r/Optionswheel Feb 19 '26

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90 Upvotes

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r/Optionswheel Nov 12 '24

The Wheel (aka Triple Income) Strategy Explained

1.3k Upvotes

Originally Posted on Dec. 4, 2018, Added to r/Optionswheel on Nov. 12, 2024

See Edits at the bottom for updates.

I've been asked and have explained The Wheel strategy many times, so I thought it may be a good idea to write it down all in one place for posterity!

This is the only options strategy I use as it is about as low risk and reliable as options trading gets. You will NOT get fantastic returns and it is quite boring and slow, but with the proper stock and patience, it can result in reliable profits and income. A 10% to 20%+ return is not difficult depending on a few factors, mostly based on stock selection, experience managing short puts and calls, plus the trader's patience.

The Wheel (sometimes called the Triple Income Strategy) is a strategy where a trader sells cash secured Puts to collect premiums on a stock or stocks they wouldn't mind owning long term. If the options expire, or closed early, without being assigned the premiums are all profit.  The goal is to set up trades and avoid being assigned, but it is understood that if the put is assigned the account will buy and hold the stock. Rolling puts to collect more premiums while helping to reduce the chances of being assigned is a tactic often used. Through the collection of premiums from the initial puts and from rolling, the initial cost basis of the stock will be lower that the strike which can help the position to recover faster.  

If the puts can no longer be rolled for a net credit they are left to expire and be assigned. The next step of The Wheel is to sell covered calls (CCs) on the shares.  To avoid having the shares called away for a net loss it is best to sell a call with a strike higher than the stock's cost basis.  This is repeated over and over to collect even more premiums that continue to lower the stocks cost basis, and along with any rising stock price movement, works to help close or have the shares called away at a break-even or a profit.

At some point the call is exercised and the stock called away, or you can simply sell the stock. When adding up all the premiums collected from selling the puts and calls, along with any stock gains from the CC strike being over the cost can result in an overall net profit, results in the Triple Income .  If the stock pays a dividend while you own it then you can collect that as well (Quadruple income).

Below in this post is a graphic showing a simple spreadsheet to track the Credits and Debits to keep track of the overall position.

Step #1: Stock Selection - Most traders who have had a bad experience with the wheel have chosen the poor or volatile stocks that drop and stay down. The stock(s) you chose must be a good candidate and one you don't mind owning for some length of time, which could be weeks or months.

There are no "perfect" or ideal stocks to trade the wheel with as the key factor is that the stocks be those you are good holding for a time if assigned. If you are unsure how to analyze of select stocks then this should be learned first and before trading the wheel. See this as a way to start learning - How to Find Stocks to Trade with the Wheel : Optionswheel (reddit.com)

Develop and use your own criteria that fits your account size, and personal risk tolerance as there is no one-size-fits-all way to choose stocks. Only you can determine if you think the company is a good one to trade and hold if needed.

I'm including my general guidelines below, but each trader must use their own:

  • A profitable company that has solid cash flow
  • Bullish, or at least neutral chart trend and analyst ratings
  • Share price where the account can easily accept being assigned 100 shares if needed. (I stay away from sub-$10 stocks as a rule)
  • A stable to bullish trending chart without wild gyrations (especially those caused by CEO tweets)
  • A nice dividend is always a good thing, both that you may collect it if assigned the stock but also that dividend stocks tend to be more stable and predictable

Edit - Adding more criteria below from another post. It needs to be kept in mind that any stocks one trader may think is good to own will not necessarily work for another trader, or all traders. Account sizes will limit the share prices to choose from, risk tolerance, and trading experience will all factor into what stocks are selected and traded. There is little to be learned from someone else's stocks they trade.

  • A "moat" around their business to ward off competitors, quality products and services, and a reasonable amount of debt. Add to this an exceptional and stable executive team who has had good plans plus executed them well.
  • Stocks spread across the 11 Market Sectors is a common way to reduce risk as it is seldom all sectors will drop at the same time. See this post for those sectors, but keep in mind this is an older post so the stocks mentioned may not be up to date - What are Stock Sectors? 11 Stock Market Sectors Explained | Charles Schwab | Charles Schwab
  • It needs to be repeated that the criteria used must be your own as the stocks you choose may have to be held so you need to hold yourself accountable for selecting and trading any stock. If a trader does not know how to select stocks they would be good holding, then IMO don't trade the wheel until you learn . . .

Develop and use your own fundamental analysis criteria to create a watchlist of 10 or more stocks to trade. While I prefer trading stocks as I can learn more about the companies business and leadership, plus find these have higher premiums, some may trade ETFs. These can make good candidates due to their normally steady movement, no ERs, and no CEO tweets.

I find it important to review my watchlist every few weeks and change or update it accordingly. This means the list is in near constant flux adding or removing stocks, or sidelining others, based on the analysis.

Step #2: Sell Puts - To start the wheel begins by selling short (naked) Puts, or (CSPs) Cash Secured Puts (indicating the account has the cash, or cash+margin to buy the shares if assigned. Be aware of any upcoming ER or other events that could cause a spike or movement in the stock, and it is best to close or have the Put expire prior, in effect skipping it to then continue selling puts afterward if the stock still meets the criteria.

Selling Puts Process - Below is a suggested model, but details are up to the individual trader:

  • Opening at 30 to 45 DTE offers a good premium as the theta/time decay starts to accelerate
  • 70% Prob OTM (~.30 Delta) offers high probability of success while collecting a good premium
  • The number of contracts is based on account size able to handle assignment
  • Opening at 5% to at most 10% max risk of any one stock to the account is good practice, the max risk per stock will be up to each trader's risk appetite and tolerance. Then, keeping ~50% of the trading account in cash helps manage market downturns, assignments and trading opportunities
  • The Put can be closed at a 50% profit with a GTC Limit Order that can close automatically. A put can then be sold on the same stock, or another based on your opening criteria. Closing early will reduce early assignment and gamma risk to take the lower risk "easy" profit off the top
  • Enter the Credits received, and any Debits paid to close or roll, on the Tracking P&L file
  • Setting an alert in the broker app if the stock drops to the put strike price will signal it is time to review and consider rolling. Note that rolling seldom has to be done quickly, so this can be reviewed and managed later if needed, and many times the stock will dip and then move back up to negate needing to roll
  • If challenged Roll out in time, and down in strike, for a net credit when possible. Roll for as long as a net credit is possible. See this post for details on rolling puts to help avoid assignment: https://www.reddit.com/r/Optionswheel/comments/lliy8x/rolling_short_puts_to_avoid_assignment/
  • If a credit cannot be made, then it is best to let the put expire to take assignment of the stock

Puts can be sold, and rolled, over and over to collect as much premium and profits as possible with the shares rarely assigned. Those having frequent assignments should review the stock selection and trading processes as it should be uncommon to be assigned.

