9 Best CSP Selections and the Implementation Playbook for This Week

$15,062 Banked

Sep 11, 2025

∙ Paid

Markets gave us both sides of the coin this week.

We banked strong early exits in dozens of contracts - AAPL, MSFT, META, SNAP - all locking in +70% to +100% profits. That’s $15,062 in realized profits, with margin freed for the next round of opportunities.

On the flip side, discipline also meant taking losses.

TSLA, IBM, and NVDA breached stop-loss levels and were closed at − 100%. Painful, yes - but by cutting them fast, we protected the profit buffer and kept the portfolio net positive.

The focus this week: defense is offense. Each disciplined exit preserves capital, while every winner closed early accelerates the income snowball.

In Today’s Issue of The Multiplier:

💵 $15,062 locked in - rules to book profits, free margin, and repeat it in your own account.

🛡️ Cutting TSLA, IBM, NVDA - explaining disciplined exits and protecting your paycheck.
💵 Trades raging up to $900 per contract - from safe Tier 1 setups to high-octane plays, all with fat cushions and clear yields.
🧭 Full Management Plan for the Week - step-by-step rules for every open VADER trade: when to harvest, when to roll, when to walk away.
⏱️ Catalyst Roadmap - Sep 18’s triple cluster (jobless claims, Philly Fed, TIPS auction) and how to pre-position before the volatility hits.

But before we dive into trades and management plans, let’s ground ourselves in the system we use week after week.

Every Thursday and Sunday, I run VADER through the option chains of 3,217 stocks. Out of all that noise, it delivers a short, ranked list of only the cleanest setups — organized into three tiers: Conservative, Balanced, Aggressive.

This allows us to determine exactly where the safest income is this week.

Then comes the Live Trading Lab

Every single trade VADER recommends I track in the public model portfolio. That means you can follow the entire process, start to finish.

You see the entries, you see the exits, you see what happens when a trade drifts too close for comfort.

Some weeks, I’m holding most of the list myself. Other weeks, maybe just two or three names.

The point isn’t to copy me.
The point is to see the management play out in real time.

From my mentorship experience, that’s the fastest way to learn.

Watching over the shoulder of a professional trader is like learning to fish: you see the patterns, the timing, the rules in motion.

Over time, that repetition builds pattern recognition and muscle memory - the skills you need to manage your own paycheck portfolio with calm and confidence.

So, VADER gives you the radar.
The Lab explains every management step to you.

Now we can zero in on this week’s focus.

Focus of the Week

This week highlighted two of the most important rules in the playbook: capture profits early and cut losses without hesitation.

Rule #1: Capture at 50% — book the paycheck, redeploy the cash

Why it works:
→ Past 50% of max profit, theta slows while tail risk stays. The last dime takes the longest and exposes you to gap risk.
→ Closing early frees collateral to open fresher, higher-quality trades.
→ Your win rate compounds because cash cycles faster.

Mechanics

Target buy-to-close (BTC) = Entry Credit × 0.50.
Example: Sold for $2.40 → place a GTC BTC at $1.20 to auto-capture $120/contract.
Place the GTC IMMEDIATELY after opening the trade. “Decide once,” let the system work.
Ladder for efficiency (optional): 50% default GTC or 70% “bonus” GTC if DTE ≤ 21 and Δ has collapsed < 0.10.
Re-deploy rule: When a position closes, open a new one the same day if you can meet your entry rules (spread tight, Δ in range, ≥ $0.10 per week of DTE in net credit).

Concrete examples from last week

AAPL 180P (Dec 20) — opened near $2.50, closed early at 100% profit well before expiry. That’s $250 per contract banked and margin freed.
MSFT 310P (Nov 15) — sold for ~$3.10, closed early at 100% profit. $310 per contract captured, no need to wait until the last day.
GOOGL 140P (Dec 20) — entry around $4.20, closed early at 100% profit. Another $420 per contract is locked in and redeployed.

Multiply that across 40+ contracts closed this way, and it adds up to $15,062 in realized gains this week alone.

When NOT to chase the last pennies:

If DTE ≤ 21 or a catalyst looms (CPI/FOMC/earnings), do not wait for more; take the 50–70% and reset.

Rule #2: Close for Defense

When a trade goes against you, the only mistake is doing nothing.
Defense means acting quickly, by rule, not emotion.

The Mechanics:

Set the stop-loss in dollars
Take your entry credit and multiply × 2.
Example: If you sold TSLA 350P for $4.25, your defensive BTC order is at $8.50. If the option hits that level, close. This caps the loss at ~−100% of premium, and prevents a slow bleed into thousands.
Watch Delta as your warning light
If short put Δ drifts into the 0.45–0.50 range, odds are no longer in your favor.
Example: NVDA 165P started safe, but drifted to Δ ≈ −0.52. That was the signal: no longer a high-probability trade.
Check if a roll is possible
Can you push the trade 30–45 DTE out, down 5–10% in strike, for ≥$0.10/week net credit?
If yes → roll. If no → close.
Example: With IBM 270P, Δ had blown out to −0.74. No roll could bring strike safety + credit. That meant one choice: exit.
Redeploy freed capital the same day
Closing isn’t “taking a loss.” It’s freeing up margin for a safer trade.
Example: Capital cut from IBM was rotated into Tier 1 setups (PG, CVX, BTU), which were already compounding safely.

