Blog /28 Oct 2026

Week 2 review: JNJ is up $818, and the rules still say hold

Two weeks in, the three example campaigns are up $958.58. JNJ ran through its short strike and the rules say hold, the IWM put has made 35% of its credit against a 50% target, and UPRO's long call has drifted out of its delta band.

By Team Iron Wheel

The dashboard with the Capital column shown: the Default portfolio's total P/L +$958.58 on $11,739.00 of capital; IWM Tasty Puts at +$85.25 on $4,169.00, 30 days to expiration; UPRO iPMCC at +$54.90 on $3,130.00, 2 and 142 days; JNJ PMCC at +$818.43 on $4,440.00, 30 and 170 days — All three campaigns before Wednesday's open, October 28, with the Capital column switched on: $958.58 up on $11,739 of capital.

Two weeks in, the three example campaigns are up $958.58. Besides UPRO's weekly roll on Friday, the rules call for one trade. UPRO's long call has drifted out of its delta band, so it gets re-centred. Everything else holds, including the JNJ pair, up $818 after a run through its short strike. The figures are from The Iron Wheel before Wednesday's open, October 28, at Tuesday's closing prices. It is an example for education, not a recommendation.

Campaign	P/L	Nearest rule trigger	Action
IWM puts	+$85.25	50% target at $1.24; the put is at $1.61	Hold
JNJ PMCC	+$818.43	21 days to expiration on November 6	Hold
UPRO iPMCC	+$54.90	Long call at 0.83 delta, band 77–82	Re-centre the long

The market: calmer, still fearful

VIX closed Friday at 19.45 and eased to 17.52 by Tuesday. CNN's Fear & Greed index for stocks read 34, still in fear, up from 30 a week earlier.

Calmer markets mean cheaper options, so the next premium sold brings in less than it would have on Friday.

IWM puts: back above the entry

The IWM Tasty Puts campaign page: IWM at $279.90, total P/L +$85.25, capital $4,169, break-even $261.54, 30 days to expiration, and daily candles from late August to October 27, ending at $280.18, with the short 264 put and the break-even marked — The IWM campaign at Tuesday's close. Red is the short 264 put, blue the break-even.

IWM bounced. It climbed from its $269.88 low on October 16 to $280.18 at Tuesday's close. That's above where it stood when the put was sold, and about 6% above the strike.

The put moved the other way, from $2.47 to $1.61. The campaign is up $85.25, 35% of the credit, with the rally and two weeks of time decay both pulling the same way.

No rule applies yet. The profit target buys the put back at about $1.24, and November 6 brings the 21-day exit. The put stays open.

JNJ: through the short strike

JNJ at Tuesday's close, above the short 265 call (red). Beside the chart, the P/L profile at the short call's expiration (solid line) peaks at $265.

JNJ jumped 3.8% on October 22. After a dip on Friday, it closed Tuesday at $268.73, above the short call's 265 strike.

The long 220 call is up $1,494.22, and the short 265 call is down $675.79. Together that's $818.43 in two weeks. On the $4,440 of capital the pair ties up, it's 18.4%.

The long call, at 0.86 delta, still outruns the short one at 0.60. Together they move like 26 shares of JNJ.

Banking the gain

A gain like this invites an exit. Close both legs, bank the $818, and start again after a pullback. The rules have no such exit, and this is the moment they were written for.

They close the short call at 50% of its credit or at 21 days. They roll the long call under 90 days or 0.70 delta. None of that has happened. The long call has 170 days left at 0.86 delta, and the short call is losing money with 30 days to go.

Last week's review said a move through $265 would bring a roll. That went further than the rules. Crossing the strike triggers nothing on its own, and the roll waits for 21 days, on November 6. Both legs stay open.

UPRO: a fast week for a weekly call

The two UPRO legs: short one 140 call expiring 2026-10-30, 2 days left, sold for $7.17 net, marked $10.30, delta −0.86, down $313.06, time value $0.32; long one 115 call expiring 2027-03-19, 142 days left, cost $37.92, marked $41.60, delta 0.83, up $367.96, time value $6.62; debit $3,075.10, delta per lot −0.04 — The two UPRO legs at Tuesday's close. The app works out time value from UPRO's after-hours price, $149.98.

UPRO gained 3.8% in two sessions, to $149.55 at Tuesday's close. The pair is up $54.90.

The short 140 call is deep in the money now, at 0.86 delta with two days left. Its time value is under a dollar, down from about $2 at the fill. That's still above the $0.05 line for an early roll, so it rolls on Friday as planned.

The long call is the one out of line. At 0.83 delta it has left its 77–82 band, so the rules re-centre it. They sell the 115 call and buy a new 80-delta call at a higher strike. The new call costs less, so the swap takes some of the gain off the table.

With the short call at 0.86 delta and the long at 0.83, the pair barely moves with UPRO for now. Above about $155 at Friday's expiration, it would lose money.

The plan

UPRO's long call. The rules swap the 115 call for a new 80-delta one.
Friday, October 30. UPRO's short call rolls to next week's 70-delta call.
Friday, November 6. The IWM put and the JNJ short call reach 21 days. The rules close or roll whichever is still open. JNJ's short call rolls up and out, and if that costs a debit, the long call rolls up with it.
IWM's profit target. The good-till-canceled order to buy the put back at about $1.24 stays in place.

The next review follows in a week.