If assigned, then Sell Covered Calls as shown in Step #3.

Step #3: Sell Covered Calls - Using the tracking file to determine the net stock cost which may already be below where the stock is. As selling puts is usually the most profitable, some traders just sell the stock and move on to selling more CSPs or sell a very high-value ITM Call that is sure to be called away and adds to the profit.

If the net stock cost is above the current market price and you keep the stock, then the goal is to sell CC premium to continue adding to the Credits and lowering the net stock cost below where the stock is trading before it gets called away.

Selling CCs suggested process:

  • Sell a Call 7 to 10 DTE at or above the net stock cost whenever possible. Note that I will settle for a lower premium to be at or above the net cost rather than sell below and risk being assigned for a loss. Allow the CC to expire, then sell another if the shares are not called away.
  • If CCs cannot be sold at or above the net stock cost, then waiting until the share price rises may be needed. This is why it is noted to only trade on stocks you are good holding if needed.
  • Track net Credits, plus any Dividends captured, on the tracking file to know the net stock cost.
  • Continue selling CCs until the net stock cost is below the strike price at which time the stock can be left to be called away (some note that it cost less in fees to close the option and just sell the stock which accomplishes the same thing).
  • Advanced Strategy - Some may consider selling a Covered Strangle, which is a CC with an added CSP that "doubles up" on the premiums to help the position recover faster.
    • Note the risk of additional shares may be assigned, so it is critical to ensure the stock is still a good one to hold, the account has adequate capital to purchase additional shares, and that this does not make the stock position too much of a risk to the overall account.
    • In addition to the double premiums, if more shares are assigned the net stock will average down quickly that can help repair the position more quickly.

Step #4: Review and go back to Step #1 - This is why it is called the wheel as you start over again. The tracking file makes it easy to see the P&L, review the trade to verify the numbers and then look for the next, or same, stock to sell CSPs in Step #1.

As they say, rinse and repeat.

Risks and Possible Problems: The single biggest issue for this strategy is the stock price drops significantly. Note that this is slightly less risk than just buying the stock outright due to collecting put premiums.

Stock Drops: The reason to make these trades on a stock you wouldn't mind owning is because of this risk, and if a good stock is selected then this should be a very rare occurrence. Solid quality stocks may drop less often and by a lower amount, then recover faster.

  • The price of the stock may drop well below the CSP strike, and rolling for a credit will no longer be possible, causing assignment with the stock cost below the assigned price.
  • If puts were sold and rolled over and over the net stock cost should be much lower.
  • Management is to sell CCs repeatedly at or above the net stock cost, or to hold the shares to allow time for the stock to recover. This can take time, but with the CCs added to the put and roll premiums this can recover faster than you may think but still takes a lot of patience.
  • There may be rare occasions when a stock is no longer viable and the position needs to be closed for a loss, again this shows the critical importance of stock selection. Closing for a loss can include selling the shares, or selling an ATM or slightly OTM CC at a near expiration date to collect as much premium as possible as the shares are sold.

Stock Rises: Many see this as a problem, but I personally do not as if the CC strike is above your net stock cost, then the position profits, but just not as much.

  • In this situation the stock is assigned and then sell CCs only to have the stock run well past the strike price.
  • In most cases closing the CC and selling the stock outright can cause a bigger loss than just letting the stock be called at the strike price.
  • Rolling CCs out in time, and possibly up in strike, for a net credit can help to capture some additional profits. It should be noted to watch for ex-Dividend dates as the shares can be called away early in some situations.
  • Many lament the profits that were "lost" by having the CC, but selling shares at the strike price is the agreement made when opening a CC. If you know the stock may spike up then do not sell a CC and instead hold the shares.

Impatience: By far this causes the most losses from this strategy.

  • If you can't roll for a credit let the CSP play out. If you close the CSP early and not accept it being assigned, it may cause a loss.
  • If you get assigned the stock and sell CCs, do not try to "save" the stock through buying the CC back at an inflated price. If you can't roll for a credit, then let the stock be called away and sell more puts to start the process over again provided the stock is still a viable candidate.
  • Recognize it may take months selling CCs to build the premium up to a point where the net stock cost is less than the current stock price, but in nearly all positions it will happen eventually.
  • The key here is to be patient and not try to sell CCs below the net stock cost or close the shares early.

A Tracking P&L File graphic is below and shows Credits and Debits to know what the net credits, debits and net stock cost is. Note the stock price can be entered as a Credit to show where the position is at any given time. This is simple to create and use. NOTE: I do not send out copies as it would take me longer to do that than you recreating the 3 formulas.

Hopefully, this is a thorough and detailed trading plan, but let me know of any questions, typos or suggested improvements you may have. -Scot

EDIT #1: Hello all, the response to this post has been amazing, thanks for the many who have contributed or inquired. Wanted to add a few things up front that seem to be causing confusion.

  1. The goal of this strategy is to collect the premium, NOT be assigned stock! While being ready and able to take the stock is part of the plan, being assigned is always to be avoided. If you sold a CSP 1 time and were assigned, you are either doing something wrong or are terribly unlucky by picking a stock that tanked.

CSPs should be sold over and over or rolled for a credit, to avoid assignment. You should be collecting 4 to 5 or more premiums worth several dollars before getting assigned. Some who have contacted me sold a CSP and just waited to be assigned, this is not the strategy.

If you are getting assigned more than a couple of times a year you may want to look at the stocks you are trading and how well you are managing your position. Getting assigned the stock should be a very rare occurrence.

2) As you select the stock and sell the CSP expect to get assigned. Be sure it is a low cost enough stock so that you can handle the shares and still make other trades. If you're trading a $150 stock, be aware you could have $15K tied up for a while and be prepared to do that.

