Options scanner for strategy-specific research
A scanner is useful only if you understand what it removes and how it orders what remains. This page describes the screening process in plain terms.
The ranking compares trade-offs. A high premium alone is not a reason to trade, and a top rank is not a prediction.
The screening pipeline
Inputs, screening stages and outputs. Specific formulas are not published.
Contract data evaluated
- Options chain
- Greeks
- Implied volatility
- Volume
- Open interest
- Bid / ask
- Strike distance
- Expiration
Analysis and screening
- 1Universe and exclusions
- 2Expiration window
- 3Strategy filters
- 4Liquidity and quote checks
- 5Normalize per day
What you review
- Ranked candidates
- Premium, return, breakeven, capital
- Warnings such as event risk
- Payoff scenario at stated assumptions
The screening process
Universe
Start from a stock universe and apply your symbol additions and exclusions.
Expiration window
Review contracts inside the window you choose, so different lengths can be compared.
Strategy filters
Apply a delta ceiling and structure rules that depend on the strategy, such as strike distance or spread width.
Liquidity and quote checks
Remove contracts with thin open interest, wide spreads or unreliable quotes. Sold options are priced at the bid for conservatism.
Normalize
Convert returns to a comparable time basis so a 10-day trade and a 45-day trade can be viewed together.
Rank and show warnings
Order remaining candidates and surface warnings such as event risk. You can save favorites and open details.
Scanner and signal detail
Hypothetical contracts shown with the platform's table, filter bar and payoff chart. Not live data.
Candidates
Hypothetical contracts on one example stock at $200.00. Select a row to open its detail.
| Strike | Bid | Premium | Return | Per day |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $5.60 | $560 | 2.80% | 0.215% | |
| $4.20 | $420 | 2.10% | 0.162% | |
| $2.30 | $230 | 1.15% | 0.088% |
Return is premium divided by the $200.00 share price. Candidates that fail your filters are removed, and an empty list is a valid result.
Signal detail: EXAMPLE $210 call
The same payoff chart component the platform uses, shown read-only.
- Premium income
- $420
- Breakeven
- $195.80
- Total position max
- $1,420
- Expires
- 2026-10-16
Covered-position payoff
1 contract · 100 covered shares · expires 2026-10-16
Hover, touch, or focus the chart and use arrow keys to read P/L at a price.
- Shaded above $0: profit
- Shaded below $0: loss
- Solid line: P/L at expiration
- Dashed line: reference price
- Circle: break-even
- Dotted line: strike (values below)
- Break-even
- $195.80
- Strikes
- $210.00
- Payoff profit cap
- $1,420
- Max loss
- $19,580
The chart shows underlying prices from $171.80 to $234.00 only. Losses or gains outside this window can be larger; the window's lowest and highest points are not maximum risk.
Assumes 100 already-owned shares. Total-position P/L includes stock changes from the $200.00 signal reference, not historical cost basis. The existing Max profit income metric remains premium-only.
Uses the signal sell bid; before commissions, financing, exercise/assignment costs and taxes.
Premium income is only the premium. The chart is the whole covered position: 100 shares from a $200.00 reference plus the short call. No live quotes.
Reading the numbers
Premium relative to capital
Covered call example, hypothetical inputs.
Premium
$420
Capital
$20,000
100 shares at $200.00
Return
2.10%
13 days
Bar width = premium as a share of capital. $420 / $20,000 = 2.10%, or 0.162% per day over 13 days
Premium income only, before fees, taxes and any stock gain or loss. Per-day figures compare trades and do not promise the trade can be repeated.
Delta: directional exposure
Select a delta to see what it means for one call contract.
Out of the money, delta 0.30
Moderate sensitivity. Sold options here collect more premium than at 0.15 and are more likely to finish in the money.
One standard contract has about 30 shares of price exposure: roughly $30.00 per small $1 stock move, or $0.30 per quoted share, with other inputs held constant.
Delta is a model sensitivity, not a probability forecast. Values shown are examples, not quotes.
Days to expiration
How the time horizon changes what you are comparing.
0 DTE
Expiration day. Value is almost all intrinsic, and assignment can happen quickly.
