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Options 101
The Broken-Wing Butterfly, Explained
An advanced structure worth understanding even if you never trade it — because seeing how it's built sharpens how you think about all spreads.
NoVo Options Trading · 2026
A standard butterfly is three strikes: buy one, sell two in the middle, buy one, with the wings equal distances apart. A broken-wing butterfly makes one wing wider than the other — and that small change reshapes the whole risk profile.
How it's built
You still sell two options at a middle strike and buy one on each side, but you place one long strike further out than the other. Widening a wing shifts where the risk sits and often lets you open the position for a net credit instead of a debit — meaning no loss on one side at all if it's structured that way.
What it's for
It's typically a directional-lean, income-style trade: you profit if price lands near the body by expiration, with the broken wing removing risk on one side and concentrating it on the other. Traders use it to express a mild directional bias while collecting premium, with fully defined risk. It's a positioning tool, not a fast-move tool.
The “broken” wing is the whole trick: widen one side and you can turn a debit butterfly into a no-risk-on-one-side credit structure.
Why it's not a scalp
A broken-wing butterfly is a multi-leg, expiration-oriented structure — the opposite of a fast, single-option 0DTE scalp. It has more legs to fill, a payoff that mostly resolves near expiration, and complexity that adds little when your edge is a quick level-to-level move. Know it as part of a complete options education, but for reading the dealer map and scalping off it, simpler wins.
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NoVo is a software tool for market analysis and for executing trades you initiate, not financial advice. This article is general education, not investment advice. Options trading involves substantial risk of loss, up to and including your entire capital. NoVo makes no guarantee of profit, win rate, or performance, and past results do not predict future outcomes. You are responsible for your own broker account, configuration, and trading decisions.