218 Part II: Call Option Strategies 
REDUCING THE RATIO 
Upside fallow-up action does not normally consist of rolling up as it does in a ratio 
write. Rather, one should usually buy some more long calls to reduce the ratio in the 
spread. Eventually, he would want to reduce the spread to 1:1, or a normal bull 
spread. An example may help to illustrate this concept. 
Example: In the initial example, one April 40 call was bought and two April 45's were 
sold, for a net credit of one point. Assume that the spreader is going to buy one more 
April 40 as a means of upside defensive action if he has to. When and if he buys this 
second long call, his total position will be a normal bull spread - long 2 April 40's and 
short 2 April 45's. The liquidating value of this bull spread would be 10 points if XYZ 
were above 45 at April expiration, since each of the two bull spreads would widen to 
its maximum potential (5 points) with the stock above 45 in April. The ratio spread­
er originally brought in a one-point credit for the 2:1 spread. If he were later to pay 
11 points to buy the additional long April 40 call, his total outlay would have been 10 
points. This would represent a break-even situation at April expiration if XYZ were 
above 45 at that time, since it was just shown that the spread could be liquidated for 
10 points in that case. So the ratio spreader could wait to take defensive action until 
the April call was selling for 11 points. This is a dynamic type of follow-up action, one 
that is dependent on the options' price, not the stock price per se. 
This outlay of 11 points for the April 40 would leave a break-even situation as 
long as the stock did not reverse and fall in price below 45 after the call was bought. 
The spreader may decide that he would rather leave some room for upside profit 
rather than merely trying to break even if the stock rallies too far. He might thus 
decide to buy the additional long call at 9 or 10 points rather than waiting for it to get 
to 11. Of course, this might increase the chances of a whipsaw occurring, but it would 
leave some room for upside profits if the stock continues to rise. 
Where ratios other than 2:1 are involved initially, the same thinking can be 
applied. In fact, the purchase of the additional long calls might take place in a two­
step process. 
Example: If the spread was initially long 5 calls and short 10 calls, the spreader 
would not necessarily have to wait until the April 40's were selling at 11 and then buy 
all 5 needed to make the spread a normal bull spread. He might decide to buy 2 or 
3 at a lower price, thereby reducing his ratio somewhat. Then, if the stock rallied 
even further, he could buy the needed long calls. By buying a few at a cheaper price, 
the spreader gives himself the leeway to wait considerably longer to the upside. In 
essence, all 5 additional long calls in this spread would have to be bought at an aver­
age price of 11 or lower in order for the spread to break even. However, if the first 2