read the ranking. Trades that fail your limits drop out before scoring, so you only compare positions you would actually take. Coming from the Analyzer, your target price autofills.
Reading the ranked strategies
In Optimized mode the Trader lists every valid structure as a row, sorted by Score. The columns are Score, Type, Expiry, Strikes, Return, Max Gain, Max Loss, and 2 boundary columns: Bear (the return if the stock falls to the low end of the modeled range) and Bull (the return if it rises to the high end).
Figure 1. The Trader's ranked strategies for ADP in Optimized mode, sorted by Score.
With a bullish target above the price, the Long Call tops the list at a Score of 80, ahead of a long straddle (63), a protective put (62), a collar (59), and a covered call (58). Its Bull figure is +246.2% and its Max Loss is the full premium. The Long Put sits far down at 46, because it pays off in the wrong direction for this view. That gap is the thesis at work: lower the target below the price and the 2 trade places — the put climbs and the call falls. The Score follows your view, not a fixed house call.
Same view, different strikes
Click a row and it expands into a sortable strike table, then loads the trade into the Position Editor below. For the Long Call on ADP, the strike table runs from the $240 strike (Score 80) through $210 (Score 78), with the strikes in between scoring 79. The Editor shows the chosen leg: 1 long $240 call expiring March 2027, priced at $23.10 against a $20.00 / $23.10 bid-ask (a $21.55 mid). From there you Save the analysis or Add to Portfolio.
Figure 2. Opening the Long Call shows the per-strike table and the Position Editor for the chosen $240 call.
What the return numbers say, and what the Score is
Figure 3. The Return panel for the $240 call at the modeled date — max loss, bear and bull cases, the Finapolis Score with its Sharpe ratio, and expected PnL.
The Return panel translates the trade into dollars at a modeled date (here 25 November 2026, about 170 days out), with an Annualize toggle. The most you can lose is the $2,310 premium, which is -100%. The bear case is -$2,187 (-94.69%), the bull case is +$5,871 (+254.16%), and the max gain is unlimited, because a call's upside is open-ended. Capital needed is $2,310. The trade's expected PnL across the modeled distribution is +68.00%, or +$1,570.83.
The Finapolis Score sits in the same panel: 79.6, shown next to the trade's Sharpe ratio of 0.22. The Score, from 0 to 100, ranks how well a structure fits your inputs on a risk-adjusted basis. It is not a recommendation, and it is not a probability of profit. The Long Call can lead the table at 80 even though its bear case is a near-total loss, because the upside is large relative to a loss capped at the premium, and that asymmetry is what the Score rewards. Whether you want the trade is your call.
The Trader does not decide whether to trade ADP. It takes the view you already hold, prices the option chain against it, and shows you, in risk-adjusted terms, the cleanest ways to express it.
The payoff, and why volatility matters
Figure 4. The payoff chart for the $240 call: the dashed line is the payoff at expiry, the solid line the mark-to-market PnL at the modeled date and implied volatility.
The dashed line is the classic payoff at expiry: below $240 the call expires worthless and you lose the full $2,310, above $240 the loss narrows, and it breaks even at $263.10 (the $240 strike plus the $23.10 premium). The solid line is the mark-to-market PnL before expiry, here at 170 days and 33.5% implied volatility. The gap between the 2 lines is the part most build-and-price tools skip: a long option can be right on direction and still lose money if volatility falls after you put it on. The slider lets you test that before you trade.
One number worth weighing: the breakeven of $263.10 sits well above today's price of about $229. This call only pays if ADP makes a real move up by March 2027, which is exactly the question the chart hands back to you. The Reporter report frames both sides: interest income on client funds (about $1.19 billion in Employer Services) and the Next-Gen and AI products are real earnings drivers, while that same rate sensitivity and the PEO insurance book are the risks. The Trader sizes the trade. The thesis is yours to hold or reject.
FAQ
What is the difference between Optimized, Manual, and Compare?
Optimized ranks every structure against your inputs and shows the highest Scores first. Manual lets you choose a structure and set the strikes yourself. Compare puts 2 or 3 strategies side by side. Start in Optimized, and drop to Manual when you already have a structure in mind.
Why is the Max Loss often -100% on a long option?
A long call or put can expire worthless, so the most you can lose is the premium, which is 100% of the capital in that position. For defined-risk structures like a collar or a vertical spread, the max loss is smaller and the column shows that figure.
How does the Score weight my inputs?
The Score is a risk-adjusted ranking of how well a structure fits your target, expiry, and risk limits, judged against the modeled distribution of outcomes. The detail panel shows it next to the trade's Sharpe ratio. A high Score is not a high probability of profit; read that separately.
Can I model the trade at different volatility levels?
Yes. The payoff chart's solid line is the mark-to-market PnL at a modeled date and implied volatility, and the IV is adjustable. Slide it down for an IV-crush scenario, common after earnings, or up for an expansion, and watch the mark move before you trade.
Does the Trader tell me whether to make the trade?
No. It ranks how well each structure expresses the view you entered, on risk-adjusted terms, and shows you the payoff and the numbers. The decision to trade, and the conviction behind the target price, are yours.
