Optionpit – Introduction to Vix Futures and Options

Optionpit – Introduction to Vix Futures and Options takes the part of the market most traders “feel” but rarely map: volatility. When the VIX spikes, headlines scream, spreads widen, and your positions can start behaving in ways that look irrational. This primer gives you the framework to read that chaos with structure, so you can make decisions based on mechanics instead of fear.

You will learn how VIX-linked products actually work, why VIX futures do not move one-for-one with spot VIX, and why VIX options can price in ways that seem “wrong” unless you understand their relationship to the futures curve. The goal is not hype. The goal is comprehension you can apply the next time volatility jolts the tape.

What is the Optionpit – Introduction to Vix Futures and Options course about?

This is a beginner-focused primer on the building blocks of VIX derivatives: the VIX index, VIX futures, and VIX options. It is designed to answer the practical questions traders ask when they first look at these instruments: What does VIX really measure? Why do VIX futures trade above or below spot? Why do VIX options behave differently than equity options? And how do volatility ETPs relate to the VIX futures term structure?

The course is taught by Option Pit’s leadership, including Mark Sebastian (founder) and Andrew Giovinazzi (COO), both with professional options market experience. It is presented as a concentrated primer of roughly 3+ hours of instruction, which makes it realistic to complete quickly while still covering the core mechanics that drive price behavior.

What you will learn and achieve

• Understand what the VIX is designed to represent and how it is derived from S&P 500 (SPX) option prices.
• Read the VIX futures term structure (contango vs backwardation) and understand what it implies about the market’s expectations.
• Know why VIX futures can diverge from spot VIX and why convergence toward expiration matters.
• Explain why VIX options often do not behave like equity options and how settlement mechanics can shape pricing.
• Recognize common misconceptions (for example, assuming VIX options are priced directly off spot VIX) and avoid the risk-management errors that follow.
• Connect VIX futures behavior to volatility ETP mechanics, including how rolling futures exposure can create headwinds or tailwinds over time.
• Understand how futures “decay” and curve structure can influence volatility products, and how traders interpret regimes using volatility frameworks.
• Build a simple volatility checklist you can use to contextualize market stress, hedging needs, and short-term volatility views.

Who is it for?

This primer is for traders who want to understand volatility products without drowning in academic theory. It is a fit if you trade equity options, index products, or futures and want a clearer mental model of how volatility is packaged and traded. It is also useful for discretionary or systematic traders who keep seeing VIX charts and want to separate signal from noise.

If you already trade volatility actively, you may still benefit from tightening the basics: reading term structure properly, understanding the link between VIX options and VIX futures, and spotting where pricing behavior differs from what you would expect in single-stock options.

How does it work?

The course is structured as a focused primer you can complete in one stretch or break into short sessions. Expect a practical, market-operator perspective: definitions first, then the mechanics that drive price behavior, and finally the ways traders often apply this understanding in decision-making.

Because volatility products can be complex, the emphasis is on building intuition that matches the plumbing: what drives the curve, what drives settlement, and why certain instruments can behave unintuitively over time. The framing stays grounded in risk: trading options and futures involves the possibility of loss, and volatility instruments can amplify that if you treat them like ordinary equities.

Benefits

• Clarity in fast markets: when volatility surges, you will have a repeatable way to interpret what is happening across spot VIX, futures, and options.
• Better hedging conversations: you can evaluate whether a VIX-linked approach aligns with your time horizon and the part of the curve you are exposed to.
• Fewer costly assumptions: you will know which “rules of thumb” from equity options do not translate cleanly to VIX derivatives.
• More disciplined trade design: you can plan entries, exits, and sizing with an understanding of term structure and product behavior.

Prerequisites

No advanced math is required, but you should be comfortable with basic options language (calls, puts, implied volatility, expiration) and the idea that futures prices can differ across contract months. If you are completely new to options, learn the fundamentals first, then return to this primer to make full use of it.

About the author

Option Pit is an options trading education firm built by market practitioners. For this course, instruction is provided by Mark Sebastian (Option Pit founder) and Andrew Giovinazzi (Option Pit COO). Their teaching focus is practical: how volatility products are constructed, how they trade, and what a trader must pay attention to in order to manage risk responsibly.

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When you own the course in your library, you can revisit key sections whenever volatility returns to the spotlight, rather than trying to piece together scattered notes from random videos.

Access the course now and build a volatility framework you can rely on when the market stops being calm.

Downloadable Course Content