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The Covered Call

The most popular income strategy: selling a call against 100 shares you already own to collect premium. How it pays off, the income-for-upside trade-off, the three outcomes, when it makes sense, and the risks it does — and does not — protect against.

14 min readPublished 25 June 2026

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What Is A Call Option?Assignment & Exercise

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The Cash-Secured Put

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The Option Greeks: Theta & Time Decay

Theta — the Greek that measures time decay. How much an option loses each day simply because expiration draws nearer, why that decay accelerates into the final weeks, why it peaks at the money, and why it makes time the option buyer's enemy and the seller's ally.

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