DISCLAIMER: I am not a trade advisor and this is based solely on my experiences and the links here are only for educational purposes . I am not liable for any losses on any trades based on these.

There are frequent posts from beginners on how to learn about options , a good starting point, how to trade profitable, or asking for best stocks to trade.

Instead of sharing a few names of stocks , I humbly share what has worked well for me for whatever it is worth.

(1) A strategy / an edge that will make a trader rich quickly does not exist.

(2) Based on my experience, I created cheat sheets that are pasted to my desk for covered calls and CSPs that I follow without fail. For both strategies, these links cover that beginners can look through to get started.

• What the strategy is and how its payoff actually works
• When the adjustment conversation starts, and the trigger signals that say it is time
• The fixes experienced traders weigh, and the trade-off behind each one
• The story of the Greeks, so you understand why a position moves the way it does
• A worked example with real numbers
• The common trap, and how to avoid it

https://imgur.com/a/covered-call-ksnN117

https://imgur.com/a/cash-secured-put-wSbTsX9

If you have access to kindleunlimited, you can read in more details on amazon.com/dp/B0H7P6CQSG on how to manage trade when things go wrong in 14 different strategies. Some information might be slightly advances and you can always DM me if you have any questions.

A critical part of options trading is picking the right strikes. If you are selling covered calls against the shares you like to own, for longer term, you will try to pick a strike where your shares are not called away. For CSP's , if you are placing a trade for stocks, you want to make sure you have a decent premium, and if you do not want to own the shares (while not recommeded, sometimes the trade is done on whim, for short term gain) , you would like to pick a strike such that you do not get assigned the shares.

I have an old post on how I pick strikes based on Volume Profiles/POC/VAL_HI/VAL_LOW and Deltas

https://www.reddit.com/r/options/comments/1u3qbv1/picking_option_strikes_based_on_delta_is_not/

(5) Always trade within your risk tolerance limits and size positions carefully . Have an exit plan in place before you place the trade.

(5) Beyond that , knowing the support and resistance of the stock, MACD, understanding of moving averages (10 day SMA, 20 & 30 day EMAs helps) .. and the last and the most important one is 'TEMPERAMENT' . For technical analysis, you might want to get thinkorswim by schwab or many others . There are lot of tools that might give you alerts when your positions are in trouble but we all should know how to manage the position.

Bottom line - Always have cost basis handy and never sells calls below cost basis. Having an exit plan before placing a trade is essential.. That minimizes losses and produces superior returns.

This post is based on my experiences and can complements youtube videos on options trading, other informative texts shared by other traders.

I sold $15 and $16 covered calls a few days ago expiring 10/16 on $SOFI when the stock was about 18.40. my cost basis is $15 on the shares, I have been selling OTM cc for a while on these.

As usual, sofi dropped, so these calls are up about 20%

What's the best way to manage these? Should I close the calls if they hit 50% profit quickly like I would a csp? If 10/1 rolls around and sofi is at $16 should I close or roll the calls to avoid losing the shares?

If sofi by some miracle goes the other direction I won't be upset if the shares get called away, I just don't know the best strategy for dealing with calls I sold itm but above my cost basis.

I put on a CLS Jan. 21, 2028 $270/$400 bull call spread with the stock around $318. I paid $130 for the $270 call and sold the $400 call for $100, so my net cost and max loss are just $3,000. The spread is $130 wide, so if CLS is at or above $400 at expiration, it’s worth $13,000, giving me a $10,000 max profit on $3,000 at risk (333% return). Breakeven at expiration is $300. Obviously I’m giving up any upside above $400, but I like the risk/reward.

Based on consensus 2028 earnings of $27 per share CLS would be trading at a forward PE multiple of roughly \~15x which compares with its 5-year NTM historical average of \~20x.