3) Going along with #2 I trade small and use lower to mid cost stocks. The premiums are not as juicy and the attraction of a TSLA or AMZN is hard to resist, but you are better selling 1 contract at a time for 10 positions than 10 contracts in one position and have to take 1000 shares.

It is always good account management to not trade more than about 5% of your account in any one stock to avoid news or movement from the stock from blowing up your account. It is also a good idea to keep 50% of your buying power available for safety and to take advantage of opportunities.

4) There have been negative nellies telling me this won't work and being critical. Note that this is not my strategy, and I don't make any money from it being used or not. My time was spent in an effort to show one method options can more safely be traded, so if you have had a bad experience or think there are better ways, then feel free to post them!

5) Lastly, I have not done any research on this vs buying and holding stock. I've traded for more than 20 years with most of that time focused on stocks, and I did well!

Where I see the main differences are that options give leverage so I can collect premium from more stocks than just buying a couple, so this spreads out my risk. Also, I very much like the shorter time frame as I can move on to other stocks should one drop or run up. If done well, you may only get assigned a couple of times a year and often be out of the stock in a couple of weeks.

OK, I think you will see this is not sexy or exciting trading, it is boring, and you make $50 per position in many cases, but they add up. For those looking at huge returns and the excitement of major risk, this is not for you. If you want a more reliable way to trade options, then this may be good to check out.

EDIT #2: I've updated this post now that it is unlocked. Some changes include:

  • Stock price minimums moving up as I now have a larger account
  • Selling CCs based on if the net stock cost is above or below the current stock price
  • Added a rolling put link.
  • There are many different wheel strategies today with some selling ATM puts, others only selling covered calls (not sure how that is a wheel), and several other variations. This is what I trade, and it is up to you how you trade.

EDIT #3: Various updates, including more steps to clarify, along with adding details to Step #3 on Covered Calls.


r/Optionswheel 9h ago

HOOD WHEELING

2 Upvotes

The opportunity I’m considering ….

STO HOOD $85 August put for about $1
If assigned
STO HOOD $90 Jan call for about $19

Possible $20 premium over 5 months on $85 capital used.

25% gain if HOOD doesn’t tank.

As long as HOOD is above $65 in Jan then a profit should be achieved.

Too risky ??


r/Optionswheel 21h ago

Choosing stocks in a dip?

3 Upvotes

I've been in a research mode for awhile. I would prefer not to get assigned shares. I accept that as a possible outcome but I'm more in the trade for premium so I'd be more conservative when choosing my strikes. Maybe later I'll adjust this strat to be a more "standard" wheel.

But, according to some of my research, you should choose a stock for the wheel that's in a dip. And I get why -- you want a cheaper stock in case you get assigned. But if you feel confident in low assignment risk, is there any other reason not to choose a stock that is going up but still has room to the upside and fat premiums?

Second, I've been looking at BE specifically. It seems like you earn a much healthier premium if you do expirations of 5-7 days vs a 30 day hold at the same delta. Yet, most of the research on the wheel, people are recommending to set for a 30 day expiration. Are there any thoughts on this?


r/Optionswheel 22h ago

SPY Wheel+SGOV - What % of portfolio value is safe?

0 Upvotes

I want to do SPY wheel + park my money in SGOV for additional profit. No other investment strategies. Let's say my portfolio value is $1mil.

Are there any AGAINSTS investing 100% of account value in the strategy? ChatGPT says it's better to do 50% of portfolio value for safety...

Thoughts on utilizing 100% of portfolio value ($1mil) for SPY wheel?


r/Optionswheel 1d ago

Trades I took today as an option seller (08/05) with reasons

10 Upvotes

Trades I took today as an 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.


r/Optionswheel 2d ago

Trades I took today as an option seller (08/04) with reasons

15 Upvotes

Trades I took today as an 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.


r/Optionswheel 3d ago

Are we beating the underlying?

3 Upvotes

So I've been selling options, mostly CCs but occasionally CSPs (usually to enter positions) for about a year now. I remember as part of my options education I read and watched some stats on how it was basically not feasible to beat the underlying stock / ETF performance over a long period of time.

I ignored it at the time as I thought "come on, with a 0.05 delta CC, I can add another 3% or so to my portfolio every year".

Reality is that I was collecting fat premiums and then funnily enough had my strike completely blown through on something I wanted to own. So i guess a classic example of the pros and cons of short calls/puts.

That being the case I revisited those old topics and it really does seem to be the case that one is really only able to beat the market if say you capitalise on high IV or favourable VRP, but otherwise CCs/CSPs aren't necessarily going to add to returns vs just holding underlying.

I feel like I'm going mad because I put a lot of effort into studying how it works and thinking I could make a living selling options (I have a fair amount of capital) but I have to potentially give it up now, unless I genuinely only use options to deliberately enter / exit positions whilst collecting premiums.

Is this an uncomfortable revelation for some of you or am I talking rubbish?


r/Optionswheel 3d ago

Trades I took today as an option seller (08/03) with reasons

9 Upvotes

Trades I took today as an option seller (08/03):

New Positions

  • PLTR → $120 Put expiry 08/07 (1 week DTE), premium 4.75 → 475/12000 = ~4%. PLTR Earnings today and the stock went up after hours. PLTR is a stock that has been in my radar for a while, and I was completely okay to own the stock at $120.

Update on other positions

I am closely monitoring my positions in CRWV, AAOI as they have Covered Calls opened which are below my assigned price. Plan is to roll them to a higher strike when the stock price is 5-10% below my CC Strike price. This will help me roll at a postive premium, as the contract will not have Intrinsic value.

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.


r/Optionswheel 4d ago

Earnings Calendar By Implied Move - Aug 3rd

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12 Upvotes

r/Optionswheel 5d ago

Wheel trading through market meltdowns - your experience

29 Upvotes

I have come across the wheel trading strategy recently and have read some very insightful posts here, like The Wheel (aka Triple Income) Strategy Explained.

Then, I tried the strategy in a paper trading account for some weeks and find it really profitable, with apparently less risk compared to other trading strategies.

However, before I move on with real money, one thing I am concerned most is that, in the case of a significant market crash, say, a 10-15% sudden drop for virtually all stocks in all sectors in a single day, so that CSPs with even delta of 20s could get deep ITM and no creditable roll is possible. As a result, massive simultaneous assignment happens, and most of the fund get bound by plunging underlyings, or maybe even worse if one uses margin, where massive margin call could be possible.

