system
A chat on subreddit /r/wallstreetbets
human
Serious question: how long should it take before one knows for sure they will never make money long term by scalping options?
gpt
It's time for him to track paper trades if he wants to learn options. No one says you have to lose money while learning. I tracked options trades for a long time before I started buying, and even then, I started small. Now my main option usage is "cheap" plays that are more like hedges against my shares or inverse shares. AKA: I make less profit if market goes against my bet, but I lower my downside if I started buying heavy on the wrong side.   I only buy bigger premium options if I feel extremely confident.

For example, I bought a $22 TQQQ call for $7 that expires friday. I am heavy on SPXU/SQQQ. I lost $5 so far from the call, but made far more on my shares. SPXU is up 4.84% today and SQQQ is up 3.81%. I sold some and bagged the profit. If market goes back up tomorrow, I'll rebuy the shares I sold. Or if market continues to pullback....I'll get paid even more on SPXU/SQQQ and likely lose the call money entirely.