A ratio spread is a vertical spread gone lopsided: you buy one option and sell more than one against it (say buy one call, sell two higher calls). The extra premium can make the trade cost nothing — or even pay you to put it on — and it profits in a specific, moderate move toward the short strikes.
The catch that matters: an uncovered leg
Because you sold more options than you bought, one of the short options is naked — not covered by a long option. That means the loss is undefined: if the underlying runs far past the short strikes, the naked call's loss keeps growing, in theory without limit. A defined spread caps your loss; a ratio spread uncaps part of it. That's a categorically different risk profile, and it's why brokers gate it behind the highest options-approval tiers.
Why we won't publish it as a strategy
Two reasons, both firm. First, like every raw multi-leg option position, it has no listed fund with a real track record — a backtest would be a fabricated option-chain simulation, which we don't publish (see the methodology). Second, and more important, our products are meant to be executed by readers themselves — and publishing an open-ended-risk structure to a self-directed audience is not something we'll do. The options exposure we offer is deliberately defined-risk, via real funds: Options Income, PutWrite, Wheel Income, and Defined-Outcome Buffer.
Educational material — not investment advice.