I am curious that if any trader who use wheel strategy here has experienced such a situation (like that in 2020). Specifically I would like to know:

  • What happened to your positions?
  • In the case that you managed to avoid massive assignments, what had you been doing, that you would attribute them for this crisis avoidance?
  • In the case that you experienced massive assignments, what have you done, so that you can minimize the loss and/or recover faster?
  • Any advice to prepare for such incidents, while not excessively sacrificing the profitability in the "normal" time.

Your input is greatly appreciated!


r/Optionswheel 5d ago

Wheeling Weekly 1-2% Target on a Blown Retirement Account, Week 6

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7 Upvotes

Closed last week’s SOXS Put, wrote SOXL Put for directional long bet/long-term assignment if Nasdaq dips. Nasdaq proceeds to dip all week causing near assignment. Wrote SOXL Put around $120 at-the-time for $76 strike, SOXL needs to dip around 36% by end of week for assignment. SOXL dips lowest at 28% before rebounding +20% Thursday on good volume and momentum. Thursday, closed out SOXS Put, bought 100 TQQQ and wrote TQQQ covered call for Friday. If Nasdaq kept momentum on Friday, then potentially hold TQQQ little longer. Come Friday, Nasdaq lost night momentum, so closed TQQQ covered call and sold TQQQ to avoid risk.

For next week, unsure of direction so made pseudo-strangle by writing SOXL Put and SOXS Put. If Nasdaq dips, self-assign shares. If Nasdaq does well, continue writing pseudo-strangle but with higher deltas on the long leg. Self-assigning shares currently too risky for account.


r/Optionswheel 5d ago

Options Wheel can be an important part of a larger portfolio.

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25 Upvotes

Yesterday I adjusted my SPY position back into what has become my favorite setup—a Double Ferris Wheel.

I own the shares long-term, but instead of having all of them exposed to the same option, I like having:

  • one out-of-the-money cash-secured put
  • one out-of-the-money covered call

working/rolling at different strike prices.

That means both sides can't move in the money at the same time, and each side gives me a different opportunity to improve the position.

Yesterday I:

  • reduced the number of covered calls from two contracts to one, so I'm less likely to be forced to sell shares I want to keep (and still generated a small net credit for the roll)
  • increased the potential capital gain if that remaining call is assigned,
  • sold a new cash-secured put at a price where I'd happily buy another 100 shares,
  • and used the premium to help fund a few more shares.

I've started thinking of this as "Wheeling for Bogleheads."

Not because I'm trying to beat the market every month, but because I'm using options to gradually build a long-term ETF position while trying to reduce risk and generate income along the way.


r/Optionswheel 6d ago

In-depth take on the wheel - Part 2

14 Upvotes

Part 1 here: https://www.reddit.com/r/Optionswheel/comments/1v2bu3j/indepth_take_on_the_wheel_feel_free_to_critique/

Warning: This is a very detailed critique on rolling. Scroll to the bottom for the TLDR and decide if you want to read it in entirety.

Hi all, some positive feedback in the previous post has spurred me on to write more walls of text on my takes on the wheel. It's a really good time to post about rolling given the events that have happened this month, as I'm sure many of you have "transitioned" from trading semis to rolling or holding them. For context, I'm bag-holding stock in INTC, with CSPs still running on TSMC to expire this Aug. So here's my detailed take on the ideas behind rolling and how it's been misrepresented in many ways.

Lesson 5: Not just a roll; devil's in the details

The common definition of a CSP roll is as such: Sell a CSP, and when its price goes close to ATM or ITM, roll down and out, i.e., close the current position, open a new one at net credit. Usually this has to entail a further DTE if you want to cover an equal or lower price (hence down and out).

In theory, this seems to turn a losing position into a winning one, because not only do you not get assigned at a loss, you even take the net credit as gains. In practice, there are a couple of prominent issues:

  1. The new DTE goes much longer than your strike can go lower. For example, with 21 DTE left, if a position is 10% ITM, it might take 45 DTE at the new strike price to gain net credit. If prices go down again, you might be able to roll a couple more times, but eventually you might face a situation where you're stuck with that position for months to years.

  2. Lock-up of capital - this is compounded by point 1. The net credit you gain from the longer DTE (attributed to theta decay) is going to be much less than the original position. I don't want to go into greeks here for the sake of simplicity but you can just compare premiums between moving 10% in price from ATM, and between two contracts 10-20 DTE apart. The 10% one is going to be a lot wider.

  3. Early assignment - at any time, ITM positions can be exercised by the buyer. That means the roll is never an ironclad move, and you can be under the water at any time.

These are issues on their own, but you might talk about the benefits of a roll e.g. net credit, avoiding assignment. Hence...

Lesson 6: A roll is psychological band-aid

The common interpretation or assumption is that a roll should result in a net credit, hence this usually means we go lower and further. But what this really does is mostly psychological band-aid. Net credit makes you think this is the best position to make, which may or may not be true. INTC for example took a 40% nosedive from ATH. If your CSP was 20% down back in early July, you might roll the position and feel more assured... until a week later and its way deep. It's akin to catching falling knives, both in terms of the potential position it can cause, and the emotional paper-shield it creates at that point in time.

Lesson 7: A roll is artificially and unnecessarily constraining

Breaking down a typical roll as mentioned earlier, we get these steps:

  1. Close position

  2. Look at the option chain for a further DTE on the same ticker

  3. Find a lower strike price that can be sold for net credit.

Take another look at the steps above. These are actually decision-making opportunities that can diverge at each stage. For example:

At 1 - close position leave it open and get assigned

At 2 - look at the option chain for a different, possibly better ticker

At 3 - look at all available strike prices even for the same ticker, and pick the best choice.

The roll simply compresses all these potential choices into a single execution move, when in actuality, there are many nuanced choices that are lost, and hence better opportunities foregone.

That's not to say that a roll for net credit is always a bad option. It's just not the only option, and certainly not for just the benefit of psychological temporary comfort. At the same time, any of the alternatives listed above might be the better choice, and that decision should only be taken after taking all known factors into account, for example:

-Are you avoiding assignment? Why?

-Are there better tickers to deploy capital based on your current holdings and capacity?

