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Min $/ct:
Min POP%:
Min IV Rank:
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DTE:
Min $/ct:
Min POP%:
Min IV Rank:
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DTE:
Min $/ct:
Min POP%:
Min IV Rank:
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⚡ Strike Zone — How It Works
Strike Zone scans hundreds of stocks and ranks their options contracts to find the best premium-selling opportunities. This guide explains everything on the screen.
📋 What Gets Scanned
The main scan ranks cash-secured puts (CSPs) — short put options where your collateral is the cash to buy the stock if assigned. These are ranked across the full stock universe by premium yield and risk.
For covered calls, click any ticker symbol to open the Options Chain View and switch to the Calls tab. You’ll see the full call chain with all the same Greeks, breakeven, and contract calculator. A dedicated covered call screener is on the roadmap.
Stocks are split into three tiers by price:
📈 Small ($1–$50)
High-IV meme stocks, crypto-adjacent, retail favorites. Big premiums, bigger risk. Lower collateral required.
💼 Mid ($50–$200)
Growth stocks, tech names, sector leaders. Good liquidity, solid premium, moderate risk.
🏦 Blue Chip ($200+)
Large cap, lower IV, higher collateral. More stable but requires bigger account. Best for conservative premium sellers.
🏆 How Ranking Works — The Score
Score = Premium Yield ÷ Delta
Higher score = more premium collected per unit of risk. The #1 ranked contract gives you the best return on the risk you're taking.
Premium Yield = bid price ÷ strike price. A $2.00 bid on a $50 strike = 4.0% yield. This is how much you earn as a % of your collateral.
Delta = how likely the option is to finish in-the-money. Lower delta = strike is further from the current price = safer.
Dividing yield by delta rewards contracts that pay well AND are far enough OTM. A 3% yield at 0.10 delta scores better than 3% yield at 0.20 delta — same money, half the risk.
Delta = how likely the option is to finish in-the-money. Lower delta = strike is further from the current price = safer.
Dividing yield by delta rewards contracts that pay well AND are far enough OTM. A 3% yield at 0.10 delta scores better than 3% yield at 0.20 delta — same money, half the risk.
🚧 Hard Filters — What Gets Excluded
Before anything gets ranked, these filters must pass. Anything that fails is dropped entirely:
Delta ≤ 0.25Max 25-delta. Nothing too close to the money — keeps assignment risk low.
Open Interest ≥ 10Some market participation required. Very thin OI = hard to fill.
Volume ≥ 5Active trading today. Zero volume = no real market.
Bid > $0Must have a real bid. No phantom contracts.
IV > 0Implied volatility must be calculable. Catches data errors.
📅 DTE Filter — Days to Expiration
DTE = Days To Expiration. Options expire on a specific date — the DTE filter lets you focus on contracts that expire in your preferred time window.
All (default)
Best contract per stock across any expiration. Good for a broad market overview.
Weekly (~7d)
This week's expiration. Higher IV%, faster theta decay, smaller absolute premium. Best for active traders who want quick turnover. More gamma risk as expiry approaches.
2-Week (~14d)
Two weeks out. Good middle ground — more premium than weekly, less time at risk than monthly.
3-Week (~21d)
The classic premium seller's sweet spot. Theta starts accelerating, you have time to manage or roll if wrong.
Monthly (~30d)
Full month out. Biggest absolute premium, most time to be right, but capital is tied up longer. Good for defined-risk strategies and larger accounts.
🎛️ Scan Filters — DTE + Quick Filters
Each scan tab (Small, Mid, Blue Chip) has a filter bar at the top. These apply instantly without re-scanning.
DTE Pills
All | Weekly (~7d) | 2-Week (~14d) | 3-Week (~21d) | Monthly (~30d). Filters the scan results to only show contracts expiring in that window. Best picks ranked the same way within each window.
Min $/contract
Set a floor on dollar premium per contract. If $100 isn’t worth your time, type 100 and everything below it disappears.
Min POP%
Only show contracts meeting your probability threshold. Conservative: 80%+. Balanced: 75%+. Aggressive: 70%+.
