I made dozens from leaps calls


Leaps call experience sharing:

1. Leaps mindset: First ask yourself how much loss you can accept, thousands, tens of thousands. Once you act, it's best not to look back. A counterexample is the early 2025 leap on Alibaba. The timing was perfect, but halfway through, doubts crept in. The stop-loss was just a few thousand in premium, but what was missed were the tenfold or hundredfold gains from in-the-money options.

2. Leaps timing: Is the market in panic? Has the stock price fallen enough? Does the leap target have a high moat? For example, Amazon has a high moat, but the drop wasn't panicky enough, so the leap's cost-performance is mediocre—better to wait for now. During a crash, don't rush in. Let the bullets fly for a while, wait a few days or weeks for the market to fully digest the shock. A little more patience might reveal a very attractive price.

The best timing is when the market is nearly desperate about the target, offering the highest cost-performance—when you can't imagine things getting any worse.

3. Leaps duration: At least 3 months, preferably 4, 6, 9, or 12 months. Because within 2 months, time decay accelerates nonlinearly.

4. Leaps strike selection: Round numbers are best. Choose out-of-the-money leaps, about 10–30% away from the target price, with open interest of at least thousands to ensure liquidity.

5. Leaps taboo: Don't blindly average down on options. After establishing a position, usually just leave it alone. Plant the seed, then wait. Adding to the position means increasing the bet. If you get carried away and lose big, you might lose all your chips.

6. Leaps floating profits: If the direction is right, reduce the position to lock in gains and recover costs, making it easier to handle market volatility. You're already in an unbeatable position. Always have a profit-taking plan—don't hold stubbornly. Counterexamples: UNH call with 15 points of floating profit but no exit strategy, ending up with nothing; AMZN with 20 points of floating profit but no plan, now only up a few points; SLV, an epic opportunity, exited too early after 5x gains, originally planned a bull call but hit a bug, now 20x—took a long time to calm down. Phased profit-taking is crucial. Don't go all or nothing.

7. Leaps win rate: A high win rate isn't necessary. Just one successful leap can cover the losses from the others.

8. Leaps holding process: Believe that miracles can happen.

9. Finally, accept the outcome of failed leaps. There's no sure-win, risk-free opportunity. Options are inherently dangerous—only play if you can afford to lose.

If I had held the leap calls, by now this year, I could have made about 100 more. But there are no "ifs." Preserving half the gains, roughly a few hundred K, isn't much, but it's a start. Making money is secondary; surviving in the market and preserving capital means there's always another chance.

Why write this? It's partly selfish—writing helps me the most, sorting out my thoughts and emotions. Of course, if it helps others a little, that's even better.

Wishing everyone great fortunes!

$Amazon(AMZN.US) $Coinbase(COIN.US) $PDD(PDD.US) $Meta Platforms(META.US) 

$Intel(INTC.US) $Apple(AAPL.US) $Alphabet - C(GOOG.US)