Tips for selling puts?

Thank you for the continued replies and advice. Cvds16, I am insure, you say you blew up big, is that positive or negative? Do you no longer sell puts? I'm attracted to this strategy as I only have to be correct in one aspect, I just need the sp to stay above the strike as the exp date approaches, and if I get assigned, then at least I have something to show for it as a result.

Luckyfnlou, currently I am holding AUL, C, INO, EAT, CVM, MAR, and GSX. I initiated all of these two weeks ago, and will exp this coming Friday. Truth be told, I know little to nothing about these stocks, some are recommendations from a guy I follow on ST (stocktwits) but most are from the naked puts screener on barcharts.com. luckily, I'm looking good on all of them, I may even buy some long term calls on some of these names as I've since familiarized myself, with them, since I initiated them.
 
I forgot, I also sold two ZYNE puts at the same time. However, the sp dropped 50% like two days later putting the sp well below my strike, so I bought them back for an $80 loss, oh well. Furthermore, Initially I sold two AUL puts, but bought one back yesterday morning for a $65 loss because it had tanked hard the day before. Of course it recovered after that.
 
artvandaley said:
Hey Guys,

For the last two months I've focused on selling puts as a way to make money in an account that is almost all cash. I've done quite well so far, mainly selling on Mondays or Tuesdays on puts expiring that Friday, but I've also had success on further out expirations, however, currently I feel more comfortable not holding over the weekend. Initially I only used stocks I was familiar with, but in an attempt to gain higher premiums (I like using Barcharts) I began using companies I previously didn't follow, and that's where I ended up buying back some contracts at a loss because the underlying dropped to or below the strike. I'm not entirely opposed to being assigned, it's just not part of my plan at this time.

Anyway, I need to:

(1) Fine tune my strategy, mainly I need to decide on which expirations I want to use on a regular basis, with some exceptions of course.

(3) Is there a particular day that you like to initiate this strategy?

(2) Do most of you hold until the put expires worthless, or do you intend to buy them back at a predetermined % gain?

Any other guidelines that come to mind?

Thanks!
More...
Be very careful selling puts, especially if you use margin, you can be fooled by randomness.
 
Hey Ironchef, thanks for stopping by. These are all cash secured, and agreed, lots of randomness to be expected. Perhaps I'm imagining this, but a majority of the replies here seem to have a negative vibe to them.
 
I only like C. Selling naked puts less risky than buying the stock I suppose. Wheel strategy would have you put to I believe so why buy back at a loss?

Buying calls in this market is a sure winner... until it isn't. I'd rather see you spend time learning option strategies that aren't negative theta before you start buying premium on companies you don't know well. Still, it's your money and you should do whatever you want with it. I like your enthusiasm for options. I wish you well in making some coin.

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Thank you Luckyfnlou, that was super cool of you to provide those charts! Yeah, I'm really into trying my hand with options. I don't necessarily mind losing some $ here and there, as long as I can learn from it, then it's worth my time and effort. That's why I started this thread, I like the strategy, but I need to streamline things, mainly with regards to expirations, as I am currently choosing them at random.

I've been experimenting with options for 1.5 years now. Started buying calls, then shifted to call spreads, then to calendar spreads (All bullish) back to buying calls and now selling puts, I no longer deal with spreads. Options wise, I currently hold long term calls in F, BMY, IMMU, and TGTX, but I do have my eye on C and FCX and would like to get back into V if it ever drops back into the $150's - $160's. Been so busy with the puts, I haven't focused on buying anything lately.
 
artvandaley said:
I've been experimenting with options for 1.5 years now. Started buying calls, then shifted to call spreads, then to calendar spreads (All bullish) back to buying calls and now selling puts, I no longer deal with spreads. Options wise, I currently hold long term calls in F, BMY, IMMU, and TGTX, but I do have my eye on C and FCX and would like to get back into V if it ever drops back into the $150's - $160's. Been so busy with the puts, I haven't focused on buying anything lately.
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I know I told folks to be careful writing options and that writing options is not an edge. But if you know what you are doing, writing options can be profitable. Here is an article as food for thought:

http://www.riverparkfunds.com/Data/Sites/17/media/docs/news/Structural_Alpha_White_Paper_Final.pdf

Hope you will find your niche.
 
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