To The Moon

🚀 My basic idea: I don’t chase NVDA — I get paid to wait

🐶 My Options Puppy strategy is simple: when NVDA is moving in an upswing, I do not necessarily want to chase the stock after it has already moved higher. Instead, I can use a cash-secured put to get paid while waiting for a lower entry price.

💰 The important part is that I am willing to buy 100 NVDA shares if I get assigned. That changes the entire mindset of the trade. I am not selling a naked put and hoping nothing happens. I am setting a price where I would be comfortable becoming a shareholder.

📌 In my latest example, I sold an NVDA $230 put and received roughly $19.50–$19.59 per share in premium. One options contract represents 100 shares, so approximately $1,950–$1,959 of premium was collected before fees.

🎯 My objective is effectively to get an NVDA entry around $211 per share. If I receive $19.00 of premium on a $230 strike, my effective breakeven is:

$230 − $19 = $211

💡 If my actual premium is $19.50, the mathematical breakeven becomes $210.50. If I receive $19.59, it becomes $210.41. So when I say I am willing to buy NVDA at around $211, I am talking about the effective cost after the premium, not the $230 strike itself.

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📚 First, what exactly is a cash-secured put?

📝 A cash-secured put means I sell a put option while keeping enough cash available to purchase the shares if I am assigned.

🔢 For example, suppose I sell:

NVDA $230 PUT

💵 I receive $19.50 premium.

📦 One contract = 100 shares.

💰 Premium received:

$19.50 × 100 = $1,950

🏦 But I must understand the obligation. If the option is assigned, I can be required to purchase:

100 shares × $230 = $23,000

💡 After considering the $1,950 premium already received:

$23,000 − $1,950 = $21,050

Therefore:

$21,050 ÷ 100 = $210.50 effective cost per share

🎯 That is why my real question is not simply, “Will NVDA stay above $230?”

My question is:

“Am I happy owning 100 NVDA shares at an effective cost around $210.50?”

If my answer is yes, the trade fits my investment plan much better.

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📈 Why I like doing this during an upswing

🚀 I prefer selling puts when NVDA is showing upward momentum rather than when the stock is already collapsing.

📊 My screenshot shows NVDA around $228.87, with an intraday high of $229.98 and a low of $226.50. The 30-minute chart is also showing price recovering from lower levels and trading around several moving averages.

⚠️ There is one important beginner detail here: at approximately $228.87, the $230 put is slightly in-the-money, because the strike is above the current stock price. Therefore, I should not describe this particular $230 put as a simple out-of-the-money put.

🎯 Instead, I can describe it as a buy-the-stock-at-a-discount strategy.

📌 I am effectively saying:

“NVDA is around $229, but I am willing to own it around $211 after premium, so I am willing to accept the obligation associated with the $230 strike.”

That is a very different mindset from selling a put simply because the premium looks attractive.

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🧠 The Options Puppy rule: sell puts only where I am willing to buy

🐶 This is probably the most important beginner rule I can teach.

Never choose the strike only because the premium looks delicious.

🍖 A $230 put may offer a large premium, but if I would panic if NVDA falls to $200, then I should not sell it merely to collect premium.

📉 NVDA can fall quickly. A strong company can still experience a large drawdown because of valuation changes, market-wide selling, semiconductor weakness, AI spending concerns, earnings expectations, interest rates or simply profit-taking.

🎯 My approach is therefore:

Step 1: Decide the price where I genuinely want NVDA.

Step 2: Find a put strike that fits that plan.

Step 3: Calculate the effective purchase price after premium.

Step 4: Make sure I have enough cash for assignment.

Step 5: Only then sell the put.

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💰 My recent trades show how I am “scraping” premium

📸 Looking at my trading screenshot, I repeatedly bought back NVDA puts for less than the price at which I sold them.

For example, I had a $235 put sold around $20.40 and later bought back around $20.10.

💵 Difference:

$20.40 − $20.10 = $0.30

📦 With 100 shares:

$0.30 × 100 = $30

💰 That is approximately $30 gross premium captured before fees.

I also had another $235 put transaction around $20.30 sold and $20.15 bought back.

That difference is:

$0.15 × 100 = $15

🐶 So the idea is not necessarily to hold every option until expiration.

I can sometimes sell the put when premium is high and buy it back when the premium contracts.

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🔄 Why buy back the put?

📉 This is where premium scraping becomes interesting.

Suppose I sell an option for $20.40.

Later, the option falls to $20.10.

I can buy it back.

💰 I have captured approximately $0.30 per share.

Then I am no longer exposed to that particular option position.

🎯 I can wait for another opportunity rather than leaving the original trade open for months.

This can be useful when option prices move around because of changes in NVDA’s share price, implied volatility and time remaining.

⚠️ But I must remember that every transaction has costs and risks. Small $10–$30 gains can disappear if I overtrade, pay significant commissions or repeatedly enter positions without considering the underlying stock.

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📊 My $230 put: the important numbers

🎯 Let’s use my actual $230 example.

Strike: $230

Premium: approximately $19.50

Contract size: 100 shares

Premium collected: approximately $1,950

Assignment value: $23,000

Effective cost: approximately $21,050

Effective share price: approximately $210.50

🐶 That is why my Options Puppy thesis is not simply:

“NVDA will not fall below $230.”

Instead, my thesis is:

“I am willing to own NVDA around $211 after accounting for the premium.”

💡 This is an important distinction for beginners.

If NVDA finishes below $230 at expiration, I may be assigned at $230. The premium reduces my effective economic cost, but the shares are still purchased at the strike price.

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⚠️ The biggest beginner mistake: forgetting the $23,000 obligation

🚨 This is where cash-secured puts can become dangerous for inexperienced traders.

If I sell one $230 put, I should think in terms of a potential $23,000 share purchase, not a $1,950 premium trade.

