The Options Income Playbook: Wheel, CSPs, and Covered Calls

Run the wheel like a professional. Strike selection, IV-rank filters, assignment management, and the rolling decision tree.

The wheel framework

• Cash-secured put → assignment → covered call → assignment → repeat: the mechanics with worked annual returns
• Underlying selection: liquidity, IV rank, dividend impact, business quality — the 8-filter screener
• Why most wheelers blow up: the three setups to avoid and the one mistake that turns income into capital loss

Strike + DTE selection

• Delta-based strike selection: 0.16, 0.30, 0.40 deltas — what to use in which IV regime
• DTE choice: 30-45 vs. 7-14 vs. weeklies — total return, theta capture, and assignment frequency
• IV rank screening: when premiums are rich enough to sell and when to stand down

Rolling decision tree

• When to roll for credit, when to take assignment, when to close at 50% profit
• Roll up-and-out vs. roll out-and-down: the 4-quadrant decision framework
• The 21-DTE rule: why most pros mechanically manage at 21 days regardless of profit

Portfolio level

• Position sizing for income portfolios: notional exposure, concentration limits, sector overlap
• Hedging the tail: cheap OTM puts vs. VIX call spreads vs. doing nothing
• Tax efficiency: short-term vs. long-term, qualified covered calls, and the wash-sale traps wheelers walk into