I only sell spreads when that particular strategy makes sense. When I sold GE call spreads, I began buying the underlying for possible situation I have to deliver of stock when I saw things moving in a direction that would indicate a strong possibility. I ended up buying back long call position and left the short side. I did end up having to deliver It has been a while since I have sold credit spreads. Although I did leave quite a bit of money on the table closing the long call side just a tad bit too early I have been selling short puts and short calls at different strikes and months (some deep ITM, some ATMs and some OTMS) Tip. You want a large cash war chest and large inventory of securities if you want to make good money in the premium(selling insurance) world. And you need to always a 100% understanding of the greeks, risk/profit profiles and understand how to hedge your positions accordingly. You need to think like an insurance actuary. This is not a game, treat it as a legitimate franchise.
Oh this is oh so true... Selling credit spreads, or naked is in my opinion much more difficult than buying options. With buying you win some you loose some. You don't break the bank. BUT with short gamma you have a much more complicated ball game and hence like you say you need to treat this as a franchise. I personally love it as it suits my character (contrarian by heart). However, I would not recommended it personally. I have personally witnessed another trader twice blow up accounts that they were managing. Not a pretty picture...