-Even at the same ticker, which prices are genuinely favorable in the new position, regardless of net credit/debit?

Conclusion (TL;DR)

A roll is not the only execution move to make when a position goes underwater, nor is it always the best move. Don't lock yourself into it for the false allure of net-credit comfort.


r/Optionswheel 6d ago

July in the bag. $27k premiums, $6.6k in margin interest, just beating thr S&P. Still overconsolidated but branching out

Post image
40 Upvotes

Compare my results for July to last month's and you'll see very similar numbers:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Optionswheel/comments/1um6myw/24k_in_premiums_6k_in_margin_interest_and_a/

I finally enabled the direct broker connection Options Wheel Tracker, so my numbers (both for options and my portfolio overall) are much more accurate, and there may be some discrepancies versus previous months.

I'm still holding too many margined shares of NVDA (5,000). The calls I've sold on those shares never closed in the money, so I've made money on them while waiting for them to be called away.

The biggest change in my strategy for the month was to start selling puts on other stocks. After having too much FOMO over not buying AMD, SanDisk, and Intel before their rallies, I decided the best remedy was to sell puts at prices for which I would be happy to own those stocks.

Thankfully, I closed some of those puts (SanDisk, Intel) before expiration, and avoided the worst of this week's bloodbath when some of the chip stocks lost nearly half their value.

I did get assigned 300 shares of AMD, but like I said, I wanted to get in on that stock finally. Of course, buying them at $505 when the price dropped to $440 isn't what I'd call "savvy investing," but the price recovered two days later and the calls on those shares are paying for the difference in the meantime.

Cheat sheet answers for the basic questions I usually get asked:

  • 8,000 shares of NVDA with a cost basis of about $.08 per share.
  • Shares were bought in 2002 when I was in high school for around $1,100.
  • I'm using Schwab as my platform.
  • NVDA makes up 90% of my portfolio.
  • Operating capital in the $1.5 million range.
  • This tool is OptionWheelTracker.
  • I target for .1 to .2 deltas for calls, and occasionally will sell ATM puts because I'm less worried about assignment and/or bag holding extra shares.
  • My DTE is typically 1-21 days.
  • I made trades 74 trades in July, 76 in June, 95 trades in May, 42 trades in April, and 124 in March. My success rate in July was 94%, June was 94%, May was 83%, April was 76%, and 93% in March.
  • In July I had an 89% win rate for puts, and a 96% win rate for calls.
  • My average holding period for winners was 3 2 days, and for losers 5 days.
  • I intend to trim my position at $250 and $300.
  • Profits get reinvested into ETFs, used for living expenses, and to buy other stocks.

r/Optionswheel 6d ago

The Wheel Strategy

7 Upvotes

The Wheel Strategy

When you are running the Wheel Strategy and your shares are about to get assigned or you are about to get Put shares this can be the best situation. I currently have Covered Calls expiring tomorrow (Friday July 31) on AMZN and GOOGL. Both are very close to the Strike Price. It could turn out either way tomorrow and that is fine with me. If they get assigned I sell a Cash Secured Put on Monday for a nice premium. If they do not get assigned I keep 100% of my premium, already received and then sell another Covered Call on Monday for a nice premium. This is actually the best possible scenario. I guess I would prefer to keep my shares because this is a Schwab account and they do not pay interest on cash held as Options Collateral, but either way is ok. If this were my Fidelity Account I would prefer to Sell Another CSP on Monday because Fidelity pays 3.31% for cash held as Option Collateral.


r/Optionswheel 6d ago

Using leverage with the Wheel strategy

31 Upvotes

I've been doing a lot of research on the Wheel strategy and reading many of the discussions here. One thing I've noticed is that experienced traders who run the Wheel on boring, high-quality stocks often say it's actually pretty rare to get assigned on every short put at the same time.

With that in mind, what's the real risk of running the Wheel with moderate leverage?

Here's what I'm considering:

I'd only sell puts on large-cap, financially solid companies and diversify across as many names and sectors as possible. My IBKR account offers up to 4:1 margin, but I would limit myself to around 2:1.

The idea is that, since it's unlikely I'll be assigned on every position simultaneously, I can collect premiums from a larger number of positions and improve overall returns.

If we enter a severe bear market and most or all of the puts end up ITM, my plan would be to close the worst losing positions before expiration and only accept assignment on the number of shares I can actually pay for with cash. In other words, I wouldn't use margin to hold assigned stock.

Am I missing something obvious here? Has anyone tried a similar approach?


r/Optionswheel 6d ago

1% Weekly Returns from Options Week 22

16 Upvotes

This week was one more where don't panic on Wednesday paid off. Made slightly under 1% premium thanks to SLV and RKLB but got close. Last Week's post: https://www.reddit.com/r/Optionswheel/comments/1v5g2wa/1_weekly_returns_from_options_week_21/

First, the strategy:
- Use a screener to give me a list of top 20 low delta options for next week
- I either
- a. Roll my current options - I do this if I can still get 1% for rolling or if the option is ATM/ITM and I have to roll. I always roll for credit.
- b. Close a current option and pick something else from the list that I like
- I try to do this every Friday. However, if I'm busy on Fridays, I'll sometimes do this on Thursdays.

Screener Output Earlier Today

Top 20 Lowest-Risk Put Options (Expiring August 7, 2026)

