March–April 2026 Report — The Best Stretch: Two OTM Expiries, $4,500 in Full
💡 Reading time: ~9 minutes ｜ Series: Monthly Performance Review #3
Monthly scorecard (3/17 open → 5/1 expiry)
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Trades | 2 |
| Realized P&L | +$4,500 USD |
| Win rate | 100% |
| Closing method | OTM expiry, full premium retained |
| Manual close actions | 0 (zero intervention) |
This was the easiest, sweetest stretch of my options career.
What is “OTM full premium collection”?
OTM = Out of The Money. For a Sell Put, that means the stock price at expiration is still above the strike.
The seller does nothing — the option is voided automatically, and the premium collected at open lands in the account in full.
The best-case ending for a Sell Put seller: open the trade, do nothing, collect the money when time runs out.
Trade details
| # | Underlying | Strike | Contracts | Open | Expiry | Days held | Premium in | Cost to close | Net P&L | Margin ROI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | GOOG SP | $295 | 3 | 3/17 | 5/01 | 45 | $2,625 | $0 | +$2,625 | 3.0% |
| 8 | NVDA SP | $175 | 3 | 3/17 | 5/01 | 45 | $1,875 | $0 | +$1,875 | 3.6% |
Total income $4,500 USD. Margin used $141,000, blended ROI 3.2%.
Automatic rent per day: $4,500 ÷ 45 = $100 USD/day.
Full timeline
3/17 Open GOOG SP $295 × 3 contracts → collect $2,625
3/17 Open NVDA SP $175 × 3 contracts → collect $1,875
↓
[45-day waiting period]
↓
Operations during: none. 30 seconds a day to glance at the price.
↓
5/01 Expiry day:
GOOG close > $295 ✅ → OTM → option voided → full $2,625 in
NVDA close > $175 ✅ → OTM → option voided → full $1,875 in
The three key factors behind the full collection
Factor 1: Conservative strike selection
| Underlying | Stock at open | Strike | Safety buffer |
|---|---|---|---|
| GOOG | ~$315 | $295 | -6.3% |
| NVDA | ~$195 | $175 | -10.3% |
GOOG had to drop more than 6.3%, NVDA more than 10.3%, before I’d be looking at a loss.
In normal market conditions, the probability of a large-cap tech stock falling 10% within 45 days is roughly only 10%–15%.
Factor 2: Market tailwind
The March–April US equity market was relatively calm. No major earnings bombs (these two positions deliberately avoided the core earnings season window in April), no geopolitical black swans.
Was there a luck component? Sure. But luck favors the prepared — I picked conservative strikes, so even modest volatility couldn’t touch me.
Factor 3: 45 days let Theta do its work
45 days is the “sweet spot” for Sell Put — long enough for Theta to do its decay, short enough that capital isn’t tied up inefficiently.
GOOG $295 premium trajectory:
Day 1: $8.75
Day 15: ~$5.50 (37% decay)
Day 30: ~$2.50 (71% decay)
Day 40: ~$0.50 (94% decay)
Day 45: $0.00 (100% decay) ← full collection at expiry
What did I do during those 45 days?
Almost nothing.
Glance at the price once a day for 30 seconds, confirm it’s still far from the strike. That’s it.
A few times I was tempted to close early — “I’ve already made 80%, why not take it?” But every time I asked myself:
“Is the remaining 20% of premium worth waiting 10 more days for?”
The answer was yes — because the last 10 days before expiry have the fastest Theta decay (the accelerating decay curve), and with the price safely away from the strike, the risk is minimal.
The mental trap of full collection
$4,500 in, zero operations. It looked too good to be true.
But it was precisely that “too good” that planted the seeds of the May wipeout.
The mindset shift
Jan: "Wow, options aren't that hard."
Feb: "Two months in a row of positive returns — I think I have a system."
Mar–Apr: "Zero operations and $4,500 in? This is too easy."
→ overconfidence trigger
→ "Next time I can pick a closer strike and collect more premium."
→ "I can also size up — I've been winning the whole time."
May: 💀
Every success builds your confidence — and too much confidence is the fuse for the next failure.
The operating manual for March–April (in hindsight)
| What went right | What could improve |
|---|---|
| ✅ Conservative strikes (6%–10% buffer) | ⚠️ Didn’t reassess risk appetite after winning |
| ✅ 45-day expiry, Theta fully expressed | ⚠️ Let the “full collection” high affect the next decision |
| ✅ Zero operations, patient hold to expiry | ⚠️ Didn’t write a post-mortem after winning to ask “why did this work?” |
| ✅ Two underlyings for risk diversification |
📌 Little Otter’s March–April note: Full collection at expiry is the most beautiful scenario in Sell Put — and the most dangerous anesthetic. It makes you think “this is simple,” and that’s when discipline starts to slip. Next up: the cost of slipping — May, when my account went on a roller coaster from heaven to hell.
Disclaimer: This article is a personal trading experience share, not investment advice.
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