How this tool works
How to use this scanner
- Pick a ticker you would be willing to own. A cash-secured put is an offer to buy 100 shares per contract at the strike.
- Enter the ticker in the box above. The scan runs in the frame.
- Choose the put side or the call side. Puts are cash-secured. Calls are covered against shares you already hold.
- Read the output. The scanner scores the contract against defined-risk inputs from The Premium Collector.
- Check strike, expiration, premium, and capital at risk. Those four numbers are the trade. The score is a summary, not a fifth fact.
- Check liquidity. A wide bid-ask spread taxes you going in and coming out.
- If the tape does not agree, do nothing. Passing is a position. Leave a margin so one bad week does not end the account.
- For the method, read the book. Titles are on the books page. Who writes them is on About.
How the score works
The score is a compact readout of a few inputs. It is not a recommendation, not a prediction, and not a signal service. It does not know your account.
Implied volatility relative to its own recent range. Premium is mostly a price on expected movement. When that price sits high in its own history, this ticker’s options are expensive compared with their own tape. Days to expiration and distance from the last print are cushion. A near strike pays more and asks you to act sooner.
Premium as a percentage of capital at risk. For a cash-secured put that capital is roughly strike times 100 per contract. A $150 credit on $10,000 posted is 1.5%. Annualizing that number is arithmetic, not destiny. Liquidity is bid, ask, and open interest. A pretty yield on a dead contract is a quote you cannot trade.
Taken together, those inputs ask a narrow question: is this a decent moment, on this tape, to collect this premium at this strike, with defined risk. A high score is not an order. A low score is not a ban. If you want a freedom number instead of a ticker, use the Practice by Choice planner.
A worked example, cash-secured put
Hypothetical only. Ticker XYZ at $100. No fees, taxes, slippage, or earnings. Arithmetic on round numbers. Not a live name.
You sell one 30-day put struck at 95. Premium $1.50. Credit $150. Cash secured is $95 × 100, or $9,500. That cash is the purchase money if assigned.
If it expires worthless you keep $150. That is 150 / 9,500, about 1.58% in 30 days. Times 365/30, about 19% annualized. That figure assumes you can repeat the same credit. You often cannot. If assigned, you buy at $95. The $150 credit lowers effective cost basis to $93.50 before fees and taxes. Nothing here says XYZ is cheap or next.
A worked example, covered call
Same hypothetical. You own 100 shares of XYZ at a $100 cost basis. You sell one 30-day call struck at 105. Premium $1.20. Credit $120. That is rent on shares you already posted.
If it expires worthless you keep the shares and $120, which is 1.2% of $10,000 in 30 days, about 15% annualized, with the same caveat. If the shares are called away you sell at $105. Add $1.20 and proceeds are $106.20 per share before fees and taxes. If XYZ prints $120, the shares still leave at $105. Selling a covered call sells the upside above the strike. That is the trade, not a footnote.
What this tool will not do
It will not tell you what to buy or sell. It will not time the market. It does not know your taxes, account size, other positions, or risk tolerance. It cannot see a pending earnings surprise. It does not place orders. It is not a broker or an investment adviser.
Options can lose money, including the full capital posted on a cash-secured put if the stock goes to zero. Read the OCC document on characteristics and risks of standardized options before you use a live account. Then talk to your own licensed help.
Glossary
- Cash-secured put
- A short put with cash set aside to buy 100 shares per contract if assigned.
- Covered call
- A short call against shares you already own. Upside above the strike is capped.
- Premium
- The option’s price. For a seller, income collected when the contract opens, before fees and taxes.
- Strike price
- The exercise price. A put seller may buy there. A call seller may sell shares there.
- Expiration
- The date the contract ends. An out-of-the-money option that expires is worthless.
- Assignment
- The seller must honor the contract. A put seller buys the shares. A call seller delivers them.
- Delta
- A rough measure of how the option moves with the stock. Not a probability guarantee.
- Implied volatility
- The market’s price of expected movement, baked into the premium.
- IV rank
- Where today’s implied volatility sits in its own recent range for this ticker.
- Theta
- How fast the option cheapens as time passes, all else equal.
- The wheel
- Sell cash-secured puts until assigned, then covered calls until called away. A workflow, not a promise.
- Bid-ask spread
- The gap between bids and offers. A wide spread is a silent fee.
- Open interest
- Contracts still open. Thin open interest often means a hard exit.
- Annualized return
- Premium over capital at risk, scaled to a year. It assumes you can repeat the trade.
- Cost basis
- What you paid for the shares, adjusted for premium, before fees and taxes.
Questions
- Is this free?
- Yes. The scanner is free. No account. No signup. Educational only.
- Do you store my data?
- Tickers you type are not saved as an account or a portfolio. There is no login. The privacy policy describes what a server may log, such as pages viewed and approximate region.
- What is a good annualized return to target?
- There is no universal target. Higher premium usually means more risk, a closer strike, shorter time, or richer implied volatility. The score summarizes a few inputs. It does not pick a return for you.
- What happens if I get assigned?
- On a cash-secured put, assignment means you buy 100 shares per contract at the strike. The cash you set aside is the purchase money. On a covered call, assignment means your shares are sold at the strike. Premium already collected stays yours, minus fees and taxes in a real account.
- Can I run this in a retirement account?
- Many brokerage IRAs allow covered calls and cash-secured puts. Rules vary by custodian. This site is not your broker and cannot approve an account type.
- Is this financial advice?
- No. The scanner is an educational calculator. It is not a recommendation to buy or sell any security. It is not a broker and not an investment adviser.
- Where do I learn the full method?
- Read The Premium Collector. The scanner is the companion tool for that book, not a replacement for it.
The method is in The Premium Collector on Amazon.