---
name: skill-cash-secured-puts
description: Short put with cash reserved for assignment. Use for strike choice, collateral size, or an accept-versus-roll plan.
skill_family: options-strategy
last_updated: 2026-09-30
---

# Cash-secured puts

## When to use

- The account can set aside cash to buy the shares if assigned.
- The question is collateral, a 30–60 day window, or what happens at assignment.

## Setup

- Sell the put only with full cash reserved.
- Cash required is strike × 100 × contracts.
- Typical illustration: about 8–12% out of the money, 30–60 days to expiry, unless a shorter window was requested.

## Rules of thumb

- No uncovered short puts.
- State the cash figure before the premium.
- Assignment plan is explicit: accept the shares, or roll. Do not leave that choice implied.
- Breakeven is the strike minus the premium received.

## Pitfalls

- Premium treated as income while the cash is already spent elsewhere.
- A gap through the strike with no plan to take the shares.
- Sizing from premium collected instead of from cash available.

## Disclaimer

Options involve risks and are not suitable for everyone. Read *Characteristics and Risks of Standardized Options* at OptionsEducation.org, or from your broker or the Options Clearing Corporation, before using this structure. Examples omit commissions, fees, margin, interest, and taxes. This is a structured playbook for education. It is not a signal, a recommendation, a solicitation, or a broker order.