How I pick the call (or the put)

No black box. These are the exact rules the scanner runs — tune them, argue with them, or just use them.

Expiry window — same for both scanners

I look 21–45 days out, aiming for about 35. That's enough time for the premium to be worth collecting without tying up your shares (or your cash) for a quarter. If nothing in that window clears my other bars, I'll widen out to 60 days before giving up.

Strike, by delta

I pick the strike by delta, not by a round number. For covered calls, target is about 0.25 (roughly a 25% chance of finishing in the money, loosely speaking), working with anything from 0.20 to 0.30. For cash-secured puts, same appetite mirrored to the downside: target about -0.25, working with |delta| from 0.20 to 0.30. Lower |delta| leaves more room before assignment; higher |delta| pays more now but gets you assigned more often.

Liquidity floor

A great-looking trade is worthless if you can't get filled at a fair price. I require a bid of at least $0.05, open interest of at least 100, and a bid-ask spread inside 15% of the mid during market hours (I loosen that to 30% after the close, since spreads widen naturally overnight).

Earnings

Selling an option into an earnings gap is a different trade than selling one on a quiet chart — I don't make that bet by default, for calls or puts. I prefer an expiry that settles before the next report, and when the chain doesn't offer one, I still show you a pick, but I flag it so you can decide for yourself. ETFs don't report earnings, so this doesn't apply to them.

Price, always at the bid

Every number on this page — premium, breakeven, returns — is priced at the bid: what you'd actually collect selling to open right now. Not the mid, not the ask. If you can't sell it there, it's not a real number.

Questions people actually ask me

What is this thing actually doing?+
It pulls the live (delayed) options chain for the ticker you enter, runs it through a fixed rule set, and hands you one covered call — not a wall of forty rows for you to squint at. You can still override the expiry or strike if you want to see a different contract; the math updates instantly either way.
Why only one pick instead of showing me everything?+
Because “everything” is how people end up staring at an options chain for twenty minutes and picking nothing. I built this the way I’d want it built for me: one defensible, rule-based starting point. Disagree with it? The override panel is right there, and it shows you exactly how your choice stacks up against my rules.
Is this “safe”?+
No covered call is risk-free — you’re still exposed to the stock going down, and you’ve capped your upside above the strike in exchange for the premium. What this tool does is apply a consistent, liquidity-aware process instead of an emotional one. That’s it.
Why does it sometimes skip the DTE or delta I'd expect?+
If nothing in my preferred window clears the liquidity bar — thin open interest, a spread that eats the premium — I widen the search rather than hand you an unfillable quote. When that happens, the pick reason at the top tells you exactly which rule got relaxed and why.
What if it can't find an earnings date?+
I don’t guess. If a reliable free source doesn’t have the next earnings date, the scanner says so plainly: “earnings date unknown, check before trading.” ETFs never show an earnings flag — they don’t report.
How current is the data?+
It’s delayed, not real-time — the timestamp on the result card tells you exactly how old the quote is. Treat every number here as a starting point, and pull up a live quote in your broker before you place anything.
What's “return if unchanged” vs. “return if called away”?+
Return if unchanged assumes the stock sits exactly where it is today through expiration. Return if called away assumes it finishes at or above the strike and your shares get sold. If the strike I picked is already in the money, those two numbers end up the same — see the glossary for why.
What's the difference between the two scanners?+
Covered calls assume you own (or are buying) 100 shares and sell upside for income. Cash-secured puts flip it: you set aside the cash to buy 100 shares at a strike below today’s price, and get paid to wait. Same rule engine underneath — expiry window, delta band, liquidity floor, earnings avoidance — just mirrored for the strategy. Flip between them with the toggle at the top.
Why do I need to enter my email to see the full breakdown?+
The headline pick is always free — ticker, price, the one-line order, premium, delta, and the two return numbers. The charts, the strike/expiry override, the rule-fit panel, and the order tickets unlock once you subscribe. It’s a fair trade: a real, rule-based pick for an email address you can unsubscribe from anytime. Members skip the gate entirely.
Do I need to already own the shares?+
No. The result card shows the order ticket both ways — sell-to-open a single call if you already hold 100 shares, or a buy-write (buy the shares and sell the call together) if you don’t.

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