^^^^^^^^^^ Good advice right there. ITM moves with the underlying, and the deeper you are ITM, the more linear the move. So, for instance, if you're in, say, 109 SPY calls - right now - and tomorrow SPY goes up .50, the call will go up ~ .45. Compare to 111 calls, which might go up ~ .30. Or 113 calls, which might go up ~ .10. Or even go down. Then your profitability % depends on the price you bought at. Bottom line - deeper ITM = lower % returns, but more security. IMHO ETA: forgot to add that how close the option will follow also depends on the date. Close to the date, say the last week = about how I described above. 1-2 weeks out, and the moves will be more along the lines of .30, .15, and zero, respectively.