💰 The $1,950 premium is compensation for taking on the obligation.

📉 Imagine NVDA falls dramatically to $180.

I could still be assigned 100 shares at $230.

That would mean the shares are worth approximately $18,000 while my assignment value is $23,000, before considering the premium.

🎯 The premium cushions the loss, but it does not eliminate the downside.

Therefore:

Cash-secured put ≠ free money.

Cash-secured put = getting paid for taking on an obligation to buy shares.

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📈 Why NVDA’s fundamentals make the strategy interesting to me

🏢 I am also not selling puts on a random company. NVIDIA’s recent fundamentals remain very strong.

📊 NVIDIA reported fiscal Q2 2027 revenue of $96.2 billion, up 106% year over year, while Data Center revenue reached $89.0 billion, up 117% year over year. Gross margin was 75%. (NVIDIA Newsroom⁠)

🚀 NVIDIA’s fiscal Q1 2027 revenue was also a record $81.6 billion, up 85% year over year, with Data Center revenue up 92%. (NVIDIA Newsroom⁠)

💡 These numbers explain why I am comfortable considering NVDA as a long-term holding rather than treating the put purely as a short-term gamble.

⚠️ But strong fundamentals do not guarantee that the stock price will rise every day. The market can price in enormous expectations, and even excellent earnings can sometimes be followed by stock-price weakness.

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📉 My TA approach: don’t sell puts blindly

📊 I also want to use technical analysis before selling my put.

👀 In my screenshot, NVDA is trading around $228.87, very close to the $230 level. The 30-minute chart shows several moving averages clustered around the current price.

📈 When price is making higher highs and higher lows, I become more comfortable using a premium-selling strategy because I am not immediately fighting a strong downward trend.

🧱 I also want to identify potential support areas.

For example, I can ask:

Where did buyers previously step in?

Where is the previous breakout level?

Where are the moving averages?

Where would I personally want to buy 100 shares?

🎯 If my desired effective purchase price is around $211, I should not sell a put at a strike that requires me to buy at a price I would no longer accept.

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🐶 My Options Puppy “scraping” formula

💰 My strategy can be summarized with five simple steps:

1️⃣ Find an uptrend

📈 I prefer an underlying showing constructive price action rather than blindly selling puts during a breakdown.

2️⃣ Choose my stock first

🏢 I must genuinely want to own the company.

3️⃣ Choose my desired effective purchase price

🎯 For NVDA, my target is approximately $211.

4️⃣ Sell a cash-secured put

💵 I collect premium while waiting.

5️⃣ Buy back when the premium falls

🔄 If I can capture a meaningful portion of the premium, I can close the position and potentially repeat the process later.

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🧮 The $211 mindset

🎯 My biggest advantage in this strategy is psychological clarity.

I already know what I want.

I am not saying:

“I hope NVDA goes up.”

I am saying:

“If NVDA continues upward, I collect premium. If NVDA falls to my effective buying zone, I am prepared to own 100 shares.”

📈 Scenario A: NVDA rises substantially.

The put may lose value and I can potentially buy it back for less, capturing premium.

📊 Scenario B: NVDA stays around the current level.

Time decay may reduce the option’s value, potentially allowing me to close the position for a profit.

📉 Scenario C: NVDA falls below my strike.

I may be assigned 100 shares at $230, but the premium lowers my effective economic cost to roughly $210.50 with a $19.50 fill.

🚨 Scenario D: NVDA crashes far below $211.

The premium does not protect me completely. I can suffer a substantial unrealized loss after assignment.

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🏆 My Options Puppy beginner lesson

🐶 The real skill is not simply selling options.

The skill is knowing what I am willing to own and getting paid while waiting for that opportunity.

💰 When I sell a cash-secured put, I am exchanging potential upside for premium income and accepting downside exposure.

🎯 For my NVDA example, I am comfortable with the idea of owning 100 shares because my effective target is around $211.

📌 My $230 strike therefore becomes part of a broader plan rather than an isolated options trade.

📈 If NVDA keeps running, I can potentially continue harvesting premium.

📉 If NVDA pulls back, I am prepared for assignment.

💵 If the option premium collapses before expiration, I can consider buying it back and locking in the difference.

🐶 That is my version of Options Puppy premium scraping:

I don’t chase the stock.

I don’t sell puts just because the premium looks attractive.

I choose the price where I genuinely want the shares.

Then I get paid to wait.

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⚠️ Final beginner warning

🚨 Cash-secured puts can look deceptively easy because the premium arrives immediately. But the premium is not free income—it is payment for accepting the obligation to buy shares.

💰 One $230 put represents a potential $23,000 stock purchase.

📉 If NVDA falls sharply, I can still lose money even after collecting premium.

🎯 Therefore, my golden rule is:

“Only sell a cash-secured put at a strike where I would be happy owning 100 shares, and only when I have the cash available to honor the assignment.”

🐶 For my current NVDA example, my plan is clear: I am willing to own 100 NVDA shares, with an effective target around $211 after premium.

📈 That turns the option trade from simply trying to predict NVDA’s next move into a structured decision:

Up = collect premium.

Sideways = let time decay work.

Down toward my target = potentially acquire shares.

Crash = accept that the strategy still carries substantial equity risk.

💡 That is the beginner lesson I want to remember: I am not selling the put because I think NVDA cannot fall. I am selling it because I have already decided what price I am willing to pay for NVDA—and I am willing to get paid while I wait.

One important detail from your screenshot: with NVDA around $228.87, your $230 put is technically slightly in-the-money, so I would describe this particular trade as a paid-to-wait / buy-the-stock-at-a-discount strategy rather than simply an OTM put-selling strategy. The current NVDA quote shown in the search results is also around $228.87. 

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