Ratio Calendar Combination - A strategy consisting of a simultaneous position of a ratio calendar spread using calls and a similar position using puts, where the striking price of the calls is greater than the striking price of the puts.

Ratio Calendar Spread - Selling more near-term options than longer-term ones purchased, all with the same strike; either puts or calls.

Ratio Spread - Constructed with either puts or calls, the strategy consists of buying a certain amount of options and then selling a larger quantity of out-of-the-money options.

Ratio Strategy - A strategy in which one has an unequal number of long securities and short securities. Normally, it implies a preponderance of short options over either long options or long stock.

Ratio Write - Buying stock and selling a preponderance of calls against the stock that is owned.

Realize (a profit or loss) - The act of closing a position, incurring a profit or a loss. As long as a position is not closed, the profit or loss remains unrealized.

Resistance - A term in technical analysis indicating a price area higher than the current stock price where an abundance of supply exists for the stock, and therefore the stock may have trouble rising through the price.

Reward / Risk Ratio - A gauge of how risky a position can be by dividing its maximum profit potential against the maximum loss potential. A ratio of above 1 means that the potential reward is higher than the potential loss.

Return (on investment) - The percentage profit that one makes, or might make, on his investment.

Return If Exercised - The return that a covered call writer would make if the underlying stock were called away.

Return If Unchanged - The return that an investor would make on a particular position if the underlying stock were unchanged in price at the expiration of the options in the position.

Reversal - The transformation of a short stock position into a position which is long the stock using options, without closing the original short stock position, through the use of synthetic positions. Read more about reversals and synthetic positions.

Reverse Hedge - A strategy in which one sells the underlying stock short and buys calls on more shares than he has sold short. This is also called a synthetic straddle and is an outmoded strategy for stocks that have listed puts trading.

Reverse Strategy - A general name that is given to strategies which are the opposite of better known strategies. For example, a ratio spread consists of buying calls at a lower strike and selling more calls at a higher strike. A reverse ratio spread also known as a backspread consists of selling the calls at the lower strike and buying more calls at the higher strike. The results are obviously directly opposite to each other.

Risk Graph - A graphical representation of the risk/reward profile of an option position. Learn All About Risk Graphs Now!

Risk Free Return - Profit on a risk free investment instrument such as the Treasury bills. It is a common standard of measuring the opportunity cost of having your money in anything other than Treasury bills.

Roll Down - Close out options at one strike and simultaneously open other options at a lower strike.

Roll Forward - Close out options at a near-term expiration date and open options at a longer-term expiration date.

Rolling - A follow up action in which the strategist closes options currently in the position and opens other options with different terms, on the same underlying stock.

Roll Up - Close out options at a lower strike and open options at a higher strike.

Rotation - A trading procedure on the option exchanges whereby bids and offers, but not necessarily trades, are made sequentially for each series of options on an underlying stock.