When we sell cash-secured puts, we are seeking to generate cash flow or to buy securities at a discount. It is generally written that the maximum return for these trades is the put premium. This article will demonstrate how multiple income streams can be achieved by implementing our exit strategy arsenal and, thereby, achieve higher […]

Rolling-Up Our Cash-Secured Put Trades: A Real-Life Example with Etsy, Inc. (Nasdaq: ETSY)
Posted on December 31, 2022 by Alan Ellman in Exit Strategies, Investment Basics, Option Trading Basics, Options Calculations, Options Trade Execution, Put-selling, Stock Option Strategies

Exercising Call Options to Capture Dividends: A Reasonable Action or Investor Error?
Posted on December 24, 2022 by Alan Ellman in Covered Call Exit Strategies, Exit Strategies, Investment Basics, Option Trading Basics, Options Calculations, Options Trade Execution, Stock Investing, Stock Option Strategies
Dividend capture is the main reason for early exercise of our covered call writing trades. More specifically, ex-dividend dates are the times most susceptible to early exercise and having our shares sold at the strike price. This article will analyze the profitability or lack thereof of taking such action. On July 3, 2022, Graham shared […]

Calculating Mid-Contract Put-Selling Trade Status + A New Covered Call Writing Strategy Coming Soon
Posted on December 17, 2022 by Alan Ellman in Exit Strategies, Investment Basics, Option Trading Basics, Options Calculations, Options Trade Execution, Put-selling, Stock Option Strategies
After entering our put-selling trades, we can calculate the current status of our trades mid-contract with a few simple entries into our Trade Management Calculator. In this article, a real-life cash-secured put example with Bristol-Myers Squibb Comp. (NYSE: BMY) will be highlighted. Hypothetical examples of winning and losing trades will be detailed on the spreadsheet. […]

Calculating Mid-Contract Covered Call Writing Trade Status: A Real-Life Example with Bristol-Myers Squibb Comp. (NYSE: BMY)
Posted on December 10, 2022 by Alan Ellman in Covered Call Exit Strategies, Exit Strategies, Investment Basics, Option Trading Basics, Options Calculations, Options Trade Execution, Stock Option Strategies
After entering our covered call writing and put-selling trades, we can calculate the current status of our trades mid-contract with a few simple entries into our Trade Management Calculator. In this article, a real-life covered call writing example with BMY will be highlighted. Hypothetical examples of closing winning and losing trades mid-contract will be detailed […]

The Significance of Breakeven When Constructing Our Poor Man’s Covered Call (PMCC) Trades: A Real-Life Example with International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM)
Posted on November 26, 2022 by Alan Ellman in Investment Basics, Option Trading Basics, Options Calculations, Options Trade Execution, Stock Option Strategies
The PMCC Strategy involves buying LEAPS call options (expirations 1 – 2 years out) and selling short-term call options against the long position. The technical term is a long call diagonal debit spread. In our BCI methodology, the trade construction must meet a required trade initialization formula where the difference between the 2 strikes + […]

Entering and Adjusting Our Covered Call Trades Using the BCI Trade Management Calculator: A Real-Life Example with WBA
Posted on November 19, 2022 by Alan Ellman in Covered Call Exit Strategies, Exit Strategies, Investment Basics, Option Trading Basics, Options Calculations, Options Trade Execution, Stock Option Strategies
Entering, managing and archiving our covered call writing and put-selling trades are critical to our overall success as well as allowing us to learn and benefit from our investment history. To demonstrate how to achieve a high level of organization and management of our trades, this article will highlight a real-life series of trades with […]

20%/10% Guidelines: “Hitting a Double” in the Same Day: A Real-Life Example with Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR (NYSE: XLP)
Posted on November 12, 2022 by Alan Ellman in Covered Call Exit Strategies, Exit Strategies, Investment Basics, Option Trading Basics, Options Trade Execution, Stock Option Strategies
After entering our covered call writing trades, we immediately enter our 20%/10% BTC (buy-to-close), GTC (good-until-cancelled) limit orders. If and when these thresholds are reached (resulting from share price decline) are short calls will be closed (bought back). At that point, we can plan our next steps to mitigate losses or turn losses into gains. […]

Why Did Option Value Decline After Stock Price Accelerated? A Real-Life Example with United Health Group Inc. (NYSE: UNH)
Posted on November 4, 2022 by Alan Ellman in Investment Basics, Option Trading Basics, Options Calculations, Options Trade Execution, Stock Option Strategies
We, as covered call writers and sellers of cash-secured puts, are on the sell-side of options. Every so often, I receive interesting emails with educational value from members who buy options. On 4/21/2022, Kevin shared with a trade he executed with UNH where share value went higher after purchasing a call option, but the value […]

Evaluating Pre- and Post-Market Opening Calculations; A Real-Life Example with The Simply Good Foods Company: (Nasdaq: SMPL)
Posted on October 29, 2022 by Alan Ellman in Investment Basics, Option Trading Basics, Options Calculations, Options Trade Execution, Stock Option Strategies
Preparing for our initial covered call writing and cash-secured put trades starts pre-market. After developing a watchlist of eligible securities, we turn to the option-chains to determine if initial time-value returns align with our stated goals. Market-makers will be a bit hesitant to publish bid-ask spreads that are in our best interest until they can […]

How to Select the Best Covered Call Writing Strikes in Bear & Volatile Markets
Posted on October 22, 2022 by Alan Ellman in Investment Basics, Option Trading Basics, Options Calculations, Options Trade Execution, Stock Option Strategies
Option selection is the 2nd of the 3 required skills for achieving the highest possible returns when writing covered calls or selling cash-secured puts. Option decisions include strike and expiration date choices. This article will focus in on strike selection for covered call writing in bear and volatile market where we take defensive positions that […]
Podcast
- 99. Anatomy of a Reverse Stock Split
- 98. Analyzing LEAPS Options for the Poor Man's Covered Call
- 97. Managing Our Poor Man's Covered Call Trades When Share Price Drops Substantially
- 96. Protecting Our Covered Call Trades: Protective Puts and In-the-Money Strikes
- 95. Covered Call Writing to Generate Premium and Dividend Income
- 94. Covered Call Writing Net Debit Limit Orders
- 93. WHEN CALL STRIKES MOVE DEEP ITM EARLY IN A CONTRACT
- 92. Selling Deep OTM Cash-Secured Puts to Create High-Probability Returns
- 91. Portfolio Overwriting Analyzed
- 90. Entering a Collar Trade
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Beginners Corner Enhanced & Updated
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Beginners Corner Selling-Puts
- Lesson 1: What Is Puts Selling?
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- Lesson 5:puts-selling-Calculating Returns
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