Originally Posted by
NoFishOnBoard
I used to be the trading supervisor on the trading desk of a large regional banks retail stock brokerage. At that time we executed trades for roughly 30,000 accounts. I've seen and executed every type of trade you can do, and I saw no one consistently make money buying options. I sat at a desk all day, every day with instantaneous access to all publicly available market data, and I consistently got my butt handed to me when I tried to trade options for my own account.
You're basically trying to time the market, and you are doing so with a shot clock ticking down and a gun pointed at your wallet. Trading options is routinely described as "paying your stupidity tax." I made good money on exactly one trade, and even then it was an absolute stroke of luck out of the blue that helped my position, and as much money as I made I probably only broke even counting the beatings I took on the other positions. It was the last trade I did.