r/thetagang
Week 26 $502 in premium
Author shares Week 26 options premium and portfolio performance, highlighting 3-year returns that outperform major indices.
- 3-year cumulative return of 146.6% outperforms S&P 500 and Nasdaq.
- Consistent weekly premium generation using cash-secured puts and LEAPS.
I will post a separate comment with a link to the detail behind each option sold this week.
After week 26, the average premium per week is $759 with an annual projection of $39,464.
All things considered, the portfolio is up $9,019 (+2.01%), on the year (S&P 500: +7.43% | Nasdaq: +8.84%). Additionally, the trailing 1-year performance is up $49,046 (+11.97%); for comparison the S&P 500 is +19.75% and the Nasdaq is +25.43% over the same period. This is the overall profit and loss and includes options and all other account activity.
Annual results:
• 2023 up $65,403 (+41.31%) | S&P 500: +26.3% | Nasdaq: +43.4%
• 2024 up $64,610 (+29.71%) | S&P 500: +25.0% | Nasdaq: +28.6%
• 2025 up $111,496 (+34.52%) | S&P 500: +17.9% | Nasdaq: +20.4%
3-Year Cumulative (2023–2025):
• r/ExpiredOptions: +146.6% ($241,509)
• S&P 500: +86.1% (+60.4% behind)
• Nasdaq: +122.0% (+24.5% behind)
Options:
• YTD: $26,205.00
• 1 Month: $7,438.00
• 1 Week: $1,367.00
Realized P&L:
• YTD: $24,617.83
• 1 Month: $2,510.00
• 1 Week: $3,208.00
All options sold are backed by cash, shares, or LEAPS. I do not sell on margin, nor do I sell naked options.
All options and profits stay in the account with few exceptions. This is not my full time job, although I wish it was. I still grind on a 9-5.
My $600 weekly contribution streak is at 18 weeks, but I am pausing new contributions until next month.
The portfolio is comprised of 101 unique tickers, unchanged from 101 last week. These 101 tickers have a value of $416k. I also have 191 open option positions, down from 194 last week. The options have a total value of $43k. The total of the shares and options is $459k. The next goal on the "Road to" is Half a Million.
I'm currently utilizing $37,050 in cash secured put collateral, down from $39,650 last week.
2025 through 2028 LEAPS
In addition to the CSPs and covered calls, I purchase LEAPS. These act as collateral to sell covered calls against. You may have heard of poor man's covered calls (PMCC).
See r/ExpiredOptions for a detailed spreadsheet update on all LEAPS positions including P/L for each individual position.
LEAPS note 1: the 2025 LEAPS expired 1/17/25. They were up $36,440 overall with a 233.74% increase. The major drivers were AMZN and CRWD.
LEAPS note 2: After holding for 2 years, I exercised an AMZN $80 strike from 2023 up +$11,395 (+463.21%) and CRWD $95 strike from 2023, up +$21,830 (+663.53%)
LEAPS note 3: Purchased 1/16/26 CRWD LEAPS for $8,230.03 on 1/17/24. I sold this LEAPS on 6/5/25 for $21,659 for a realized profit of $13,428.97 (+163.18%)
Total premium by year:
• 2023 $23,132 in premium
• 2024 $47,640 in premium
• 2025 $68,319 in premium
• 2026 $19,732 YTD
• Average $46,364/year (completed years)
Premium by month (2026):
• January $3,334
• February $3,625
• March $465
• April $5,593
• May $3,787
• June $2,927
• Average $3,289/month
I am over $163k in total options premium, since 2021. I average roughly $35 per option sold. I have sold over 4k options. I have been able to increase the premiums on an annual basis and I will attempt to keep this upward trend going forward.
Strategy:
The underlying strategy is buy and hold. I also use simple 1-legged options to supplement that strategy. Options have somewhat of a learning curve, but I believe that most people can supplement their investments using simple options with careful risk management.
