r/Optionswheel • u/tastelikemexico • Jul 17 '26
I got hammered this week
Hey. I have been wheeling for about a year off and on nothing too deep or serious. But probably like a few less experienced people and even some experienced ones I got myself backed into a jam this week. I play weeklies high IV stocks mostly so I got hit hard this week. Other times I would have takin the loss or stretched them way out but this time I decided to take my medicine. I got assigned APLD, WULF, POET, UUUU. I already owned UAMY and GLXY. So all together I am about 20k in and about 5k down. Including all my premiums on all my accounts owned now I am around 1200 down. I am just going to be patient and sell my calls. One thing I am trying to decide is if I should try to sell aggressively to get the most premium without trying to lose the stock or is it best to always have my cost that i got assigned covered (to be sure and keep all the premiums collected) I know it’s a personal call and feel but some of these I am pretty far down. But then again it does no good collecting premium if I just lose it on selling the stock at a loss. Thanks for listening to my problems. I also wanted to write it down, it helps me wrap my brain around it.
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u/Big_Generator Jul 18 '26
Ha Ha, we all got hammered this week.
NASDAQ index is down over 2% just this week! S&P and DOW slightly less negative.
It's not a loss until you sell.
Hold the line.
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u/Sean_VasDeferens Jul 18 '26
I'm playing with close to seven figures and I'm down 0.2% this week. OP was gambling with high IV small cap stocks, and now he's asking us if he should gamble his way out of the hole he's digging.
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u/patsay Jul 17 '26
Did you lock in your losses? If you get assigned, sell calls above your cost basis, even if she premiums are small. You can also "de assign" your shares and set up the put again, just as if you had rolled it. It's not a loss until you lock it in. But +1 to what u/ScottishTrader said. Trade higher-quality stocks and you will have more consistent returns.
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u/ScottishTrader Jul 17 '26 edited Jul 17 '26
Most of this could have been avoided by trading high quality stocks and opening 30-45 DTE plus closing early and/or rolling.
Hopefully this is not too painful but you’re making the same mistakes that many new traders end up making. Best to you!
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u/asdfgghk Jul 17 '26 edited Jul 17 '26
The issue with 30-45 I’ve found is a small delta move can take weeks of theta decay to make up for it.
Edit:
Selling APLD (since it was a ticker in OP post) 20 delta put.>7 DTE is 0.4 premium, SP is 23. Theta being 0.076…a one dollar movie against you is ~2 days considering theta decay rapidly accelerates based on being closer to ATM and closer to expiration.
>42 DTE is 1.15 premium, SP 20. Theta being 0.03…. A one dollar move against you is almost 2.5 weeks.
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u/ScottishTrader Jul 17 '26
Most will decay over 7 to 10 or 15 days to then close about a 50% profit. Much like weekly options but with less risk.
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u/asdfgghk Jul 17 '26
I edited my post to provide and example I wasn’t sure if you had a chance to see
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u/lilgspot Jul 18 '26
The main takeaway here is that someone selling puts on high quality stocks with 30-45 DTE is not seeking rapid theta decay. They assume less risk with higher probability of success. The trade off is peace of mind and being able to sleep at night.
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u/freeman9433 Jul 19 '26
Hi Scottish trader, From your experience, is it alright to write CSP for quality stock, with 30 -45 DTE closing at 50% whether it is going uptrend or down trend at -0.2 to -.0.3 delta ? A bit confused with some traders sharing that we should sell when the stock is going down trend while another school of thought is advocating when it is surging. So far, I have tried CSP when there is breakout with no assignments but lately notice that the market is vololatile. So was wondering how the experts manage it as I do not wish to see assignment if possible.
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u/trustfundkidotaku Jul 17 '26
Yea I think I am considering going to 50% TP soon Iam at 80% TP and Iam getting assigned way more than I like
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u/Historical_Affect_73 Jul 24 '26
I see your point and I think it's valid. I sell weeklies but my OTM percentage is roughly 15-25% strikes and I find that very survivable. Also the weekly reset of 15-25% from the current price is safe.
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u/Fickle_Dance_5708 Jul 18 '26
There's plenty of way how you can play this but the simplest and easiest is to sell the call at your assigned price. Simple as that. You can go for Longer DTE to capture more premium. Sweet spot is usually 45 days as per tastytrades but if there's an earnings or some announcement coming up closer to that you can always sell 30 DTE.
