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20 delta or 30 delta: which put should you sell?

A 20 delta put sits further below the price, pays less, and is assigned less often. A 30 delta put pays more and is assigned more. Neither wins every year. Here's both, through a year of monthly cycles.

Options guide · 9-minute read · Updated 2026-10-27

The short answer

A 20 delta put has a strike further below the stock price. The market prices it with roughly a 1 in 5 chance of finishing in the money. It pays less and you're assigned less often.

A 30 delta put sits closer to the price, with roughly a 3 in 10 chance. It pays more, and you'll own shares more often.

Over a year of cycles, neither wins every time. The 30 delta usually collects more in calm stretches. The 20 delta usually loses less on each drop. The right choice depends on how much you want to own the stock.

What delta tells a put seller

Delta measures how much an option's price moves when the stock moves $1. For a put, it's shown as a negative number, like −0.20. Sellers usually just say "20 delta."

Many sellers also use delta as a rough guide to the chance of finishing in the money. That's an estimate from the market's prices, based on Implied volatility. It isn't a forecast, and it changes every day the stock moves. Our options Greeks guide explains the rest.

Both deltas through a year (an illustration, not a trade idea)

A made-up stock, XYZ, trades at $50. Each month:

• The 20 delta put is the $45 strike for $0.70 ($70).
• The 30 delta put is the $47 strike for $1.20 ($120).

To keep it simple, each month is treated as a fresh put with XYZ back at $50. In real life, after assignment you'd hold the shares and sell calls. The simplification makes the strikes easy to compare.

Each losing month is the share loss after assignment plus that month's premium.

Year A: mostly calm, one drop

Nine quiet months. Two small dips to $46. One drop to $40.

Year B: three drops

Seven quiet months, two small dips, three drops to $40.

Year C: one crash month

Eleven quiet months, one fall to $30.

What the tables really say

1. The 30 delta isn't just "more premium." It's more premium for more assignments. In Year B it was assigned five times in twelve months. That means a lot more time holding shares, which is the part of the wheel strategy where most losses happen.

2. The 20 delta isn't the low-risk one. It still lost money in two of three years. The cushion helps on dips, but a real drop goes through either strike.

3. The quiet months decide a lot. The extra $50 a cycle adds up when nothing happens. That's why sellers who want premium lean toward 30 delta, and sellers who mainly want to avoid shares lean toward 20.

4. Small dips are where they differ most. At $46, the 20 delta put expires and the 30 delta put is assigned. If you'd be happy to own XYZ at $47, that's fine. If not, it's a problem.

Pick this if, pick that if

Sell around 20 delta if:

• You'd rather be assigned less often, and own the stock only after a real dip.
• You want more room for normal wiggles.
• The stock's premium is still worth the fees and spread at that strike.

Sell around 30 delta if:

• You'd genuinely like to own the stock, and $47 is a price you'd pay.
• You're comfortable spending more months holding shares and selling calls.
• You accept that each drop starts closer to the price.

Many sellers settle somewhere between 15 and 30 delta and stay consistent, so their journal shows how that choice plays out over time. For the call side, see 30 delta vs 50 delta covered calls. For the timing side, see 30 DTE vs 45 DTE.

How to choose for your next put

1. Write the price you'd honestly pay for 100 shares.
2. Find the delta of the put at that strike on the Options chain. That's your delta, not a number from a guide.
3. Compare the premium at 20 and 30 delta. Is the extra worth more assignments?
4. Run Year A and Year C above with your stock's real numbers.
5. Pick one range and stick with it for at least ten trades, so you can judge it fairly.

Questions