I sell options on a weekly basis. I prefer cash secured puts and covered calls. I rarely close early, prefer rolling when needed, and let time decay do the heavy lifting while I stay focused on quality companies, patience, and consistency over hype. My goal is consistency in option premium revenue. I am building an income stream that will continue long into retirement.
Spreadsheets:
Unfortunately, I no longer provide spreadsheets. I received too many follow ups about formatting, pivot tables, compatibility etc. I think tracking is very important, but I post to discuss investing and options, not to provide tech support for Excel. I do appreciate the interest in my tracking methods.
Software:
I captured the screen shots from a proprietary software platform I built to track, analyze, and manage my options strategies.
Commissions:
I use Robinhood as a broker and they do not charge explicit commissions, though there is no free lunch — they earn revenue through Payment for Order Flow (PFOF), which can mean slightly less optimal fills. For my style of selling options and not chasing prices, the tradeoff is acceptable. There is also a small regulatory fee of approximately $0.03–$0.04 per contract (FINRA TAF, OCC clearing, and exchange fees combined).
The premiums have increased significantly as my experience has expanded over the last three years.
Make sure to post your wins. I look forward to reading about them!
Disclaimer: I am not a financial advisor. This information is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Trading options involves significant risk.
This is terrible advice and has zero risk management for anyone else reading along.
Please don’t do what this guy says and full port into Quantum Puts.
I have watched enough heads being chopped off in the space sector recently. This is a fast way to take $500k to $250k quickly.
I’ve never seen anyone work so hard to make less than 1% a month.
True, I could do that. Just playing devils advocate, what if quantum takes a dive and half my portfolio is now a falling knife?
You doing some day drinking?
My own portfolio is way smaller but I learned the same lesson, going slow and letting premiums compound is what separates survivors from bag holders.
Are you working with 460k total? So if you sold everything you would have 460k cash? If this is true you can do way more in premiums in CSPs.
Thanks for the comments. I am working with $460k. If I sold everything, I would have an enormous tax bill.
Not sure where I would end up after that overhaul of my current strategy, but it is not just about premiums. Those are secondary to the buy and hold process that I am running.
Except CSPs is all about the premiums though which you are playing. And you’ve had most of these stocks for over a year which would lower your tax burden. So your tax burden is the same regardless.
Not a hater, but this is so much movement for $500 in weekly premiums.
GOOD GOING EXPIRED OPTIONS !!!
Based on your portfolio balance, your weekly contributions and adding in the average 40 year return of the S&P I project your portfolio will hit $1,000,000 in Oct of 2031
I added $500 cash to my accounts this week and have added $13,705 so far in 2026. This continues my weekly deposit streak to 2 years and 51 weeks.
I am DOWN $14,450 (-1.03%) across all accounts this week and have moved a little further away from my 1.5M goal.
May all your holdings be green (or red enough to buy more)
Enjoy your weekend and good luck to all traders next week
We need a table showing how the projected $1,000,000 goal is fluctuating across time.
OP, ignore the haters. You are doing great and I envy your consistency! 💯
Curious if OP you’ve considered wheeling or selling prem on ETF like SPY? Or QQQ? with your size even wheeling ETF would yield more and less risky than picking stocks. I’m sure you’ve been asked before so trying to understand your logic
• 2023 up $65,403 (+41.31%) | S&P 500: +26.3% | Nasdaq: +43.4%
• 2024 up $64,610 (+29.71%) | S&P 500: +25.0% | Nasdaq: +28.6%
• 2025 up $111,496 (+34.52%) | S&P 500: +17.9% | Nasdaq: +20.4%
the real alpha in this portfolio isnt the weekly theta, its the LEAPS. crwd bought for $8,230 and sold for $21,659 in 18 months is a completely different return profile than grinding out $35 premiums across 101 names. both legs work together but its worth knowing which one is actually moving the needle.
お前はもう貧乏だ