Just look at the payoff graphs. This is how options are explained and tested in finance classes and they are usually more accessible than textual descriptions.<p><a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;i.investopedia.com&#x2F;inv&#x2F;articles&#x2F;site&#x2F;short_vs_put.gif" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;i.investopedia.com&#x2F;inv&#x2F;articles&#x2F;site&#x2F;short_vs_put.gif</a><p>This link is simple and doesn&#x27;t point out strike price or take transaction fees into account but you can draw similar graphs that do.