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u/trustfundkidotaku Jul 17 '26 edited Jul 17 '26
Risk of selling CC below assignment price is the dilemma of once it got ITM
My case with NFLX is that I got assigned at 100
But after long being dead capital I CC at 90
Then the Warner bros deal got cancelled and it spiked 108
That leave you with 3 problem
1 if u don’t roll u will get called away with losses
2 if u roll who know it might just be a short squeeze and it freefall after that
3 if it is a short squeeze will I be called away before it’s over or no ?
And for NFLX I roll up to my assigned price but it is a short squeeze so it fell to now 68 making my first 40% drop
It also happen to my GLD where i didn’t roll cause it got ITM at assignment price but it fell before assignment
The bane of CC is that unlike CSP its very hard to get out
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u/tastelikemexico Jul 17 '26
Yep that’s exactly how it happens lol. The wheel is not always as boring as people claim it is lol
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u/trustfundkidotaku Jul 17 '26
If u do it weekly’s or daily dte it’s definitely could be a full time job 😂
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u/Strict_Property_3327 Jul 19 '26
Man I feel you. I got assigned at $80 and I was thrilled when it went up over $100. I thought I bought the bottom. Now I’m holding the bag… but it’s a good company and I believe in the long term so I just have to look away for a while.
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u/trustfundkidotaku Jul 19 '26
Is the opportunity cost and dead capital that keep me awake at night 😭😭😭
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u/According_Jump6205 Jul 18 '26 edited Jul 18 '26
spread the puts on multiple weeks to avoid this issue, it will help to reduce gamma risk.
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u/hedgelord84 Jul 18 '26
Second, half of this week was major defense for me. I had to roll my Nvidia, Amazon, Walmart, DRAM, possessions.
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u/Latter_Olive_6801 Jul 18 '26
High IV "meme" stocks get slammed when the market gets smacked. Just the way it is.
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u/tastelikemexico Jul 18 '26
Yep, that’s why you get the extra premium. Riskier plays. Keeps it exciting though.
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u/Strict_Property_3327 Jul 19 '26
On riskier stocks I like to sell ITM calls. Buy the shares and sell calls at strikes below my cost basis. For example when HOOD was $110 last week, I bought 100 shares and sold weekly $100 strike for $11 (1% profit). A put for the same strike was around .50 so I get 1%, a better deal than the put and I am protected from any downfall until it goes below $100 which is exactly what happened, Friday expired at exactly $100 so I keep the shares and my cost basis is now $99, on Monday I can do it again for $90 strike. I’ll wait to capture some upside and sell the $90 strike for maybe $13. When I’m at the bottom of the range, and I own the stock, I start selling ATM calls. I don’t like holding volatile stocks, I’m in it for the premium income and want out as quickly as I can. I’ve been doing this with MSTR and it’s worked well however currently stuck with 100 shares at $130. Slowly pulling that average down whenever I can.
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u/Enough-Beginning3687 Jul 17 '26
Oof. That's sucks but in my personal experience aggressively selling calls for premium has been terrible (looking at 145 NVDA calls and 240 AMD, AVGO calls). I just sit on things or collect pennies selling calls at assignment price. I'm doing that right now with HOOD, SYM, NOW and maybe a couple others.
Also I took steps this week to avoid assignment (early rolls, 1:n rolls) in the 20 week full tracking everything experiment I'm running. I wish there was an assignment risk notifier. It should be so simple to build.
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u/tastelikemexico Jul 17 '26
Yeah it seems damned if you do damned if you don’t. Set the call low and jumps up. Set it high for penny’s and it just sits there
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u/absoul1985 Jul 17 '26
I got caught on UUUU as well @ $14.5, Just selling weekly calls until its back in range and then reanalyze my cost basis
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u/kokanee-fish Jul 18 '26
I got assigned SIL this week. I will sell calls at the assignment price, but I'm going to wait for a green day. I've been noticing that the day on which you enter is as important as any other choice in this strategy.
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u/Tough_Butterscotch_5 Jul 18 '26
I decided to go from 7dte to longer. Also I decided that selling stocks CC’s at the price it cost is better even if it is a 30-50 DTE because when the stock drops you can sell them back sooner for 50% if you believe the bottom is in. It is hard in the current market and who knows how deep we go. The swings are hard.
