Primarily I trade stock shares and ETF’s with a confident return. It is rare that I play with options. Why do I not play with options? —Because despite many hours of reading books about options, I am still lost and usually losing money from options. Options feel like complete guesswork. I even struggle entering and exiting trades correctly. The only options I try are buying calls and buying puts. When I buy puts I am confused about the bid/ask prices. It is confusing what direction I am entering and exiting for profits. One time I bought a put and it soared into the green but then when I closed the trade I inputted bad numbers and basically broke even because I am confused how to input my orders confidently. Then there is that profit/loss line graph. I do not understand how to interpret which is going to profitable or what direction it is going. Then there is an options calculator... I have no clue how to use them. How do I lift this thing up and get trading options more successfully because I trade shares just fine. it seems like I would have options mastered by now. They are so complicated though.
You need to switch from buying options to selling options like covered calls. When you buy an option, you not only need to be right on direction, but time interval too! You are betting that something moves in the direction you want in a specified time period! That is a lot of things that have to go exactly right. BUT, if you selling premium, you are getting the money upfront! Look into covered calls or perhaps naked puts on stocks you want to go long on anyway. This way time works in your favor.
What if you just stick to LEAPS, is that going to improve your chances of beating time decay? My technique has been just buying calls and puts (off volatility spikes). And I have super weak hands in that I want to sell contracts quick once I see my position is jumping in the green I want to take profits quickly and move on.