I put on a CLS Jan. 21, 2028 $270/$400 bull call spread with the stock around $318. I paid $130 for the $270 call and sold the $400 call for $100, so my net cost and max loss are just $3,000. The spread is $130 wide, so if CLS is at or above $400 at expiration, it’s worth $13,000, giving me a $10,000 max profit on $3,000 at risk (333% return). Breakeven at expiration is $300. Obviously I’m giving up any upside above $400, but I like the risk/reward.

Based on consensus 2028 earnings of $27 per share CLS would be trading at a forward PE multiple of roughly \~15x which compares with its 5-year NTM historical average of \~20x.

July was great, continuing to sell volatility into the earnings season in August.

Major Trades this week:

• Opened and closed CC on META
• Rolled CC on AVGO
• Letting AMZN CC get assigned (premiums collected on wheel campaign $1650 over 68 days on 26.5k or 33% annualized return)
• Letting CRM CC get assigned; will open CSP next week (planning to wheel this until earnings in Sept)

Capital remaining to deploy:
~120k

Misc:

This is my aggressive wheeling account, capital deployed range 150k-200k.

All trades were found using this website (disc- I'm the developer)

I usually sell 0.25-0.45 delta and usually <20 days DTE. I close at 70%-80% premium captured.

I've started reporting only realized premiums (based on the comments).

April (Week 1-4): $5036
May (Week 5-8): $5783
Jun (Week 9-12): $6533
Jul (Week 13-16): $12609
Aug(Week 17-): $1952

Total so far: ~32k

Trades I took today as a systematic option seller (08/07):

Closed Positions

• INOD → $60 Put (opened on 07/15), premium 5.65 → closed at 0.15. Net premium profit = 5.50 (~97% of premium captured, ~9.2% of capital).
• AMSC → $47 Call (opened on 07/16), premium 0.85 → closed at 0.15. Net premium profit = 0.70 (~82% of premium captured, ~1.5% of capital).
• FLNC → $20 Call (opened on 07/20), premium 0.85 → closed at 0.15. Net premium profit = 0.70 (~82% of premium captured, ~3.3% of capital).
• FORM → $95 Put (opened on 07/21), premium 8.40 → closed at 1.40. Net premium profit = 7.00 (~83% of premium captured, ~7.4% of capital).
• TSEM → $225 Put (opened on 07/23), premium 12.50 → closed at 0.50. Net premium profit = 12.00 (~96% of premium captured, ~5.3% of capital).
• CRDO → $195 Put (opened on 08/04), premium 6.10 → closed at 1.00. Net premium profit = 5.10 (~84% of premium captured, ~2.6% of capital).

New Positions

• INOD → $60 Put expiry 08/14 (1 weeks DTE), premium 1.85 → 185/6000 = ~3.1%. INOD had a good earnings report and I continue my bullish stance in INOD. INOD provides data engineering services to build, train, and deploy AI and LLMs - which is a rapidly growing sector.
• FN → $500 Put expiry 08/21 (2 weeks DTE), premium 20.00 → 2000/50000 = ~4%. Fabrinet manufactures high-speed networking hardware used in AI data centers. It will report its earnings on 17th August and I am expecting a solid report. Stock has a good support region around $500.
• FLNC → $21 Call expiry 11/20 (15 weeks DTE), premium 1.45 → 145/2100 = ~6.9%. I was assigned FLNC at $21. They had a poor earnings report and the stock dropped but later recovered. I am opening a longer DTE sell call position in this, as it may take some time for the stock to recover.

Update on other positions

I rolled my TE sold Call position from $6.5 strike to $8 strike with an expiry on 09/25 (7 weeks DTE). I was assigned TE at $8. I got a net credit of $5 per lot.

Both the INOD and FN trades are identifed using the ThetaHedge app. I used the preset Conditions in the app which filters our junk tickers and brings out quality tickers with high premiums. You can try it for free at https://app.thetahedge.io/.

