Why selling options beats buying them for consistent income
Most people who try options trading start by buying calls and puts. And most of them lose money. There's a better way: instead of buying options, sell them. This is called premium selling, and it's the foundation of consistent options income.
Think about a casino. Every game is designed so the house has a small edge. They don't win every hand, but over thousands of hands, the math works in their favor.
When you buy options, you're the gambler. You need to be right about direction AND timing. The odds are stacked against you.
When you sell options, you're the house. You collect premium upfront, and time decay works in your favor. You don't need to be right about everything, just avoid being catastrophically wrong.
When you sell an option, you receive money immediately. This is called the premium. It's yours to keep no matter what happens.
In exchange for this premium, you take on an obligation:
If the option expires worthless (out of the money), you keep the entire premium with no further obligation. This is the goal of premium selling.
Options lose value over time. This is called theta decay, and it's the premium seller's best friend.
Every day that passes, the option you sold is worth a little less. If you sold it for $2.00, it might be worth $1.50 a few days later, even if the underlying stock hasn't moved. That $0.50 difference is profit you can lock in by buying it back, or you can wait for expiration and keep the full $2.00.
Option buyers fight against theta decay. Option sellers profit from it.
Here's something most people don't realize: options are priced to give the seller an edge.
Studies consistently show that implied volatility (what options are priced at) tends to overstate actual volatility (what actually happens). This means options are generally overpriced.
When you sell overpriced options, you capture this "volatility risk premium." It's a structural edge that exists because option buyers are willing to pay for insurance and lottery tickets.
A credit spread involves selling one option and buying another further out of the money. This limits your risk while collecting premium.
Credit spreads are the bread and butter of premium selling. They have defined risk, making them suitable for smaller accounts.
An iron condor combines a put credit spread and a call credit spread on the same underlying. You profit if the stock stays within a range.
Selling puts without protection. Higher risk, but simpler and more premium collected. Requires larger accounts and margin approval.
When you buy options, three things work against you:
Getting all three right is hard. That's why studies show that 60-80% of options held to expiration expire worthless. The buyers lose, the sellers win.
Premium selling isn't without risk. You can still lose money, especially if you:
The key is position sizing and trade selection. Small, consistent gains compound over time. Avoid the temptation to reach for bigger premiums that come with bigger risks.
You might have heard that selling options has "unlimited risk." This is technically true for naked calls, but it's misleading.
In practice:
We focus on SPX and XSP options specifically because they diversify across 500 stocks and have favorable tax treatment.
If you're new to premium selling:
Premium selling won't make you rich overnight. But it can generate consistent income month after month, year after year.
The traders who succeed are the ones who:
If you're tired of the options lottery and want a more methodical approach, premium selling is worth learning.
We send weekly trade signals using premium selling strategies on SPX and XSP. Every trade is posted with full transparency, wins and losses. See exactly how we turn time decay into consistent income.
Join Now →