I sell predominantly 1-month options when selling covered calls. This decision was NOT based on anything I read or was told, but rather on experience and common sense. Most stocks with options have at least four expiration cycles affiliated with them at any point in time…the current month, the next month and two more months further […]

Covered Call Writing: The Case For 1-Month Options
Posted on March 30, 2013 by Alan Ellman in Investment Basics, Option Trading Basics, Options Calculations, Stock Option Strategies

Open Interest and Volume plus Non-Standard Options
Posted on June 9, 2012 by Alan Ellman in Option Trading Basics
As covered call writers, we have all looked at options chains. That’s where we determine how much cash will be generated into our accounts when we sell our options. It’s fun! We first inspect the current price of the underlying security (stock or ETF). Then we check out the closest strike prices (I-T-M, A-T-M and […]

Covered Call Writing- Using the Multiple Tab of the Ellman Calculator
Posted on March 10, 2012 by Alan Ellman in Options Calculations
Selling stock options is all about generating a cash flow. Calculating our initial profit, the potential for more profit (upside potential) and the protection of our initial profit (downside protection as opposed to breakeven of the entire position) is critical in making the most educated investment decisions. Accessing this information from the “Multiple Tab” of […]

Mid-Contract Unwind Exit Strategy: A Real Life Example
Posted on February 25, 2012 by Alan Ellman in Covered Call Exit Strategies
To maximize our covered call writing profits it is critical to take advantage of our exit strategy opportunities. Last week I posted a few comments regarding the mid-contract unwind exit strategy and received several emails asking for more information about the trade I alluded to. In this week’s article I will walk through the steps […]

Covered Call Writing Using The Blue Collar Methodology
Posted on February 11, 2012 by Alan Ellman in Option Trading Basics, Stock Option Strategies
Fundamental analysis, technical analysis, common sense principles and calculations are all critical considerations when selling stock options the Blue Collar way. Since this is my first article written on our newly enhanced web site (hope you like it!) I thought it appropriate to use a real-life example to review the basic tenets of our BCI […]

Strike Price Selection- A Critical Covered Call Decision
Posted on December 31, 2011 by Alan Ellman in Stock Option Strategies
Covered call writing requires a logical sequence of stock and option decisions. Once we have screened our stocks to locate the greatest performing stocks in the greatest performing industries we must make a decision as to which strike price to use. Our choices include: in-the-money at (near)-the-money out-of-the-money Let’s look at the options chain for […]

The Case for 1-Month Options
Posted on November 26, 2011 by Alan Ellman in Options Calculations
I sell predominantly one-month options. This decision was NOT based on anything I read or was told, but rather on experience and common sense. Most stocks with options have at least four expiration cycles affiliated with them at any point in time…the current month, the next month and two more months further out based on […]
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- 104. Special 1 Time Dividends and Contract Adjustments
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- 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
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