Aaron,
<<My principal motivation was to hedge other equity-related holdings, not to grab a quick double or triple in a low-premium OTM put.>>
If you're using puts as a hedge for other holdings, it's sometimes cheaper, especially with nearby options, to use more contracts of close to the money options rather than try for a delta close to one with deep in the money options. Just a thought. After all, if things do go south, they usually go fast and the premium in your options expands (vega). I've hedged individual stock positions with equity options and find you can usually hedge a position with fewer than twice the options. (with a delta of .48 on at-the-money nearby puts, it would usually take, say, 2 options to hedge 100 shares but if the underlying moves a couple of strike prices, the delta on the puts goes up and it takes less than 2ops/100 shares, therefore cheaper).
Best,
-Steve
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