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Preparing your screeners and private paper portfolio.
Measured Premium
Preparing your screeners and private paper portfolio.
Member field guide · About 15 minutes
Learn both screeners with the same sequence: check the scan, review the setup, size the position, then record and review a simulated trade.
This guide is open to read. An active membership is required to use the screeners and paper desk. All examples below are fictional; they are not live candidates or recommendations.
| On the screen | How to use it |
|---|---|
| Starting balance ($) | Your starting paper capital. It becomes fixed after your first trade. |
| Maximum total deployment ($) | The ceiling on total capital committed to open positions. You cannot lower it below existing commitments. |
| Maximum per trade ($) | A capital limit for each new order, not a stop-loss amount or a promise about maximum portfolio loss. |
Both screeners share your paper account. An options position can reduce the capital available for a breakout trade. Changing your dollar limits changes sizing; it does not change the screening rules or rankings.
Save a balance and limits that represent the account you want to practice with. Return to Scanner and find Deployable paper cash or Paper capacity.
The scanner loads research when you open it. Select Run live scan to request an updated scan. Keep the page open while it shows Scanning…; it progresses through saved stages or batches.
Stock quotes from the configured universe.
Option chains or chart histories for the selected symbols.
Candidates that survive the screening rules.
The universe count is not the result count. Options research screens stock quotes and liquidity before checking selected option chains. Breakout research checks histories for a shortlist and market proxies, plus earnings and market conditions. Read the displayed counts and coverage explanation; the tools do not evaluate every listed security or every options contract.
| On the screen | How to use it |
|---|---|
| Last scan / Latest verified scan | Check the timestamp before reviewing prices. A snapshot is not a guaranteed execution price. |
| Scan complete / Complete | The selected scan stages finished. This does not mean every security in the market was covered. |
| Partial coverage | Some quotes, histories, or chains were missing or failed. Review the warning before drawing conclusions from the results. |
| Stale scan: review only | You can review the snapshot, but new paper orders need updated research. |
| No qualifying setups | A completed scan can have no candidates. There is no requirement to place a trade. |
Ticker searches, sorting, and the breakout score threshold filter the current results. They do not expand the universe or start a new market scan.
Use Cash-secured puts or Covered calls to select the strategy. The active profile shown in the current interface is low-delta income: absolute delta 0.10–0.20, 4–12 DTE, and minimum score 60. Screening settings are managed centrally.
| On the screen | How to use it |
|---|---|
| Symbol · Expiry · Strike · DTE | Confirm the underlying, expiration, exercise price, and days to expiration. Do not rely on the ticker alone. |
| Delta | An option sensitivity measure. The profile uses absolute delta; it is not a guarantee against assignment or loss. |
| Bid / Ask · Premium | Option prices are per share. For a standard 100-share contract, a $0.60 bid means $60 gross opening premium. The spread shows the gap between buyers and sellers. |
| ROC | Gross bid premium divided by estimated reserved capital for this period. It is not annualized and is not realized profit. |
| Sizing | Estimated maximum contracts under your available capital and per-trade limit. A maximum is not a suggested trade size. |
| Vol / OI · IV | Trading volume, open interest, and implied volatility. Review liquidity and uncertainty alongside premium. |
| Technical · Macro · Score | Context and a relative ranking. A score of 80 does not mean an 80% chance of success. |
For the underlying strategy mechanics and risks, see the Options Industry Council’s cash-secured put and covered call guides. Paper trading here does not automate assignment. Close paper options before expiration.
Open Breakout Pulse to reach the Breakout board. Its stated research horizon is 1–2 weeks; this is not a promised holding period or return.
The ticket buys at the current ask. It does not wait for the entry zone, place a limit order, or enforce the suggested stop or target. A price move after the scan can change the setup’s economics.
Be able to explain the entry zone, the condition that invalidates the setup, and the difference between capital committed and the loss estimated at the stop reference.
Open Paper desk to see positions from both screeners. Available to deploy reflects your account limits and existing commitments. Realized P&L records closed outcomes; Unrealized P&L estimates open-position results.
A $0.60 option sold and later bought back for $0.15 captures $0.45 per share, or $45 per standard contract: 75% of the opening premium before costs. The trade plan shows this review threshold. It is not an automatic close, and for a covered call it does not describe the combined stock-and-option return.
If you have exactly one open put position for a symbol, review another qualifying put for that same symbol and select Roll my existing put into this contract. Choose a later expiration. The quantity stays fixed. Roll paper position buys back the old put at the ask and sells the new one at the bid, subject to quote and capital checks.
The desk carries forward Lifetime credit and Effective assignment. Lifetime credit is net option credit per share across the roll sequence; effective assignment is the current strike less that net credit. A roll can realize a loss and add time at risk. It does not erase the old trade’s economics.
Paper fills buy at the ask and sell at the bid using fresh regular-session quotes. Marks can differ from executable closing prices. Fees, dividends, automated assignment, and tax effects are not modeled. There are no real brokerage orders, automatic stops, or automatic profit-taking exits.
| On the screen | How to use it |
|---|---|
| I paid but cannot open the desk | Open Membership, confirm your sign-in email matches checkout, and refresh membership status. Allow a few minutes for activation. If it persists, contact John with your receipt; do not buy again to troubleshoot. |
| Scanning… appears stuck | Look at the stage and processed counts, and keep the page open. If Scan interrupted appears, use Retry. If it says the scan paused, use Run live scan to continue the saved work. |
| The scan has fewer results than expected | Check coverage warnings first. Clear the ticker search. On Breakout Pulse, lower the view threshold. Zero qualifying setups can be a valid result. |
| A ticker does not appear | Search only filters returned candidates. A symbol may be outside the configured universe, have missing data, or fail screening. Searching for it does not force a new chain or chart check. |
| Waiting for the first core scan | The research service has not published that feed yet. Retry later; sample candidates are not substituted. |
| The paper order is blocked | Save My dollar limits, use a whole-number quantity within capacity, and wait for the scan to finish. Refresh stale research. New options must expire after today. |
| Regular-session or stale-quote message | Fresh valid bid/ask quotes are required to open, roll, or close positions. Try during the regular trading session; closed markets and holidays can leave quotes stale. |
| The final order no longer fits | A fresh quote can require more capital than the snapshot estimate. Review the new amount and reduce quantity if appropriate. |
| Marks are missing or refresh is limited | Check quote timestamps and retry later. If asked to wait before refreshing again, allow a minute. Your saved positions remain in the account. |
If the issue continues, contact john.e.meese@gmail.com with the screener name, symbol, time, and exact message. Never send a password or card details.
Your first-session checklist