7 DTE
Weekly. Time value is small and shrinks fast, and returns per day look large.
30 DTE
Monthly. A common window for comparing premium against time at risk.
45 DTE
Slower daily decay, more time for the stock to move against a position.
90 DTE
Quarterly. Premiums are larger in dollars but spread across more days.
365+ DTE
LEAPS range. Mostly time value early on, and used for long exposure, not quick income.
Descriptions are general tendencies. The scanner normalizes returns per day so different expirations can be viewed together.
Implied volatility: the range the market prices in
Example: $100 stock, 30 days to expiration. One-standard-deviation move = stock x IV x sqrt(days / 365).
- Lower IV 20%+/- $5.73
Smaller expected range, lower premium for the same strike and expiration.
- Typical IV 30%+/- $8.6
A middle reading for this example.
- Higher IV 50%+/- $14.33
Wider expected range and larger premium, with more risk of a large move.
Bars span the one-standard-deviation range around the stock price. Not a forecast. IV rank in the product uses a realized-volatility proxy, not a historical implied-volatility rank.
What the ranking does not do
- It does not forecast price direction.
- It does not guarantee assignment will or will not occur.
- It does not include taxes, your cost basis or your broker's commissions.
- It can return no candidates when no contract passes the filters. An empty result is a valid result.
Tools by strategy
- Covered Call Screener & Trading SignalsFind covered calls against recorded share lots. Compare premium, delta, strike distance and expiration, with clear assignment and stock downside risks.
- Cash-Secured Put Screener & SignalsResearch cash-secured puts with premium, collateral, delta and expiration metrics. Understand breakeven, assignment and the risk of owning the shares.
- Buy-Write Screener & Covered Call ResearchCompare stock-plus-call entries using gross budget, premium income and called-away return. Examine entry costs and stock downside before placing a trade.
- Poor Man's Covered Call & PMCC ScreenerResearch long-dated calls paired with short calls. Compare entry debit, extrinsic value and assignment risk with TradingSignalAI's Premium PMCC finder.
- Wheel Strategy Screener & Assignment ResearchResearch cash-secured put entries and the covered-call scenario if assigned. Understand collateral, share ownership and the limits of future-income estimates.
- Bull Put Credit Spread ScreenerCompare bull put credit spreads by strikes, credit, breakeven and defined expiration risk. Review liquidity and assignment exposure before trading.
- Bear Call Credit Spread ScreenerResearch bear call credit spreads with strike, credit and maximum-loss analysis. Understand the short call, protective call and early-assignment risks.
- Bull Call Debit Spread ScreenerFind bull call debit spreads and compare entry debit, breakeven and capped expiration profit. Review both option legs and execution costs.
- Bear Put Debit Spread ScreenerResearch bearish put debit spreads with defined entry cost and expiration payoff. Compare strikes, debit, breakeven and liquidity in TradingSignalAI.
- Iron Condor Screener & Risk AnalysisCompare iron condor structures using four option legs, net credit, breakevens and wing risk. Understand expiration outcomes and assignment exposure.
- LEAPS Options Screener & Long-Call ResearchResearch long-dated calls using delta, intrinsic value, extrinsic value and capital exposure. Understand leverage, time decay and the risk of losing the debit.
Further reading
- Options Signal Methodology & Ranking LimitsSee how TradingSignalAI filters and ranks opportunities using strategy-specific inputs. Understand quote timestamps, comparison windows and model limitations.
- Options Market Data, Timestamps & CoverageUnderstand the market-data categories used by TradingSignalAI, snapshot timing, liquidity checks and after-hours research limitations. Quotes are not fills.
- Options Delta: Sensitivity, Not a GuaranteeLearn what delta measures, how call and put deltas differ, and why a delta-based probability estimate is not a guaranteed assignment or profit forecast.
- Options Expiration, DTE & Return ComparisonsUnderstand days to expiration, exercise and assignment timing, and why normalized or annualized returns are comparisons rather than income promises.
Research the trade before you place it
Create a free account to record holdings and cash and browse universe research. Premium adds the strategy tools. Eligible new customers can start a 7-day Premium trial; a payment method is required and the plan bills automatically unless canceled. Registration alone is not a Premium subscription.