Strategy Guide
PMCC Guide
Last updated: September 2026
Selling calls against LEAPS positions: the honest trade-off, the gating rules, and why income autopilot fails.
What a PMCC is
A poor man's covered call pairs a long LEAPS call (the stock replacement) with a short call sold against it at a higher strike and nearer expiry. The short call collects premium while the LEAPS provides the upside exposure.
You are trading upside above the short strike for a certain, small payment now. That is the whole deal. Nothing about it is free.
The trade-off, stated plainly
In flat or slowly rising markets, the short call wins quietly month after month. In a sharp rally, it loses loudly: the LEAPS runs and the short call gives back much of the move.
Selling calls habitually, every month regardless of conditions, systematically truncates your best months to smooth your average ones. Sometimes that trade is worth making. It must be made on purpose.
Our gating rules
The overlay is volatility-gated, not habitual. The system sells calls only when implied volatility, trend, and model confidence say follow-through is less likely. When the gate says no, no call is sold.
Rolls and assignments follow written rules too: when to roll, how far, and when to accept assignment math instead. The short call is insurance mechanics around the LEAPS engine, never the engine itself.
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