A busier month with more tickers, more spreads, and one honest loss to talk about — the full breakdown is below.
April was the most active month since I started tracking these recaps. 22 closed positions across 14 tickers, ranging from quick 1-day diagonal spreads to a 48-day short put carry. The strategy stayed the same — diagonal spreads and short puts — but the pace picked up significantly.
The headline number is +$4,125 net, with a 95% win rate. That one loss? PLUG shares, assigned from the Q1 put and sold at a loss in April. I'll walk through it below.
Back in Q1, I sold a PLUG put which got assigned — meaning I was obligated to buy 200 shares at $4.00 per share ($800 total). I held those shares into April and sold them at $2.65, locking in a -$270 loss.
April saw a lot of expansion beyond the SLV-heavy Q1 playbook. New names included ARM, GOOGL, HIMS, ALAB, AAOI, INTC, QBTS, RKLB, SMR, and NVTS. Most were diagonal spreads — long LEAP paired with a short near-term call — and several were opened and closed within the same week.
The standout was AAOI, traded twice in the final week of April. The first diagonal (4/24) returned +$650 in a single day. The second (4/28–4/29) returned +$420 overnight. Fast-moving names with high implied volatility are where the diagonal structure shines — the LEAP captures the move, the short call brings in premium to reduce cost basis.
Here's the full April dashboard — every position, grouped as spreads where applicable.
Apr 2026 · Real trades, real data
| Month | Pos. | P&L | Win % | Ann. ret. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 2026 | 22 | +$4,125 | +219% |
| Jan–Mar 2026 | +$3,813 |
| Apr 2026 | +$4,125 |
| 2026 Total | +$7,938 |
| Ticker | Type | Entry | Close | Days | Capital | P&L | Ann. return |
|---|
The diagonal spread structure continued to deliver. 11 of the 22 positions were multi-leg spreads, and every single one closed green at the position level — even ALAB, which had a -$224 short leg loss but a +$704 long leg gain for a net +$480.
Speed improved. Average hold time dropped from 21 days in Q1 to 15 days in April. Several positions were opened and closed within a week, suggesting better entry timing and more decisive exits.
Heading into May: APLD (rolled to May), ONDS (rolled to May), and QBTS (rolled to May). All are short puts collecting premium. Their final P&L will be included in the May recap.
With Q1 (+$3,813) and April (+$4,125) combined, the 2026 running total stands at +$7,938 across 36 closed positions. Win rate across both periods: 97% (35W / 1L). The only loss remains the PLUG share sale.
Questions about any of the setups — strike selection, how I pick LEAPs, or the rolling logic — drop them in the comments. I read and reply to everything.
⚠️ Not financial advice. Personal trades shared for educational purposes only. Options trading carries significant risk. Always do your own research before trading.