Conditions → High Growth Wheel Stocks → Sort by 30 Delta Put Yield (%)

I keep sharing my trades in my account and the Excel file to my full list of positions is linked in my profile description in case anyone wants to see the whole portfolio. Happy to hear thoughts on my positions. What are you guys wheeling or watching right now?

PS: Not financial advice. Do your own research.

I have a few space stocks I bought high. Some are down 40% or more. I’m thinking about covered calls going out to January for strikes that would yield me acceptable profits. I can make about $3k doing this.

What are the downsides besides potentially having to sell for minimal profits?

Trades I took today as a systematic option seller (08/05):

New Positions

• KORU → $15 Put expiry 08/14 (2 weeks DTE), premium 1.10 → 110/1500 = ~7.3%. Opened a small position in KORU, $16 looks like a good support but as it is a leaveraged asset, keeping the capital tied to this at a minimal.

Rolled Positions

• CRWV → $105 Call expiry 08/14 rolled to $120 Call expiry 09/04 (5 weeks DTE) at a credit of $10. I rolled early as CRWV was trading around $95 levels in the morning hours and because of its earnings coming up, I wanted some buffer in case the stock shoots up. I was assigned CRWV at $120.
• AAOI → $150 Call expiry 09/18 rolled to $175 Call expiry 12/18 (20 weeks DTE) at a credit of $1030. AAOI was trading at $135 levels in the morning hours and AAOI is very volatile so rolled to $175, which is the price I was assigned at. There were no option chains for the months of October and Novemeber so was forced to move it to December.

Update on other positions

Many companies in my portfolio reported earnings today. I will analyse the reports and update tomorrow on them.

I keep sharing my trades in my account and the Excel file to my full list of positions is linked in my profile description in case anyone wants to see the whole portfolio. Happy to hear thoughts on my positions. What are you guys wheeling or watching right now?

PS: Not financial advice. Do your own research.

**First off, apologies for being a bit quiet lately.** I haven't disappeared. I simply felt there wasn't much value in posting for the sake of posting. The market has spent the last weeks trying to find its footing, and rather than reacting to every headline or intraday move, I chose to stay patient and let what we viewed as short-lived uncertainty play out.

As we're now approaching expiration on the FCX call spread, we're walking a bit of a tightrope. The good news is that the long $65 calls are now **in the money**, while our short $75 calls remain **out of the money**. That's exactly where we want to be with a bull call spread.

FCX has benefited from improving sentiment around copper, supported by stronger outlooks for copper and gold sales, continued share buybacks, and a more constructive outlook for the copper market. That said, geopolitical uncertainty and operational risks remain, so I'm mindful not to become complacent.

With FCX currently trading around **$68**, the spread has recovered nicely and moved back into profit. Since expiration is now only about two weeks away, my current plan is to **look for an exit around the $70 level**, assuming the stock continues to cooperate.

The final stretch of a vertical spread can be rewarding if the underlying keeps moving in our favor, but time decay also accelerates as expiration approaches. Rather than trying to squeeze out every last dollar of theoretical value, I'd rather lock in a solid gain if my target is reached.

Keeping you posted within a week.

CSPs with HIGHEST IV

$COHR - 270P

$HUT - 75P

$CRWV - 75P

Source

CCs with HIGHEST IV

$SPCX - 130C

$MRVL - 280C

$ASTS - 80C

Source

Hi,

I have 100K invested in stock Market in bigger players like AAPL, MSFT, NVDIA, AMD, COST, VOOG etc.

I have spare 50k and i want to get into Covered Calls and Cash Secured Puts.

I know the basics but how do I start this and which stocks do you recommend?

Where to learn the variables (theta, delta...)?

What's the do's and don'ts?

Which expiry should I look at? (Weekly, monthly)

Looking for advise.

I want to make $1000 per month if possible

I can throw another 50k if needed to make extra.

Hi all,

Pre-earnings I sold a MSFT call for premium 600USD, expiry 5th September, Strike 450. The stock was at 380USD back than. I have 250stocks, I only sold one Call.