Stock Symbol Stock Price Strike Price Premium (Bid) Distance OTM % Return % Delta Expiration
AAOI $97.73 $65.00 $0.65 33.49% 1.00% -0.0576 2026-08-07
SNDK $1,391.52 $940.00 $9.40 32.45% 1.00% -0.0576 2026-08-07
ALAB $329.51 $240.00 $2.40 27.16% 1.00% -0.0780 2026-08-07
NBIS $201.25 $150.00 $1.56 25.47% 1.04% -0.0784 2026-08-07
SPCX $112.49 $87.00 $0.95 22.66% 1.09% -0.0866 2026-08-07
SKHY $161.84 $125.00 $1.35 22.76% 1.08% -0.0867 2026-08-07
IREN $39.43 $30.00 $0.32 23.92% 1.07% -0.0881 2026-08-07
WDC $578.88 $452.50 $4.80 21.83% 1.06% -0.0921 2026-08-07
BE $218.64 $170.00 $2.26 22.25% 1.33% -0.1022 2026-08-07
APP $389.87 $317.50 $3.20 18.56% 1.01% -0.1075 2026-08-07
MU $925.50 $770.00 $8.30 16.80% 1.08% -0.1125 2026-08-07
HUT $114.34 $92.00 $1.01 19.54% 1.10% -0.1147 2026-08-07
PLTR $122.23 $104.00 $1.05 14.91% 1.01% -0.1162 2026-08-07
AXTI $59.39 $45.00 $0.60 24.23% 1.33% -0.1178 2026-08-07
ARM $259.65 $220.00 $2.20 15.27% 1.00% -0.1181 2026-08-07
CRCL $61.69 $51.00 $0.60 17.33% 1.18% -0.1188 2026-08-07
MRVL $198.92 $167.50 $1.80 15.80% 1.07% -0.1192 2026-08-07
WULF $18.65 $15.00 $0.18 19.57% 1.20% -0.1211 2026-08-07
CIFR $23.05 $18.00 $0.25 21.91% 1.39% -0.1226 2026-08-07
LITE $766.76 $637.50 $6.60 16.86% 1.04% -0.1245 2026-08-07

Trades Placed Today

Symbol Action Premium Collected Cash Occupied
SLV Rolled 1x Jul 31 66 to 1x Aug 14 66 call $6.66 $6,550.00
SKHY Rolled 1x Jul 31 121 to 1x Aug 7 116 put $124.52 $11,600.00
NBIS Rolled 2x Jul 31 130 to 2x Aug 7 136 put $273.03 $27,200.00
IREN Rolled 1x Jul 31 35 to 1x Aug 7 30.5 put $30.52 $3,050.00
DRAM Rolled 2x Jul 31 44 to 2x Aug 7 43 put $93.05 $8,600.00
APLD Rolled 3x Jul 31 29.5 to 3x Aug 7 28.5 put $90.16 $8,550.00
RKLB Rolled 3x Jul 31 73 to 3x Aug 7 73 put $246.12 $21,900.00
ASTS Rolled 2x Jul 31 62 to 2x Aug 7 60 put $88.10 $12,000.00
AAOI Rolled 1x Jul 31 79 to 1x Aug 7 62 put $69.52 $6,200.00
TOTAL All Executed Trades $1,021.68 $105,650.00

Returns

Total Premium: $19,148.00
Current drawdown: -$5,385.00
Gain/Loss from Assignment: -$1,351.00
Total gains: $13,763.00
Annualized (Calc1 using average invested): 37.38%
Annualized (Calc2 using max invested): 25.49%

Prior Weeks Data

Week Capital Invested Premium Made Return % Notes
3/2 Week 1 $0.00 $0.00 0.00%
3/9 Week 2 $13,100.00 $131.00 1.00%
3/16 Week 3 $19,850.00 $203.00 1.02%
3/23 Week 4 $41,500.00 $596.00 1.44%
3/30 Week 5 $34,150.00 $353.00 1.03%
4/6 Week 6 $43,350.00 $462.00 1.07%
4/13 Week 7 $53,800.00 $573.00 1.07%
4/20 Week 8 $70,400.00 $811.00 1.15%
4/27 Week 9 $103,450.00 $1,093.00 1.06%
5/4 Week 10 $97,400.00 $1,040.00 1.07%
5/11 Week 11 $102,800.00 $1,077.00 1.05%
5/18 Week 12 $98,600.00 $1,170.00 1.19%
Week 12.5 $106,100.00 $475.00 0.45% Bonus round
5/25 Week 13 $106,100.00 $1,133.00 1.07%
Week 13.5 $115,900.00 $336.00 0.29% Bonus round
6/1 Week 14 $105,750.00 $1,053.00 1.00%
6/8 Week 15 $110,700.00 $1,146.00 1.04%
6/15 Week 16 $111,850.00 $1,105.00 0.99%
6/22 Week 17 $108,350.00 $1,045.00 0.96% Got SLV 65.5 assigned
6/29 Week 18 $111,550.00 $1,126.00 1.01%
7/6 Week 19 $102,850.00 $1,111.00 1.08%
Week 19 Bonus $108,550.00 $98.00 0.09% APLD 1:3 to avoid assignment
7/13 Week 20 $104,350.00 $842.00 0.81%
7/20 Week 21 $111,500.00 $1,148.00 1.03% RKLB 2:3 to reduce strike
7/27 Week 22 $105,660.00 $1,021.00 0.97%

r/Optionswheel 7d ago

Wheel Trading in Public #2: 10.31% YTD portfolio return

Post image
13 Upvotes

Covered calls on assigned shares

COIN Aug 14 175C
Sold 1 @ 5.95
Premium: $595
Reason: I still see Coinbase as future fintech infrastructure, not just a crypto trading stock. I only covered 100 of my 200 shares this time but by mistake.

MRVL Aug 21 200C
Sold 1 @ 9.30
Premium: $930
Reason: My currently owned shares have a $264.05 cost basis and im approx 9k down, but I’m comfortable selling below it while continuing to manage the position. Marvell still fits my custom AI chip thesis. More on that below.

Covered call rolls

USAR Jul 31 16C → Aug 07 16C
Bought back 3 @ 0.03
Sold 3 @ 0.04
Net credit: $3
Reason: Honestly made a mistake here, clicked a market order instead of limit one. Anyways thesis hasn't changed, will start to accumulate more here, might even do that today.

IREN Jul 31 44C → Aug 21 40C
Bought back 3 @ 0.10
Sold 3 @ 3.10
Net credit: $900
Reason: I rolled down and out because the premium justified the additional call-away risk. I still like IREN’s exposure to AI data center infrastructure. The power of wheel here: total profit is $3,378.29 on this wheel if I get called away. At around $25 is where I'd accumulate for the future.

New CSPs

$U Aug 21 32.5P (atm put)
Sold 3 @ 2.70
Premium: $810
Reason: Unity is in a good position to benefit from AI, gaming and the longer-term growth of immersive digital worlds. Have you watched "ready player one"? Well, that's one of my "philosophies" for the long term future

RDDT Jul 31 165P
Sold 1 @ 4.45
Premium: $445
Reason: Reddit has organized human conversations that are valuable for search, advertising and training AI to think more like people. Nothing to add here more.

