Time sink: Checking prices, monitoring delta, watching for assignment risk, deciding when to roll or close. I was spending 10+ hours a week managing positions. That’s not "passive" income; that’s a second job.
Emotional decisions: When I saw extra premium, I’d pick strikes out of greed. When I was winning, I’d want to hold longer. And when the market moved, I didn’t want to miss out. I knew the rules and still broke them.
Gatekeeping: I’d see screenshots of huge gains with zero explanation. Just a P/L flex. I don’t think most people are malicious but the end result is the same: outcomes without process.
I stopped trying to trade better and started trying to remove myself from the equation. I built a systematic tool called PutHouse to automate the mechanics of covered calls and cash-secured puts.
What I’ve learned since running PutHouse across different market conditions:
Time is the real ROI: Getting back ~10 hours a week to live life and have it managed for you has been the biggest win.
Systematic > intuitive: A boring, repeatable strategy beats a gut feeling every single time.
Transparency matters: I need to know what the data is telling me because metrics such as IV, RV, RSI, OI, and delta are important.
I’m opening this up because I want to stress-test the logic with people who actually trade this way. I’m not looking to sell you anything. I genuinely want feedback on what I’ve built:
What would you not trust about an algorithmic approach to selling premium?
For those who trade manually, what’s the "edge case" or market condition that would make you worry about an automated system?
What metrics are you looking at that I might be missing? (Currently: IV, RV, RSI, OI, Delta, DTE, Min Volume, Min Price, Bid/Ask Spread).
The goal isn't a "money printer". It's consistency and risk management. If you’ve built something similar or have thoughts on the mechanics, I’d love to hear what you would be most worried about.