Options income education
Covered calls and cash-secured puts, taught with the numbers in front of you.
OptionLeo is a free education site for investors who want steady option premium from stocks they already own or want to own. Model any trade in seconds, then follow a 7-day plan to run the wheel strategy on your own portfolio with defined risk.
Covered call yield, quick check
Full calculatorEducational example. Before commissions and taxes; assumes the stock stays below the strike.
Strategies
Four options income strategies, one learning path
Start with the strategy that fits your account, then progress. Every strategy page includes a plain-English explanation, a worked example and its own calculator.
Covered calls
Sell a call against 100 shares you already own and collect the premium as monthly income.
Learn covered calls →If you hold cashCash-secured puts
Get paid while you wait to buy a stock at the price you actually want to pay for it.
Learn cash-secured puts →Combine bothWheel strategy
Rotate between puts and calls so every stage of owning a stock produces premium.
Learn the wheel →AdvancedPoor man's covered call
Run covered calls with a long-dated option instead of shares, using far less capital.
Learn the PMCC →Free calculators
Check every number yourself
The calculators behind the guide. Nothing to sign up for, nothing stored, everything runs in your browser.
Covered call calculator
Premium yield, breakeven, max profit and annualized return across strikes and expirations.
Cash-secured put calculator
Cash required, effective purchase price if assigned and return on the cash you set aside.
Wheel strategy simulator
Walk a stock through put, assignment and call cycles and see total premium collected.
Poor man's covered call calculator
Compare a LEAPS covered call to owning shares outright, capital for capital.
Earnings risk checker
See whether an earnings date lands inside your option and what that does to premium.
Daily income board
Five worked example positions updated daily so you can see the strategies in context.
Free 7-day guide
Your first covered call in seven days, one lesson a day
From zero to a fully modeled first trade. Short daily emails, each with one concept and one calculator exercise.
- How option premium is priced and why sellers get paid
- Picking a stock you would be happy to own or sell
- Choosing a strike and expiration that fit your goal
- Cash-secured puts and the effective purchase price
- Covered calls and what assignment really means
- Connecting them into the wheel
- Earnings dates, position sizing and the risk checklist
One email a day for seven days, then occasional new calculators and articles. Unsubscribe anytime.
About the author
Taught by someone who has had to answer for the numbers
Deepak Middha spent 18 years inside hedge funds before writing Option Trading Cash Flow in 7 Days. OptionLeo is where he teaches income options the way an accountant approaches them: cash in, risk defined, taxes considered.
FAQ
Options income questions, answered plainly
What is a covered call?
You own at least 100 shares of a stock and sell a call option against them. You collect the premium as income. In return, you agree to sell your shares at the strike price if the stock rises above it by expiration.
What is a cash-secured put?
You sell a put option and set aside enough cash to buy 100 shares at the strike price. You keep the premium. If the stock drops below the strike, you buy the shares at a lower price than where they were trading when you sold the put.
How does the wheel strategy work?
Sell cash-secured puts until you are assigned shares, then sell covered calls on those shares until they are called away, then start again with puts. Each turn of the wheel collects premium.
How much can you earn selling covered calls?
It depends on the stock's volatility, the strike and the time to expiration. Many income traders target roughly 1 to 3 percent of the stock's value per month, but higher yields come with more assignment and drawdown risk. The covered call calculator lets you model your own numbers.
Is selling options safer than buying them?
Not automatically. Covered calls and cash-secured puts are the lower-risk end of options because you either own the shares or hold the cash. The main risk is the stock itself falling. Naked selling without shares or cash is a different, much riskier activity that OptionLeo does not teach.
Model your first income trade today
Start with the 7-day guide, check every number in the free calculators, and book a call when you want a second pair of eyes on your plan.