Just in case, I'm not making light of your inquiries. Understanding your investments is a basic principle. When one tries to hedge a thin tail without understanding how, look at the fat tail one is exposing oneself to. It's self-defeating. IMO, hedging gets to the point of betting all the numbers on a roulette wheel, to be sure you "can't lose." Try re-reading on puts and calls, it really is not as complicated as algebra. Movement is either up or down.