The Poor Man’s Covered Call (PMCC) is a covered call writing-like strategy where deep in-the-money LEAPS options (1–2-year expirations) are purchased and short-term out-of-the-calls are sold against the long calls. It is a low-cost way to enter a covered call trade, but it is so much more than simply “covered call writing, but cheaper”.
Technical term
- Long call diagonal debit spread
- Simultaneous purchase and sale of an equal number of call contracts on the same stock but with different strikes and expiration dates
- Goal is to generate income as we reduce the cost-basis
Pros & Cons of the PMCC
***Screenshot from the book, Covered Call Writing Alternative Strategies.
Real-Life Example: Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC): $43.34 on 3/9/2026:
Buy the $37.00 1/21/2028 LEAPS at $17.85
INTC: Short Call Selection
STO 4/10/2026 $55.00 call at $0.58
INTC Calculations with the BCI PMCC Calculator
- The red bold “YES” means that, if the trade is closed early due to significant share price appreciation, it will be closed at a profit
- The initial 32-day return is 3.25%, 65.32% annualized
- The upside potential is 68.57%
- The max annualized return is 782.14%
- The breakeven price is $54.27
- The max loss is $17.27
Discussion
- The PMCC is a covered call writing-like strategy with pros and cons
- Must master all the “moving parts” and then decide if this is an appropriate strategy for our goals and personal risk-tolerances
- Like traditional covered call writing, mastering the 3-required skills (stock selection, option selection & position management) is essential to generate the highest long-term returns
Stock Investing for Students: A Plan to Get Rich Slowly and Retire Young
Self-investing starting at a young age can ensure a successful financial future and an early and comfortable retirement. So why is nobody doing this? The answer includes such factors as the social pressures facing our youth, certain pre-conceived ideas regarding our ability to successfully self-invest and the education or lack thereof needed to motivate our youth to undertake such a long-term project.
Your generous testimonials
Over the years, the BCI community has been incredibly gracious by sending our BCI team email testimonials sharing stories as to what our educational content has meant to their families. Moving forward, we have decided to publish several of these testimonials in our blog articles. We will never use a last name unless given permission:
Alan,
New Quasar Markets Interview Video
1. MoneyShow Masters Symposium Las Vegas
Tuesday July 21, 2026
Caesars Palace Hotel, Las Vegas
Title: The Put-Call-Put (PCP) or Wheel Strategy
Subtitle: Generating cash flow & buying shares at a discount using covered call writing and cash-secured puts
Description:
Selling stock options is a proven way to lower our cost-basis and beat the market on a consistent basis. Two such low-risk strategies are covered call writing and selling cash-secured puts. This presentation will detail how to incorporate both strategies into one multi-tiered option-selling strategy where we either generate cash-flow or buy stock at a discount. I refer to this as the Put-Call-Put (PCP) Strategy, also referred to as the wheel strategy.
The basics and pros and cons are discussed as well as a real-life example and introduction into the BCI Trade Management Calculator (TMC). This seminar is appropriate for those who look to generate modest, but repeatable, returns which will enable us to beat the market on a consistent basis while focusing on capital preservation.
2. Mad Hedge Investor Summit
Wednesday September 16, 2026
12 PM ET – 1 PM ET
The Collar Strategy: Covered Call Writing with Protective Puts
Protecting covered call trades from catastrophic share loss
Protect our covered call trades by purchasing protective puts. This results in lower risk transactions, with lower, but still significant option returns. This is the strategy Bernie Madoff pretended to use. He called it the split strike conversion strategy, but it was simply a collar. The covered call sets a max gain and the protective put guarantees a maximum loss.
Topics discussed
- What is the collar strategy?
- Uses for the collar
- Entering a collar trade
- Option basics for calls
- Option basics for puts
- Real-life example with NVDA
- What is an option-chain?
- Real-life example using the BCI Trade Management Calculator (TMC)
- Strategy pros & cons
- Event offer
- Q&A
Registration link to follow.
3. Toronto Money Show
September 24 – 25, 2026
MaRS Center, Toronto Canada
4. Orlando Money Show
October 5 – 7, 2026
Hilton Orlando Lake Buena Vista
Details to follow.
5. American Association of Individual Investors: NYC Chapter
Date and time to be confirmed.
6. Triple Edge Investing Summit: Technical Analysis • Options Strategies • ETF Mastery
Saturday January 23, 2027- All-day event
Zoom presentation
All-day paid event
All-day event hosted by 3 experts:
- Dr. Alan Ellman (options)
- Dr. Eric Wish (technical analysis)
- Les Masonson (ETFs)
Hosted by TraderLion University
Details to follow.
