September 17 Trading Journal: $1,815 in New Option Premium While Resetting My Portfolio
September 17, 2026
Yesterday was about closing trades and realizing results. Today was about putting capital back to work.
After taking profits on several option positions, I entered September 17 with something valuable: uncovered shares and the freedom to choose new strikes and expirations.
I used that flexibility to sell seven new covered-call positions across ARM, ONDS, KTOS, ASTS, SMCI, MRVL, and ASTX.
Those new contracts generated approximately:
$1,815.52 in option credits
But there's an important distinction that I want to make immediately.
That $1,815.52 is premium received, not realized profit.
These options are still open. Their final profitability won't be known until I buy them back, they expire, they're assigned, or otherwise resolve.
That distinction between cash collected and profit actually earned is becoming one of the most important parts of how I track my trading.
Here's what happened.
September 17 Transactions
| Position | Action | Credit / Realized P&L |
|---|---|---|
| OPEN $8 Call 12/18 ×2 | Bought to close @ $0.06 | +$126 realized |
| OPEN shares | Sold 214.873389 @ $2.64 | -$885.42 realized |
| ARM $265C 9/25 | Sold to open @ $7.00 | +$699.96 credit |
| ONDS $7.50C 9/25 ×3 | Sold to open @ $0.23 | +$68.88 credit |
| KTOS $52C 10/2 | Sold to open @ $1.00 | +$99.96 credit |
| ASTS $70C 10/2 | Sold to open @ $1.30 | +$129.96 credit |
| SMCI $43C 10/2 ×2 | Sold to open @ $0.96 | +$191.92 credit |
| MRVL $275C 10/2 | Sold to open @ $4.00 | +$399.96 credit |
| ASTX $15C 10/16 ×3 | Sold to open @ $0.75 | +$224.88 credit |
The seven new covered-call positions generated:
$699.96 + $68.88 + $99.96 + $129.96 + $191.92 + $399.96 + $224.88
= $1,815.52 in new premium credits
That's the headline number from September 17.
But the individual trades tell a much more interesting story.
ARM: Putting the Same 100 Shares to Work for a Third Time
ARM is quickly becoming one of the clearest examples of my covered-call strategy.
I originally purchased 100 ARM shares at $262.40 on September 8, investing approximately $26,240.
I then completed two profitable $265 covered-call cycles.
The first generated:
+$639 realized
The second generated:
+$518 realized
Combined:
+$1,157 realized covered-call income
After closing the second call, my 100 ARM shares were uncovered.
I didn't leave them that way for long.
On September 17, I sold:
1 × ARM $265 Call expiring September 25
for:
$7.00
Net credit:
+$699.96
This is now covered-call cycle #3 on the same 100 ARM shares.
That means those shares have produced $1,157 of realized option income, plus another $699.96 currently open.
If the third cycle eventually allowed me to retain the entire credit, cumulative ARM covered-call premium would reach approximately:
$1,157 + $699.96 = $1,856.96
But I am not counting $1,856.96 as realized profit today.
Only $1,157 is realized.
The new $699.96 remains an open trade.
That accounting distinction matters.
ONDS: Three Calls, $68.88 Collected
I sold:
3 × ONDS $7.50 Calls expiring September 25
at approximately:
$0.23
Total credit:
+$68.88
Compared with ARM, the premium is small.
But not every position needs to generate hundreds of dollars per cycle.
These three contracts cover 300 shares and provide another source of portfolio cash flow.
The question going forward isn't simply whether I collected $68.88.
It's whether the premium was sufficient compensation for giving up upside above $7.50 through September 25.
That's how I want to evaluate covered calls.
KTOS: $100 Premium With a $52 Strike
My next trade was:
KTOS $52 Call expiring October 2
I sold one contract at:
$1.00
Net credit:
+$99.96
This gives the trade more time than the September 25 positions.
Again, I've accepted a trade-off.
I received approximately $100 today, but I've also agreed to potentially sell 100 KTOS shares at $52 if the contract finishes in a position where assignment occurs.
Covered-call income isn't free money.
Every premium payment comes with an obligation.
ASTS: Back Into the Covered-Call Cycle
ASTS is one of my more developed wheel positions.