Min IV Rank
Only show setups where IV is historically elevated. Set 60+ to only sell into genuinely rich premium environments.
📊 Column Guide — What Each Number Means
Score ↑
The main ranking number. Yield ÷ Delta. Higher = better risk-adjusted premium. This is the primary sort key — #1 is the best deal in the tier.
$/Contract
Actual dollar premium you collect when you sell 1 contract (= bid × 100 shares). This is cash in your account on day one.
Yield%
Premium as a % of collateral (strike × 100). 3% yield on a $5,000 collateral position = $150 collected. Use this to compare contracts across different price tiers.
Delta
Risk level badge. Green = 0.00–0.15 (safe, far OTM). Yellow = 0.15–0.20 (moderate). Orange = 0.20–0.25 (aggressive, near your max). Keep this in mind — a higher delta means the stock has more room to fall before you get in trouble.
IV%
Implied Volatility — what the market is pricing in for future movement. Higher IV = fatter premiums, but also a signal that the market expects bigger moves. Context matters — always look at IV Rank alongside this.
IV Rank
Where current IV sits vs the past 52 weeks. 80-100 = very high, premium is rich, great time to sell. 60-79 = high. 40-59 = mid. 20-39 = low. 0-19 = very low, avoid selling into this. Target 50+ for premium selling.
PoP%
Probability of Profit — the Black-Scholes estimate that your short put expires worthless (stock stays above the strike). 75%+ is solid. 80%+ is conservative. This is theoretical, not a guarantee.
Health
Fundamental health score 0–100. Checks things like: near 52-week low, high short interest, excessive debt, downtrend, extreme beta. A stock with great premium but bad fundamentals is a trap — this helps you spot it fast.
Flags / Traps
⚠ EARNINGS — earnings announcement falls within this contract's window. IV will crush after the event; the premium looks fat for a reason. Size down or avoid.
⚡ IV>100% — extreme volatility, likely a binary event or distressed stock. Premium trap risk.
HIGH-RISK — high delta combined with extreme IV.
Fundamental flags — near 52wk low, high short interest, downtrend, etc.
⚡ IV>100% — extreme volatility, likely a binary event or distressed stock. Premium trap risk.
HIGH-RISK — high delta combined with extreme IV.
Fundamental flags — near 52wk low, high short interest, downtrend, etc.
🎛️ Quick Filters
Min $/contract
Set a minimum dollar premium per contract. If you need at least $100/contract to make a trade worthwhile, type 100 here. Filters out small-premium contracts.
Min POP%
Only show contracts where the probability of profit meets your threshold. Conservative traders: 80%+. Balanced: 75%+. Aggressive: 70%+.
Min IV Rank
Filter to only show high-IV environments. Set to 60+ when you only want to sell into genuinely elevated premium. Keeps you from selling cheap options.
📈 Seller Mode vs 🎯 Buyer Mode
The toggle in the top-right switches between two completely different views of the same data.
📈 Seller Mode
Ranked by yield/delta score. Shows Score, Yield%, IV Rank, PoP%. Best for: CSPs, covered calls, premium selling strategies. You want high IV, far OTM, clean fundamentals.
🎯 Buyer Mode
Ranked by cheapness — contracts where IV is below Historical Volatility (IV < HV). Shows HV%, IV vs HV column. Best for: buying calls/puts when options are underpriced vs actual stock movement.
📊 Options Chain View — Click Any Ticker
Click any ticker symbol in the scan table to open the full options chain. This is your main tool for evaluating individual trades before you enter.
Expiration Tabs
All available expiration dates scroll across the top. Tap any one to instantly load that chain. The currently selected expiry is highlighted green.
Sell / Buy toggle
LEFT SIDE
Sell mode — shows bid price (what you collect), Chance of Profit from the seller’s perspective (wants it to expire worthless), and collateral required.
Buy mode — shows ask price (what you pay), chance of being ITM at expiry (delta × 100), and max loss = premium paid.
Buy mode — shows ask price (what you pay), chance of being ITM at expiry (delta × 100), and max loss = premium paid.
