The 20 Prompts Every Options Traders Should Use

They think a stock will go up, so they buy calls. They think the market will go down, so they buy puts. They see high implied volatility and assume selling options must be “easy income.” They see cheap out-of-the-money contracts and call them “lottery tickets,” as if giving your capital an expiration date somehow makes it more sophisticated. Then they lose money and start asking the classic beginner questions: “Why did I lose if I was right on direction?” “Why did the option collapse after earnings?” “Why did time decay destroy me?” “Why did my short premium trade work for weeks, then lose everything in one session?” Because options are not just directional instruments. Options trade: price direction magnitude