My previous ASTS covered call was the $80 strike expiring October 2.
I originally collected approximately $180 and later bought it back for roughly $46, realizing:
+$134
That freed my 100 ASTS shares.
On September 17, I decided to put those shares back to work.
I sold:
ASTS $70 Call expiring October 2
at:
$1.30
Net credit:
+$129.96
This is particularly interesting because we've already reconstructed much of my ASTS wheel history.
My verified historical ASTS option income before this new trade was approximately:
$1,956 realized
The new $129.96 should not yet be added to that realized total.
It belongs in a separate bucket:
Realized ASTS premium: approximately $1,956
New open premium credit: $129.96
If this call eventually expires worthless, the full amount can become realized option income.
If I buy it back, the eventual realized result will be the original credit minus the closing cost.
SMCI: $191.92 From Two New Calls
SMCI provides another good example of recycling shares after closing a profitable call.
On September 16, I closed:
2 × SMCI calls
for a combined:
+$760 realized profit
One day later, I sold:
2 × SMCI $43 Calls expiring October 2
at approximately:
$0.96
Total credit:
+$191.92
This is exactly the rhythm I'm trying to create.
Sell calls.
Allow premium to decay.
Capture the profit when the economics make sense.
Free the shares.
Then wait for another opportunity to sell premium.
The important part is that the cycle doesn't have to be automatic.
If the strike or premium isn't attractive, I can leave the shares uncovered.
MRVL: Closing One Cycle and Immediately Starting Another
MRVL had activity on both sides of the ledger.
I closed my previous MRVL option cycle for:
+$70 realized
Then I sold a new:
MRVL $275 Call expiring October 2
at:
$4.00
Net credit:
+$399.96
This illustrates why separating realized and unrealized/open premium is so important.
The MRVL accounting currently looks like this:
Previous completed cycle: +$70 realized
New open call: +$399.96 initial credit
I haven't made $469.96 yet.
I've made $70.
I've received another $399.96 for taking on a new obligation.
The outcome of that new obligation remains unknown.
ASTX: $224.88 From Three Calls
My longest-dated new position of the day was ASTX.
I sold:
3 × ASTX $15 Calls expiring October 16
at:
$0.75
Total credit:
+$224.88
With three contracts, 300 shares are potentially subject to assignment at the $15 strike.
The expiration is also almost a month away, giving the underlying considerably more time to move than my September 25 calls.
That's why simply comparing premium amounts can be misleading.
A $225 premium over approximately one month isn't directly comparable with $225 collected on a one-week contract.
Time, volatility, strike distance, stock price and assignment risk all matter.
OPEN: Closing the Call and Closing the Stock Position
OPEN was different from today's other transactions.
I bought back:
2 × OPEN $8 Calls expiring December 18
at:
$0.06
The completed option cycle produced:
+$126 realized
That was the successful part of the position.
I then sold:
214.873389 OPEN shares at $2.64
which realized:
-$885.42
This is a useful reminder of something I've discussed repeatedly in my trading journal:
Profitable options don't automatically mean a profitable stock campaign.
The covered calls generated income.
The underlying shares lost substantially more.
Looking only at the +$126 option result would therefore give a distorted picture.
Combining these two specific realized components:
+$126 − $885.42 = -$759.42
So the option income softened the equity loss, but it didn't eliminate it.
That's exactly what covered calls can and cannot do.
September 16 and 17 Tell Two Different Stories
These two trading days fit together particularly well.
September 16 was largely about harvesting existing profits and exiting positions.
September 17 was largely about deploying newly uncovered shares into fresh covered calls.
Across the September 16/17 realized transactions you provided, the results were:
| Position | Realized P/L |
|---|---|
| SPCX | +$133 |
| OPEN calls | +$126 |
| ARM | +$518 |
| RDDT | +$79 |
| SMCI | +$760 |
| MRVL | +$70 |
| ARMG shares | +$200 |
| OPEN shares | -$885.42 |
| TTD shares | -$4,441.80 |
The positive realized transactions total:
+$1,886
The two realized stock losses total:
-$5,327.22
Net:
-$3,441.22 realized
This isn't a number I want to hide behind the new option premiums.
It is part of the trading record.
