JOIN ME LIVE AT 9 AM ET FOR: WATCHLIST WEDNESDAYS
Let me share something that I think will completely shift how you think about options trading.
Over the past five years, options trading has exploded in popularity. And I get it — everyone believes that using an option is one of the best ways to amplify directional returns.
The leverage is attractive. The potential is real. But here’s the problem most traders don’t understand until it’s too late…
The average weekly move is typically less than 1% week-to-week. And for anyone using a standard option, that’s gonna provide a huge problem. Because even when you get the direction right, the market simply doesn’t move enough to overcome the structural drag built into these contracts.
It’s not that simple.
A standard call option only truly shines when the market makes big, explosive moves. But the reality is that weekly market movement is usually quiet — under 1% most of the time. And if you’re using a standard option in that environment, you’re fighting an uphill battle from day one.
Why? Because a standard option was never designed to profit in a 1% atmosphere. These instruments generally require 3%, 4%, 5% or even larger moves to see substantial returns.
And when the market doesn’t deliver those moves — which is most of the time — the option loses value at an aggressive rate.
When Being Right Still Means Losing Money
Here’s a real example that perfectly illustrates this problem. For example, let’s look at the week of Jan. 21. Over the seven-day period, the S&P 500 (SPY) climbed 0.89%. That’s almost a full 1% gain — a positive week by any reasonable measure.
In theory, a standard call option in a rising market should produce a reasonable profit, right? That’s what most traders expect when they enter these positions.
But that’s rarely what actually happens.
In this instance, the standard option lost 95% of its value despite the market finishing higher for the week. Let that sink in for a moment.
The market moved in the exact direction you predicted. Your directional call was correct. And yet the option still lost nearly all of its value.
This is heartbreaking for traders and it happens far more often than most people realize.
The Silent Killer of Options Trades
The culprit behind this phenomenon is time decay. With a standard option, time decay constantly works against us, and each day that passes causes the position to lose value — even if the market is moving in our desired direction.
This is why we can accurately predict where the market is heading but somehow still end up losing money on a standard option trade.
It’s frustrating. It’s confusing.
And most traders have experienced the harsh reality of time decay at one point or another.
The truth is, time decay is the primary reason why up to 90% of all options expire worthless, even when traders correctly predict market direction. It’s a structural problem with how standard options behave in normal market conditions.
But there’s something important to understand. Not all options suffer this structural drag. There are engineered alternatives designed specifically to remove time decay from the equation.
Without time decay, the engineered option would have posted a perfect 100% return on investment on that same 0.89% market move — a result that would be impossible for a standard option to achieve in typical weekly conditions.
Understanding these differences changes everything about how you approach options trading. The question isn’t whether you can predict direction — it’s whether the structure of your trade can actually profit from the typical market environment we see week after week.
That’s the real edge in options trading.
I’ll see you in the markets.
Chris Pulver
Chris Pulver Trading
Follow along and join the conversation for real-time analysis, trade ideas, market insights and more!
- Telegram:https://t.me/+av20QmeKC5VjOTc5
- YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/@FinancialWars
- Twitter:https://x.com/realchrispulver
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/therealchrispulver
Important Note: No one from the ProsperityPub team or Chris Pulver Trading will ever contact you directly on Telegram.
*This is for informational and educational purposes only. There is inherent risk in trading, so trade at your own risk.
P.S. 1 Strange Trade Would Have Doubled A Stake 31 Times in 2025 Alone…
And according to two former hedge fund traders, this special option could present more opportunities in 2026.
Would you like to get all the details?
Yes! Show Me This Special Trade
We develop strategies to the best of our ability, but we cannot guarantee a future return. There is always a risk of loss when trading. Past performance is not indicative of future results. The results shown are from a 237-trade backtest from 1/1/20 – 1/1/26. The result was a 70% win rate, 40% average return (winners and losers), with a 7-day hold time.