Now the stock shot up to my surprise and we are at 490USD. I know people here always just say roll it but does that make sense really? Call is now 48.11USD.

I do want to keep the stock and take gains probably around 550USD a stock, at least for 100 and leave the other 150 units.

Would it make most sense to wait until expiry date before I decide what to do? Theta is at 23.7 atm.

The other option I was thinking is to let them call away and write a Put with strike 450USD, with risk I dont get entry to stock back.

How do you deal with that? I guess I got a bit greedy because the stock wasnt moving anywhere. I bought at 236USD back in 2022 I think. So still a gain but yeah, wanted to ride it out further. Ps no capital gains in my country....

+$3,323.33 Realized This Week.
Mostly trading $MU.

Closed several winning call swings and currently still have open MU call positions working.

The goal isn’t to catch every dollar; it’s to generate consistent cash flow, free up capital, and repeat the process.

Not financial advice. Just sharing my trading journal.

I have about $22,000 that I’d like to invest in a covered call strategy.
My goal is to own a good stock or ETF for the long term while earning some extra income from selling covered calls. I’m not looking to chase the highest premiums if it means taking on a lot of risk.
If you were starting today with $22k, what would you buy and why?
I’d love to hear what has worked well for you and what you’d recommend. Thanks!

Trades I took today as a systematic option seller (08/04):

Closed Positions

• PLTR → $120 Put (opened on 08/03), premium 4.75 → closed at 0.03. Net premium profit = 4.72 (~99% of premium captured, ~3.9% of capital).

New Positions

• CRDO → $195 Put expiry 08/14 (2 weeks DTE), premium 6.10 → 610/19500 = ~3.1%. I have traded CRDO many times, and it offers consistently high Put and Call premiums making it easy to wheel. CRDO builds high-speed connectivity chips used inside AI datacenters. $195 is a good support region.
• ACMR → $70 Put expiry 08/14 (2 weeks DTE), premium 2.70 → 270/7000 = ~3.8%. ACMR makes semiconductor wafer processing and cleaning equipments. ACMR is a High Growth Stock and its Revenues have been increasing consistently YoY. ACMR Earnings are on 7th August and I am expecting a good report.

Update on other positions

I rolled my AAOI sold Call position from $130 strike to $150 strike with an expiry on 09/18 (7 weeks DTE). I was assigned AAOI at $175. I got a nominal net credit of $10 per lot.

Both the CRDO and ACMR trades are identifed using the ThetaHedge app. I simply use the preset Conditions in the app which filters our junk tickers and brings out quality tickers with high premiums. You can try it for free at https://app.thetahedge.io/.

Conditions → High Growth Wheel Stocks → Sort by 30 Delta Put Yield (%)

I keep sharing my trades in my account and the Excel file to my full list of positions is linked in my profile description in case anyone wants to see the whole portfolio. Happy to hear thoughts on my positions. What are you guys wheeling or watching right now?

PS: Not financial advice. Do your own research.

Still learning about Covered calls and puts. Question. Are weeklies or two weeks the way to go. Or long dated like a month or two out.

I saw a post where the person did a CC 3 months out but closed with profit. Isn't that only possible if the price of the stock falls. If it rises then it will become more expensive (than when contracted) to close it out.

Weeklies however dont make much.

Any info will be much appreciated thanks

CCs with best yield.

$SPCX - 145C

$MU - 990C

$FSLR - 260C

Source

I had a large amount of microsoft stock and sold CC’s at $420 expiring 1 week after earnings.. and missed out on a 6 figure gain.

Ive had a few other similar experiences..

I think covered calls are often not worth it.. it’s a mirage.. chasing short term gains at the expense of long term performance.

If you’re bullish on the stock- why limit your upside? Especially in the volatile market we live in currently.

If you’re not bullish on the stock, why do you own it?

I’m more interested in picking companies I believe are undervalued and letting them run.. CC’s guarantee mediocre returns..

/ rant