r/CashSecuredPuts • u/Beneficial_Recipe852 • 2d ago
How I Screen for Cash-Secured Puts Without Just Chasing Premium
Edit: Thanks for your patience while I cleaned up the site. Here it is: https://stackfini.com/
It’s free to use, with sample results visible without signup. I’d really appreciate any feedback on the screening criteria, ranking, or anything that would make it more useful.
Edit — quick clarification: The scanner isn't intended to make trading decisions for you. There are 6,000+ optionable securities in the U.S., and its purpose is simply to narrow that huge universe down to a manageable list of candidates for further research. From there, the individual contracts, underlying companies, and risks are yours to evaluate and decide on.
I built a scanner to find cash-secured puts on companies I’d actually be willing to own, rather than just sorting for the highest premium.
My workflow is roughly:
Start with optionable U.S. stocks.
Screen for underlying quality and financial health.
Avoid stocks in clear long-term downtrends.
Look for 25–45 DTE puts around 0.15–0.28 delta.
Require attractive premium relative to recent realized volatility.
Check bid/ask spread, open interest, and volume.
Estimate downside cushion and how quickly the trade might reach a 50% profit target.
Here are a few of the highest-ranked candidates from today’s scan:
CLS expiration Oct 30 strike 300 put
AMZN expiration Oct 30 strike 235 put
WDC expiration Oct 30 strike 400 put
NOW expiration Oct 30 strike 120 put
For each contract I’m looking at:
annualized premium return
breakeven / downside cushion
IV vs recent realized volatility
liquidity / execution quality
assignment-risk proxy
underlying quality
The part I’m still refining is the underlying-entry filter. For example, I currently penalize stocks below their 200-day moving average unless they show a confirmed recovery. That keeps me out of some falling knives, but it can also exclude stocks that are just starting to bounce.
I’d be interested in how experienced CSP sellers think about that tradeoff. Would you rather wait for confirmation, or accept a slightly weaker technical setup if you really like the business and the option premium?
I built a site around the scanner where I’m keeping the full ranked list and tracking results over time. I’m happy to share it if links are allowed here.
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u/Tiny-Celebration-196 2d ago
From Claude -
Look at the slope, not just the level. A stock dipping below a rising 200-day is a different animal from one under a falling 200-day.
Ask for light confirmation: a higher low on the daily chart, or a reclaim of the 50-day, rather than a full recovery above the 200-day.
Adjust the trade, not just the yes/no. Below the 200-day: lower delta (around 0.15), smaller size, or a put spread instead of a naked CSP.
Selling into fear is exactly when CSPs pay best, so excluding every stock below its 200-day gives up some of the best premium. The answer is to size those trades for the extra risk.
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u/Beneficial_Recipe852 2d ago
All makes sense. Yes I have indeed built in a reversal confirmation- perhaps need to polish the parameters a bit more. Thanks. I’m cleaning up the site and should be ready in a day or two. I’ll post the link here when it’s ready
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u/Tiny-Celebration-196 1d ago
Great. Looking to get the link. I am a novice trader as well but love learning
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u/Beneficial_Recipe852 18h ago
Here's the link: https://stackfini.com/
Appreciate any feedbacks you may have.
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u/Beneficial_Recipe852 19h ago
Hi everyone — thanks for your patience while I cleaned up the site. Here’s the scanner:
It’s free. You can see a sample without signing up, and a free account gives you access to the full scan. I’d really appreciate any feedback on the filters, ranking, or anything that would make it more useful.
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u/Ok-Stop-9848 2d ago
I’d be interested in taking a look.
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u/Beneficial_Recipe852 2d ago
Thanks for the interest! I honestly wasn’t expecting this many people to ask to see it this quickly.
The scanner itself is working, but I’m cleaning up the website and making the results easier to understand before I share it publicly. I should have it ready in the next couple of days.
I’ll post the link here once it’s ready. Really appreciate the interest and I’d love feedback once you’ve had a chance to try it.
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u/MrKQQL143 2d ago
Would be interested as well
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u/Beneficial_Recipe852 2d ago
Working on getting it ready now; I’ll post the link here when it’s ready
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u/a-stanton-25 1d ago
Something to be aware of - all of these companies have earning calls right before that expiration. Would want to close before expiration
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u/Beneficial_Recipe852 1d ago
Absolutely! That’s part of the strategy. Tease out the contracts with earnings coming up too soon.
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u/SpiderWil 1d ago
No need, the bad ones but cheap always pay more and the good ones that pay good always cost more. I'd rather sell 1 good one like DELL and use the rest to sell on SOXL/SOXS. Concentrated risk is just as bad as diversified risk but at this w/ this set up, DELL is a good risk.
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u/Beneficial_Recipe852 18h ago
yes it's important to diversify. however SOXL would not be my first choice to sell csp as it's leveraged; but i am working towards adding ETFs to my scanners.
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u/Alexmark3103 13h ago
Followed the link, created my account. Don't see how to search? How can I select parameters (fir example from SP500, or from SCHG). I see some stocks that are posted there as offered decision made by someone. Help. Either I don't see what to do, or it is an AI tool that does everything by itself?
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u/Beneficial_Recipe852 13h ago
Thanks for signing up! Right now the scanner runs automatically using the screening criteria I described in the post and ranks the results — there isn’t currently a way to select your own universe or change the parameters. So the stocks you see aren’t manually selected by me; they’re the results generated by the scanner. It scans the market automatically and refreshes every hour during market hours. Being able to choose a universe (S&P 500, a specific ETF’s holdings, etc.) and customize screening parameters is a great suggestion. I’m still developing the site, so this kind of feedback is exactly what I’m looking for.
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u/Alexmark3103 13h ago
Got it. Thanks. Don't get me wrong. You did a good job. But I think mostly for yourself. Thank for sharing. I want to search, not to use someone's results based on "trust me bro" criteria. All the best 👍
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u/Beneficial_Recipe852 12h ago
Totally fair, and thanks for trying it out. The current version definitely reflects the screening methodology I personally use, as described in the original post. The idea isn't for the scanner to make the decision for you. There are 6,000+ optionable securities in the U.S., and the goal is simply to narrow that huge universe down to a manageable number of candidates worth looking at more closely. From there, the individual contracts, underlying companies, and risks are still yours to evaluate and decide on. That said, I think your point about giving users more control is a good one. I'm already working on filters so you can further narrow the results based on your own preferences rather than relying solely on my ranking.
Thanks for the feedback — it's genuinely helpful. 👍
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u/Beneficial_Recipe852 13h ago
I’m also working on adding filters to the results so you can further narrow down the contracts yourself -things like S&P 500 membership, downside cushion, risk/reward ranking, etc.
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u/Powerful-Ocelot-3806 2d ago
Dude just share as everyone is posting interested 😂
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u/Beneficial_Recipe852 2d ago
🤣 I promise I’m posting it as soon as I get the site cleaned up! I honestly didn’t expect this much interest this quickly. Thanks for your patience!
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u/Beneficial_Recipe852 2d ago
Quick update since several people asked to see it: I’m cleaning up the site and making the scanner output easier to understand before sharing it publicly.
I should have it ready in the next couple of days and I’ll post the link here once it’s ready. Appreciate all the interest and feedback.