I noticed that most people trading derivatives don't fully understand how margin works across positions.

I think it's worth explaining because it can change your perception of risk overall.
Most platforms split perps and options into separate buckets, each with its own risk. So if you’re long ETH perp on platform X and hedge by buying a put option on platform Y, they’re treated as two unrelated positions.
So if ETH nukes, your long position gets liquidated even while your put is printing, because it’s in the “other” account.
I like how @aevoxyz handles this differently. Your perp and options positions are live in the same unified account, evaluated together, hedged strategies like spreads can require 80-90% less margin than standard mode.
Same applies to any combination of perps, options, and structured trades.
Note: Aevo lowered the portfolio margin threshold from 10K to 5K USDC, so it's accessible to a lot more accounts than before.
If you trade on margin and are looking for a unified trading venue, my referral knocks 20% off your fees on Aevo: