Same. Like you I've mostly short premium positions to my advantage successfully for about 4 years now, having been active in the markets and through the school of hard knocks prior to that. Literally thousands of trades, statistically increasingly highly unlikely to be down to random chance. (And to be clear, this is not just blindly selling naked puts everywhere at any time, nor does this employ excessive leverage, both of which is deadly when indiscriminately applied.) Mostly I try to keep a neutral bias, of course sometimes I however can have a directional assumption or a bias, depending on the underlying and what might be happening in the markets. And of course sometimes your directional bias doesn't work out (though sometimes it luckily does.) In any case, that isn't the primary driver of returns and is just just gravy on top when it does work out. Like you I've also had to trade through some real stinkers in terms of having to manage adverse moves (and a bankruptcy - SUNE:
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which was a total loss, only $650 or so thankfully, so it's been inconsequential. "Trade small, trade often"). GMCR. LULU. MU. SBRY. CMG. HTZ. YELP. YOKU. And yet despite these, I've done quite well thank you very much.
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I don't claim this is any kind of silver bullet (
there is of course is not such thing, and anyone who claims there is, is just another bullshitter.) But, there seems to be a real edge in premium selling (implied volatility overstating realised in the main) and as far as I'm concerned it can serve and is useful as a reasonably durable and regularly occuring edge in your toolbox, which when carefully and suitably employed during appropriate market and underlying conditions can serve to keep the probability of profit on your side when you construct positions or trades. My $0.02 worth anyway. Make of that what you will.
SP500 CAGR is about 13.7% for the last 4 years, you are doing about 5% better.