Call / Put toggle
RIGHT SIDE
Switches the entire chain between calls and puts. The chain re-sorts automatically — ITM contracts always appear above the price bar, OTM below.
▶ Share Price Bar
The green divider bar in the middle of the chain shows the current stock price. Strikes above it are ITM, strikes below are OTM (for puts). The chain auto-scrolls to center this bar when you open or switch expirations.
What’s on Each Strike Card
Strike label
e.g. “$28 Put” — the contract you’re looking at.
Breakeven
The price the stock needs to stay above (for a short put) for you to keep your full premium. Calculated as: strike − premium collected.
Chance of profit
Sell mode: probability the option expires worthless (PoP%). Green = 75%+, orange = 65%+, red = below 65%. Buy mode: delta × 100 = rough % chance it’s ITM at expiry.
Price badge
The green pill on the right. Shows the bid (Sell mode) or ask (Buy mode) price per share. Multiply by 100 for the per-contract dollar amount. The “+” button is decorative — tapping the card opens the calculator.
Today’s % change
How much that specific contract has moved today. Green = premium going up (IV expansion or stock moving toward strike). Red = premium shrinking.
Greeks row
Δ Delta — color coded. Green (≤0.15) = far OTM, safe. Orange (0.15–0.22) = moderate. Red (≥0.22) = close to the money, higher risk.
Θ Theta — dollars per day the option decays. Sellers collect this as daily income. A $0.50/day theta on a $50 option = it loses 1% of its value per day from time alone.
Γ Gamma — how fast your delta is changing. Low gamma = delta moves slowly (safer). High gamma near expiry = delta can spike suddenly. Sellers prefer low gamma.
ν Vega — dollar change per 1% move in IV. Sellers are short vega — if IV drops after you sell (IV crush), the option loses value faster. Good for sellers.
IV% — implied volatility for this specific contract.
OI — open interest. Higher = more liquid, easier to fill at a good price.
Θ Theta — dollars per day the option decays. Sellers collect this as daily income. A $0.50/day theta on a $50 option = it loses 1% of its value per day from time alone.
Γ Gamma — how fast your delta is changing. Low gamma = delta moves slowly (safer). High gamma near expiry = delta can spike suddenly. Sellers prefer low gamma.
ν Vega — dollar change per 1% move in IV. Sellers are short vega — if IV drops after you sell (IV crush), the option loses value faster. Good for sellers.
IV% — implied volatility for this specific contract.
OI — open interest. Higher = more liquid, easier to fill at a good price.
Contract calculator
Each card has its own contracts field. Type in how many contracts you want and it instantly shows: total premium collected/paid and total collateral required. Collateral = strike × 100 × contracts for cash-secured puts.
🔍 Compare Tickers Tab
Enter up to 5 stock symbols to compare side-by-side. For each stock you'll see all DTE windows (weekly through monthly) with best contract at each, so you can pick the timeframe that makes sense for your trade. The scanner also gives you a verdict — its top pick from your list, plus an alternative from the broader scan if something better exists.
The Put/Call Skew Meter shows where smart money is leaning — heavy put buying = bearish pressure on that stock. Use it to confirm direction before selling puts.
🏆 Pick of the Day
The green banner at the top of the scan tabs is the scanner's single best pick of the day across the entire universe — highest risk-adjusted score, with clean fundamentals and no major trap flags. On Fridays it also surfaces a 0DTE same-day expiry idea for last-minute plays.
⚠️ This is informational only — not a trade recommendation.
⚠️ Important
- Strike Zone is a screening tool, not a trading advisor. Always do your own due diligence before entering a trade.
- Data comes from Yahoo Finance. Bid/ask prices may lag real-time by a few minutes. Always check your broker for the live market.
- Scan results are cached for 1 hour. Hit ↻ Refresh to force a fresh scan (takes 2–3 minutes).
- PoP% is a mathematical estimate from Black-Scholes, not a guarantee. The market can always surprise you.
- A high IV Rank ≠ automatically safe to sell. Check the Flags column — earnings inside the window are the #1 cause of unexpected losses on short puts.
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