# Rolling Decision Calculator - Repair a Short Put Source: https://theoptionsbench.com/rolling-decision-calculator/ > Plain-text mirror for AI/LLM ingestion. Canonical HTML page: https://theoptionsbench.com/rolling-decision-calculator/ --- Rolling a short put - key facts Rolling buys back your current short put and sells another - usually later-dated and lower-struck - and is worth doing only when it brings a net credit and you still want the stock. Roll credit / debit New premium received - cost to buy back the old put (total dollars). Positive = credit. New breakeven New strike - all net premium collected to date (per share). Worth rolling when It is a net credit, lowers your breakeven, and you still want to own the shares. Gap to safety New strike - stock price - how far the stock must rise to clear the new strike. Want the full explanation? Read How to Roll a Cash-Secured Put . ## How to use this calculator - Enter your current short put: contracts held, its strike, net premium collected to date, and the underlying price. - Enter the cost to buy back the current put, per share. - Enter the roll you're considering: new contracts, new strike, new premium, and days to expiration. - Read the result: the roll's net credit or debit, your new breakeven, the cash to secure, and which of the three repair stages it is. **What it tells you:** whether rolling an underwater short put pays you a credit and lowers your breakeven - and which repair stage the roll qualifies as. ## How this calculator works You enter two things: the short put you have open now, and the roll you are thinking about making. The calculator returns the net credit or debit of the roll, your new breakeven, the cash the new position ties up, and - the part the big sites do not bother with - which of the three repair stages the roll actually is. Everything turns on one number: the net premium you have collected to date. Your breakeven is simply the strike price minus all that premium, spread across the shares the puts cover. Lower the strike, or add to the premium, and the breakeven drops. The calculator does not store anything, so keep a note of your net premium to date - it is the figure you carry from one roll to the next. ## What it means to roll a short put When you sell a put, you are paid a premium for agreeing to buy the stock at the strike price. If the stock drops below that strike, the put is "in-the-money" and the trade is underwater. You have three honest choices: take assignment and buy the shares, close the put for a loss, or roll it. Rolling means buying back the current put and selling a new one - almost always dated later. Done well, it does not just delay the problem; it improves the trade. A repair has two goals, and a good roll serves at least one of them: lower the strike price, and keep collecting net credits. The strike is the price the stock must climb back to for you to walk away clean. The net credits are booked income. Both of them push your breakeven down, which is the real measure of progress. ## The three repair stages The method works through three stages. The rule is simple: always use the lowest-numbered stage that still produces a net credit, and only move to the next stage when the current one stops working. - Stage 1 - Roll down and out. Keep the same number of contracts, move to a lower strike one to three months out, and still collect a small net credit. The credit will not be large; the real win is the lower strike. - Stage 2 - Roll straight out. When you cannot lower the strike and still be paid, roll to the same strike at a later date for a net credit. The strike does not improve, but the extra premium still lowers your breakeven. - Stage 3 - Expand and roll down and out. When even a straight roll will not pay, add contracts. The extra premium funds a bigger drop in strike while keeping the whole roll a net credit. It also raises the cash you must keep secured, so it is a last resort - not a first move. ## Moving back to Stages 1 and 2 The stages are not a one-way slide. After any roll - especially a Stage 3 - re-check the trade as the next expiration nears. If the stock has recovered some, or the earlier roll improved the trade enough, your next roll may well qualify for Stage 1 or Stage 2 again. When that happens, take it. A Stage 3 expansion is meant to reset you to a stronger position so you can drop back to the gentler stages - not to be repeated over and over. Always step back to the lowest stage you can. ## Worked example A fixed, hypothetical illustration - not live market data. It matches the numbers the calculator loads with so you can follow the math. Say you sold one put on a hypothetical stock at the $50 strike and have booked $300 of net premium so far. The stock has slipped to $46, so the put is in-the-money. Near expiration you roll: buy back the $50 put for $4.50 per share, and sell a new $47.50 put 45 days out for $4.70 per share. - Net credit: $470 collected - $450 paid = $20. Small - Stage 1 credits usually are. - Stage: same one contract, lower strike, positive credit - this is a Stage 1 roll. - New total premium: $300 + $20 = $320. - New breakeven: $47.50 - $3.20 = $44.30. You lowered the strike by $2.50, lowered the breakeven, and got paid $20 to do it. The stock now only has to climb back to $47.50 - not $50 - for the position to expire worthless and hand you the full $320. ## Edge cases this calculator handles Rolling a losing put is full of judgment calls that a generic credit-or-debit number cannot make for you. The calculator reads them out explicitly. - It names the repair stage automatically. The roll is classified as Stage 1 (down and out), Stage 2 (straight out) or Stage 3 (expand and roll down) - always reporting the lowest-numbered stage that still takes in a net credit. - A roll that is really a debit. If buying back the old put costs more than the new premium, it is flagged as "not a credit roll" rather than dressed up as a repair. - Rolling up is called what it is. Rolling to a higher strike is flagged as a recovery move, not one of the three repair stages - so you do not mistake chasing the stock for repairing the trade. - The capital jump in Stage 3. Adding contracts raises the cash you must secure; the calculator shows that increase so the extra commitment is never hidden. - The carry-forward breakeven. The new breakeven folds in all the premium booked on prior rolls, not just this one - the single number you record between rolls in a stateless tool. Found this useful? Get the bi-weekly email Strategy breakdowns, the edge cases these calculators surface, and trades worth watching - free, no noise. Join the free email -> ## ⚠ Common mistakes - Rolling for a debit. Paying out of pocket to roll works against the whole point. Aim for at least a small net credit on every roll. - Jumping to Stage 3 too early. Expanding contracts is the last resort. It ties up far more capital - exhaust Stage 1 and Stage 2 first. - Chasing the biggest credit instead of the lower strike. A lower strike is usually worth more to the repair than a fatter credit at the same strike. - Rolling too far out. Going many months out just to manufacture a credit burns your time-decay edge. One to three months is the usual range. - Repairing a stock you no longer believe in. The method assumes the stock eventually recovers. On a broken company it only delays the loss. - Losing track of your net premium. It is the one number that carries your progress between rolls. Update it every time. ## Frequently asked questions What does it mean to roll a short put? Rolling a short put means buying back the put you currently have open and selling a new one, usually at a later expiration. It lets you keep the trade going instead of taking assignment or closing for a loss. What is the goal when repairing an underwater short put? Two things: lower the strike price (the level the stock must reach for you to exit cleanly) and keep collecting net credits. Both of those lower your breakeven, which is the strike minus all the premium you have banked. What is the difference between Stages 1, 2 and 3? Stage 1 rolls to a lower strike for a net credit. Stage 2 rolls to the same strike for a net credit, used when you cannot lower the strike and still be paid. Stage 3 adds contracts to fund a bigger drop in strike when a plain roll will not pay. Always use the lowest-numbered stage that still produces a credit. Why would I expand the number of contracts (Stage 3)? Extra contracts bring in more premium, and that premium pays for a larger drop in strike than you could afford otherwise. The trade-off is that it raises the cash you must keep secured, so it is a last resort - not a first move. What counts as a net credit on a roll? The premium you collect on the new put minus the cost to buy back the old one. A positive number means the roll pays you rather than costing you. Aiming for at least a small net credit is a core rule of the method. Can I move back to an earlier stage on a later roll? Yes, and you should. After any roll, re-check at the next expiration. If the stock has recovered or the earlier roll improved the trade enough, your next roll may qualify for Stage 1 or 2 again. Always step back to the lowest stage you can. Does this calculator remember my position between visits? No. It is a stateless tool with no login or saved data. Record your net premium collected to date - that single number carries your progress from one roll to the next, and you re-enter it each time. When should I roll a short put instead of closing or taking assignment? Roll when you still believe in the stock, need more time, and can move out - and usually down - for a net credit; rolling for a debit only pays to delay a loss. Take assignment when you are happy to own the shares at the strike. Close when your reason for the trade is gone, or a roll is only possible for a debit. Never roll just to avoid admitting a loss.