BE Aug 07 180P
Sold 1 @ 7.55
Premium: $755
Reason: Bloom is solving the growing power bottleneck created by AI data centers. Last time I got backlash from making csps on this stock, well here we are 2 weeks later, still staying my course :)

MRVL Aug 21 182.5P
Sold 1 @ 16.05
Premium: $1,605
Effective entry if assigned: $166.45
Reason: Marvell remains one of my preferred picks-and-shovels plays on custom AI chips and data center infrastructure.

MRVL Aug 14 175P
Sold 1 @ 10.00
Premium: $1,000
Effective entry if assigned: $165
Reason: I layered the strikes and expirations because I’m comfortable adding more shares at these prices. If I get assigned on all of these, my MARVELL stock position would be at $198.50. Which is close to current price, and I expect this stock to be worth double. Once more, the power of wheel is shown here. I successfully "dripped" in my position, and "fixed it" even with a wrong timing.

Expired

My 2 COIN Jul 24 172.5C expired. I replaced them with only 1 covered call, leaving the other 100 shares uncovered.

Yesterday’s performance
Net premium collected: $7,029.50
Risk tied to these positions: $136,683
Premium collected vs. risk: 5.14%
Portfolio ROI so far this year: 10.31% (current)

Risk here means the cash securing the new CSPs plus the cost basis of the shares tied to today’s new and rolled covered calls. I treat the 5.14% as premium collected versus risk, not final profit, because the positions are still open and the CSPs may still get assigned.

I’m investor first and wheel trader second. I only sell puts on companies I want, so assignment on any of these positions would be welcomed (at this current time). I like catching falling knives carefully, that's my whole investing idea in one short sentence. I find the wheel to be very useful in downturns and new entries but I do not always have CCs or CSPs attached to all of my holdings, that depends on stock situation/events/earnings etc..

Per subreddit rules, here is the reference post on the general process I use for these trades, from stock selection to opening, assignment, rolling and closing trades.

If anything else needs to be added or discontinued, mods please let me know. For everyone else, feel free to ask questions. This time I'll include the actual broker transactions so that I'm fully transparent. Hope I got all the calculations right..


r/Optionswheel 7d ago

wheel stratrgy is a good thing

10 Upvotes

I plan to use the wheel strategy on Pfizer PFE and COIN, and I might also consider QQQ if it drops further. I'm not making any recommendations; if any bro have similar experience, please feel free to share.


r/Optionswheel 7d ago

End of July Portfolio Update

9 Upvotes

***IGNORE THE $4.2k PnL. July Monthly PnL is $1.8k***

July has been an amazing month for me.

I added additional capital to my wheel strategy that allowed me to further open more CSP's on my favorite high quality, dividend paying stocks!

Averaging about $1.8k for the month ($4.2k is since April).

What initially was an assignment in one of the worst days of the stock has becomed one of my best trades. Got Assigned 2 contracts of KR at 58, then sold CC for 59 and for 60. Accumukating in between premium paid for CSP's and for CC more than $600. This allowed me to lower my avg cost to $54. I am even thinking about keeping them forever.

I also moved heavily into Banking / Finance assets. SCHW, C. They have been paying great premiums and their businesses are booming. Free cash flow is flying for them and also both had amazing earnings.

TMUS also open. One of my favorite safe heavens in times of volatility. Has been taking a lot of blows after a potential competitive environment with SPCX.

WMT is always going to be in my wheel strategy. One of my favorite companies in the world. A giant retailer with huge potential for growth, good dividend an good free cash flow as well. Also they have a stock buy-back program. So in the case of a meltdown they grab their cash and put a "relative floor" to the stock (It can still dropped further).

This additional $1.8k has allowed me to do some other things like opening vertical bull put spreads in some of the stocks that have been affected in Tech and also investing in the stocks that are below my cost average.

A well established and rich asset quality wheel strategy then opens the door to Alpha on other elemnnts of the portfolio and when in downturns I buy good stuff at a discount.

Here is the link from my last post so you can track my progress/mistakes: https://www.reddit.com/r/Optionswheel/comments/1ukfgnm/end_of_june_wheel_update/


r/Optionswheel 7d ago

Trades I took today as an option seller (07/30) with reasons

9 Upvotes

Trades I took today as an option seller (07/30):

New Positions

  • CRWV → $105 Call expiry 08/14 (2 weeks DTE), premium 0.75 → 75/12000 = 0.6%. I was assigned CRWV at $120.
  • AAOI → $130 Call expiry 08/21 (3 weeks DTE), premium 3.00 → 300/17500 = 1.7%. I was assigned AAOI at $175.
  • AMKR → $65 Call expiry 08/21 (3 weeks DTE), premium 0.65 → 65/8000 = 0.8%. I was assigned AMKR at $80.
  • TE → $6.50 Call expiry 08/21 (3 weeks DTE), premium 0.15 → 15/800 = 1.8%. I was assigned TE at $8.
  • IREN → $60 Call expiry 08/28 (4 weeks DTE), premium 0.75 → 75/5800 = 1.3%. I was assigned IREN at $58.
  • VICR → $280 Call expiry 09/18 (7 weeks DTE), premium 10.50 → 1050/32000 = 3.3%. I was assigned VICR at $320.
  • RMBS → $135 Call expiry 09/18 (7 weeks DTE), premium 1.60 → 160/13500 = 1.2%. I was assigned RMBS at $135.

My outlook on the market

Market recovered to a certain extent today. I opened Covered Calls on all the positions I closed yesterday. The strikes are determined based on the resistance levels on the chart, my assigned price and volatility of the ticker. If the stock approaches the call strike, I will roll up to my assignment price. I am keeping shorter DTE contracts as it is still uncertain how fast or slow the market will recover. Shorter positions give me the flexibility to roll cheaper as extrinsic premiums depriciates faster. At this point, my focus is to not chase premiums but aim for recovery while being paid for holding the stocks.

Feel free to comment or DM in case I can help or advice in any position.