Why it works:

Losses are capped. You never let one bad trade turn into a portfolio-killer.
Capital is recycled. Margin from a loser becomes income from a safer name.
Confidence stays intact. You don’t spend nights “hoping” — the rule decides for you.

This week’s defensive exits

TSLA 350P (Oct 17) — closed at stop-loss, loss capped at −100%.
NVDA 165P (Nov 21) — closed at stop-loss, Δ too high, no viable roll.
IBM 270P (Oct 17) — closed at stop-loss, Δ = −0.74, roll failed credit check.

That’s the playbook at the trade level. Now let’s zoom out and see how it shaped the book as a whole.

CSP Portfolio Update: Sep 4–Sep 11

The portfolio remains profitable, but exposure is tilted heavily toward tech, which increases tail risk.

Executive Summary:

Realized Gains → Over 40 contracts closed early for +70–100% profits. These exits freed collateral, lowered exposure, and kept the snowball rolling.
Realized Losses → A handful of stop-loss exits (TSLA, NVDA, IBM, ARWR, PEP, DECK, SMCI) were capped at −100% of premium. Painful on their own, but contained by rule.
Unrealized Risk: Still concentrated in high-delta tech puts (NVDA, TSLA, IBM, ONON, PLUG, ARWR). These positions carry most of the portfolio’s downside sensitivity.
Overall Rating: 🟡 Yellow - strongly profitable thanks to realized wins, but risk clusters remain in tech.

This week is about defense first:
→ We need to exit red zone trades to protect the profit buffer.
→ Roll/close Sep expiries before gamma takes over.
→ Let green zone positions keep compounding.
→ Shift the book away from tech-heavy exposure into broader, safer income plays.

Key Takeaways

Winners are compounding: Defensive names (PG, CVX, BTU, HIMS) are quietly adding income and offsetting tech stress.
Tech remains a weak link: NVDA, TSLA, and IBM caused realized exits and still dominate unrealized risk. Concentration in tech means exposure must be reduced going forward.
Near-term expiries matter most: Sep 12–19 cluster (AAPL, INTC, CSCO) must be rolled or closed. Waiting until expiry is not an option - that’s where gamma blows up risk.
System working as designed: Winners banked, losers capped, capital preserved. The snowball grows not because we avoid losses, but because we control them.

In the Premium section, I’ll walk you through the management plan for every single open position - so you can see exactly how the rules play out trade by trade.

It’s time to line up fresh income opportunities.

New VADER CSP Selections for This Week

CRITICAL DISCLAIMER: The tables below show how I screen for income-generating put selling opportunities. They are not trade recommendations, signals, or financial advice. Use them as an educational foundation only—back-test, sanity-check, and consult a licensed professional before risking a nickel. Selling cash-secured puts involves the obligation to buy the underlying stock at the strike price if the option is assigned. Ensure you have the cash secured and are willing to own the stock at that price.
All figures, metrics, and performance data in this report are presented exactly as recorded at the time of writing. Market data is dynamic and can change quickly, often within hours. While every effort is made to ensure accuracy, occasional numerical or calculation errors may occur. For the most current version of this report, always refer to the live web edition.

🔒 Tier 1: Conservative Income

These are the safest setups VADER surfaced this week - wide cushions, stable names, and clean income streams. They’re the foundation you can build around.

How to read this table:
→ Delta: The probability proxy - lower is safer.
→ Downside Protection: How far the stock can drop before trouble.
→ Premium/Yield: What you actually collect per contract and the annualized return

These Tier 1 trades offer $76–$712 per contract while keeping 10–17% cushions.
They’re the natural replacements for capital freed by defensive exits (TSLA 350P, NVDA 165P, IBM 270P).
Conservative plays are how you stabilize income while more aggressive tiers chase higher yields.

🔒 My Top 3 Favorites This Week

SMCI 37P (Oct 17) — Highest cushion (17.5%) + manageable premium.
MSTR 280P (Oct 17) — Wide buffer (16.2%) with solid premium per contract.
MU 120P (Oct 17) — Clean 16% cushion, balanced tech exposure without NVDA-level risk.

📌 These three combine deep downside protection with steady premium.
They’re the bedrock trades for accounts that want income without leaning too far into risk.

Coming Next in the Premium Section:

⚖️ Balanced & Aggressive plays - paying up to $1,200 upfront per contract, with cushions in the 6–9% range.
🛠 The full management playbook - every open position walked through
📖 Copy-ready rules in action - the exact delta, DTE, and stop-loss triggers I used this week across TSLA, NVDA, IBM, and more - so you can apply them without second-guessing.
🎯 Best entries right now - the 3–5 setups I’d put on today if starting fresh

⚖️ TIER 2: Balanced Approach

These setups carry a bit more delta and volatility, but in return, they pay $300–$1,200 per contract.

This is where I prefer to deploy most of my own capital.

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