Meanwhile, I Collected $1,815.52 in New Premium
September 17 also created an entirely separate bucket:
New option credits received: $1,815.52
Those trades are still open.
That's why my journal now separates three concepts.
Realized option profit means a completed option trade whose final result is known.
Realized equity P/L means a stock position I've actually sold.
Open option credit means cash I received for selling an option whose final outcome hasn't yet been determined.
Mixing those categories can make a trading strategy look much more profitable than it really is.
I want my tracking to avoid that.
Why This Matters for a Wheel Strategy
A wheel strategy can create the appearance of constant income.
Every time I sell an option, cash appears in the account.
That feels like income.
Economically, however, I've also created a liability.
If I sell a call for $700 and later need $1,000 to buy it back, collecting the original $700 didn't make the trade profitable.
Likewise, if I collect $700 and the shares fall $5,000, the premium didn't make the entire position profitable.
The correct accounting happens at the campaign level.
That's why ARM is becoming particularly useful for me.
I've completed two profitable cycles.
Those profits are real.
The third call is open.
Its $699.96 credit is real cash received, but the profit is not yet determined.
That distinction keeps my trading journal grounded.
My September 17 Premium Dashboard
Here is the new premium deployment:
| Ticker | Contracts | Expiration | New Credit |
|---|---|---|---|
| ARM | 1 | 9/25 | $699.96 |
| ONDS | 3 | 9/25 | $68.88 |
| KTOS | 1 | 10/2 | $99.96 |
| ASTS | 1 | 10/2 | $129.96 |
| SMCI | 2 | 10/2 | $191.92 |
| MRVL | 1 | 10/2 | $399.96 |
| ASTX | 3 | 10/16 | $224.88 |
| Total | 12 contracts | — | $1,815.52 |
That means I sold 12 covered-call contracts across seven underlying stocks.
The expirations are also staggered rather than concentrated on a single date:
September 25 → ARM and ONDS
October 2 → KTOS, ASTS, SMCI and MRVL
October 16 → ASTX
I prefer seeing the portfolio this way because it shows where my upcoming management decisions are likely to occur.
The Biggest Lesson From These Two Days
September 16 and September 17 together show both sides of my strategy.
I harvested option profits.
I realized painful stock losses.
I freed shares from existing calls.
And then I sold new calls against selected positions.
That is much closer to what real portfolio management looks like than a screenshot showing only winning trades.
The new $1,815.52 of premium is encouraging.
But it isn't the number I'm going to judge the strategy by.
I'll judge these calls by what happens when each cycle is complete.
The more important questions are:
Did I keep enough of the premium?
Did I choose strikes where I was genuinely willing to sell the shares?
Did the premium meaningfully reduce my economic basis?
Did I avoid sacrificing too much upside?
And, most importantly, what happened to the underlying stock while I was collecting premium?
The OPEN and TTD losses demonstrate why that last question matters.
Final Thoughts
September 17 wasn't a "$1,815 profit day."
It was a:
$1,815.52 premium-deployment day.
That's a much more accurate description.
I opened seven new covered-call positions using 12 contracts.
ARM entered its third covered-call cycle.
ASTS returned to income generation after its previous call was closed profitably.
SMCI shares were put back to work immediately after a $760 realized option gain.
MRVL completed one profitable cycle and started another.
And OPEN demonstrated that option income can cushion an equity loss without necessarily overcoming it.
The portfolio now has another set of option positions working toward September 25, October 2 and October 16.
Some may become highly profitable.
Some may require early closure.
Some may need to be rolled.
Some shares could eventually be called away.
I don't know those outcomes yet—and that's precisely why I'm recording the $1,815.52 as open premium rather than profit.
The cash arrived today.
The profit still has to be earned.
Disclosure: This article documents my personal trading activity and is provided for informational and educational purposes only. It is not investment, financial, tax, or legal advice. Options involve significant risks, including assignment and loss of upside participation, while ownership of the underlying securities carries the risk of substantial loss. Premium received from an open option should not be confused with realized profit. The “economic basis” calculations used in my trading journal are personal performance-tracking measures and are not necessarily the same as brokerage or tax cost basis. Past performance does not guarantee future results.
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