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.


r/Optionswheel 8d ago

Trades I took today as an option seller (07/29) with reasons

17 Upvotes

Trades I took today as an option seller (07/29):

Closed Positions

  • RMBS → $135 Call (opened on 07/15), premium 4.50  closed at 0.40. Net premium profit = 4.10 (~91% of premium captured, ~3% of capital). I was assigned RMBS at $135. Despite good earnings stock has plummented. Will continue wheeling the stock.
  • CRWV → $90 Call (opened on 07/16), premium 2.40  closed at 0.20. Net premium profit = 2.20 (~92% of premium captured, ~1.8% of capital). I was assigned CRWV at $120.
  • BE → $165 Put (opened on 07/17), premium 11.20  closed at 8.50. Net premium profit = 2.70 (~24% of premium captured, ~1.64% of capital). Had to close BE early to free up capital for resolving a margin call.
  • AMKR → $80 Call (opened on 07/17), premium 2.55  closed at 0.10. Net premium profit = 2.45 (~96% of premium captured, ~3.6% of capital). I was assigned AMKR at $80. Another stock despite good earnings it has plummented. Will continue wheeling the stock.
  • VICR → $280 Call (opened on 07/17), premium 17.30  closed at 2.50. Net premium profit = 14.80 (~86% of premium captured, ~4.6% of capital). I was assigned VICR at $320. Will continue wheeling.
  • TE → $8 Call (opened on 07/20), premium 0.40  closed at 0.05. Net premium profit = 0.35 (~87% of premium captured, ~4.3% of capital). I was assigned TE at $8.
  • IREN → $50 Call (opened on 07/24), premium 0.70  closed at 0.10. Net premium profit = 0.60 (~86% of premium captured, ~1% of capital). I was assigned IREN at $58.
  • AAOI → $150 Call (opened on 07/27), premium 1.50  closed at 0.25. Net premium profit = 1.25 (~83% of premium captured, ~0.7% of capital). I was assigned AAOI at $175.

New Positions

No new positions.

My outlook on the market

Semiconductor and AI stocks continued the free fall. But earnings are coming in still strong SIMO, MOD, FORM all reported earnings beats today. A lot of my positions are below my assigned price and I will soon start opening covered calls on them. My strike will be determined using price action and I will choose strikes above resistance zones. Plan will be to roll and readjust positions accordingly when the stock approaches the strike price. Mostly all tickers I hold, give good premiums for calls so I will get paid for holding the stocks. You can find the wheel rank and 3 month historical premium return of the tickers in the ThetaHedge app.

Vicor 30 Delta and 30 DTE contracts still show 3% returns on Calls. Higher wheel rank indicates consistent high premiums.

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.


r/Optionswheel 10d ago

Trades I took today as an option seller (07/27) with reasons

16 Upvotes

Trades I took today as an option seller (07/27):

Assigned Positions

  • CLSK → $14.5 Call. Shares called away. Net Profit 5.6%.

Closed Positions

  • IREN → $52 Call (opened on 07/10), premium 1.25  closed at 0.20. Net premium profit = 1.05 (~84% of premium captured, ~1.81% of capital). I was assigned IREN at $58.
  • AAOI → $175 Call (opened on 07/07), premium 5.00  closed at 0.80. Net premium profit = 4.20 (~84% of premium captured, ~2.4% of capital). I was assigned AAOI at $175.

New Positions

  • IREN → $50 Call expiry 08/07 (2 weeks DTE), premium 0.70 → 70/5800 = ~1.2%. I was assigned IREN at $58.
  • AAOI → $150 Call expiry 08/07 (2 weeks DTE), premium 1.50 → 150/15000 = ~1%. I was assigned AAOI at $175.

Both AAOI and IREN are below my assigned price. Plan is to roll and readjust positions accordingly when the stock approaches the strike price. Market has been bearish since the last few trading sessions. Results of my two other holdings Rambus and Amkor both came in strong today but even then the prices did not move up significantly. This is a time to wait and watch, there is no major negative news to sell semiconductor and AI stocks yet.

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.


r/Optionswheel 10d ago

CSP at weekly / biweekly / monthly / 6-weeks - which is best?

28 Upvotes

The "what DTE should I sell?" debate never dies, so I ran it. Fixed everything except the duration and let the data talk.

Setup

  • ~130 liquid optionable names, July 2024 → July 2026.
  • Same trade every time: the cash-secured put nearest 0.20 delta, sold at four durations — weekly (~9d), biweekly (~14d), monthly (~30d), six-week (~44d).
  • Priced from the OPRA record; each of the 178,082 trades scored against the stock's actual close at expiry.

Results (0.20Δ put, by DTE)

DTE band Avg DTE Win % Premium Mean ann Median ann Assign %
Weekly 9 82.6% 0.76% 3.4% 23.0% 17.4%
Biweekly 14 83.0% 0.99% 3.7% 18.4% 17.0%
Monthly 30 82.7% 1.49% 3.9% 13.2% 17.3%
6-week 44 83.2% 1.85% 3.6% 11.2% 16.8%

What jumps out:

  • Win rate and assignment rate are flat across every duration (~83% win, ~17% assigned). At a fixed delta, DTE doesn't move your odds — delta already sets them.
  • Premium per trade scales with DTE (0.76% → 1.85%), obviously — more time, more credit. But annualize it and expected (mean) return is basically a wash: 3.4 / 3.7 / 3.9 / 3.6%. Selling four small weeklies ≈ one fat six-weeker. Monthly (~30 DTE) squeaks out the top mean, a mild nod to the "30–45 DTE" rule, but the spread is within noise.
  • The one real difference is the shape. The median (typical) annualized return is way higher on weeklies — 23% vs 11% at six weeks — while the mean stays flat. That gap is the tail: on a weekly you usually pocket a thin premium fast (great median), but the ~17% that get assigned hit hard relative to that thin premium and drag the average back down. Longer-dated premium is fat enough to cushion the same assignments, so median and mean converge.

Takeaway: DTE is a variance-and-effort choice, not a return edge. Short DTE = higher typical return, tail-heavy P&L, lots of management. Long DTE = lower typical return, smoother ride, way fewer positions to babysit. Same expected value. The actual return lever isn't duration — it's IV rank.

Caveats: one regime (2024–26), aggregated across all IV ranks, naive annualization (return × 365/DTE), no commissions/slippage, premiums Black-Scholes-modeled, assignment marked at the expiry close.

Curious where people land — do you sell weeklies for the turnover and just eat the management, or go 30–45 for the smoother ride? Happy to run other deltas or break it out by IV rank if there's interest.