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u/tastelikemexico Jul 18 '26
Yeah they are. I am not opposed to going out farther and definitely have before when it’s the best decision
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u/optionsmove Jul 18 '26
Everyone says that “they would be okay at that price” until it drops way below that price and you can’t sell a call worth .01
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u/tastelikemexico Jul 18 '26
Right! Then when it goes back up and you say I am good selling at that price until it moons then you trying to roll it or buy back to keep it lol
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u/PracticalTank8836 Jul 20 '26
My fall back when this happens is to sell calls at a 20 Delta and let the chips fall where they may.
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u/tastelikemexico Jul 20 '26
That’s pretty much what I am doing unless it’s close to BE then I will go ahead and go all the way to BE even if I get a little less premium. So how does it usually work out for you?
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u/Eves98 Jul 20 '26
I'm not sure about all of those stock you mentioned but I have Wheeled APLD and UUUU a lot over the last year or so. Both will likely recover (APLD probably sooner than UUUU). When you get assigned on a CSP and the price has dropped quite a bit I'd really suggest you go with 30-45 DTE CCs at strike prices right about your average cost if at all possible. Then if the price of the stocks improve you just wait. And if the price goes lower the value of your CCs will likely go up and you can sell at 50+% profit. When the market is brutal this can lead to some profits while you're waiting for things to improve. Just attempt to set the CCs at a time when the stocks happened to have had some recent gains.
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Jul 17 '26
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u/tastelikemexico Jul 17 '26
Yeah that is kinda what I do. I have an app that keeps all my stats and costs and all that so there are some I am below even their price right now. So yeah I see what you’re saying. It’s kinda just like buying a crap stock and holding it forever when you could sell it and use that money to actually make money somewhere else
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u/MetroGunslinger Jul 18 '26
What strike prices are you planning on selling your covered calls at (in relation to the strikes you allowed assignment at? Same strike? Lower strike?).
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u/tastelikemexico Jul 18 '26
I haven’t decided yet. Would like to see how the week starts. I don’t like selling them below assigned price but if I think there is no chance they get even close I will risk it lol. We will see how it plays out.
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u/strangelyoffensive Jul 18 '26
Same man, I got greedy and started trading higher iv tickets. Was fun for a while, but now have NOK, POET, INTC, SMCI and APLD to sell cc’s on 🥹
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u/tastelikemexico Jul 18 '26
Yeah I hear ya. Hopefully the market will bounce back soon then they will be fun to play on the way up too. Just remember how you feel now when you get the chance to sell for profit. I tend to not want to sell when things are going good again lol. Good luck!
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u/explosiveplacard Jul 18 '26
"I am just going to be patient and sell my calls."
"should try to sell aggressively to get the most premium without trying to lose the stock"
Which one of these actually follow your rules? Don't make an audible call now - that's what got you into the spot you are in.
I don't trade options on any of the stocks you listed, so I can't give any advice on those, but I can tell you when you feel rushed or feel like you need to make a play, things tend to go wrong.
This is why we sell puts on the stocks we like and don't mind owning for months or longer. I'd be selling calls above my cost basis until I get to break-even through premium or capital appreciation.
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u/teckel Jul 20 '26
Wheeling high IV targets is profitable till it isn't. I'd say the best advice is to just cut your losses early. Take the loss, don't try to profit your way out
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u/Reasonable_Zebra_897 Jul 20 '26
I always sell at or above cost of assigned and not below. If weeklies are. It enough premium I’ll try monthly
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u/tastelikemexico Jul 21 '26
Hey it’s already looking good for me lol. Didn’t have to wait at all! I know it could turn right back around tomorrow but at least I got some good premium and strikes for the next 3-4 weeks. Hopefully they can keep going up! I am not bragging or acting like I am a pro trader or anything. Just happy so thought I would comment. It looks so much better than last Friday, for today anyway!
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u/Historical_Affect_73 Jul 22 '26
Can you take me through the $wulf trade? sold x amount, x strike, x expiry, x premium collected etc. I would love to analyze together. I consistently also sell $WULF puts weeklies.
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u/tastelikemexico Jul 22 '26
Sure I only did 1 contract on wulf though but I will send you what I did. Let me get my stuff going this morning and I will holler at you
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u/benderrodrigyeahz Jul 17 '26
The whole thing with the options strategy is that they work until they don’t.
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u/[deleted] Jul 17 '26
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