"Can you share some details of what the awful awful thing that actually happens is" Taowave said it well, you risk so much to gain so little. The risk is not about going in the money 5% of the time. The risk is how severely in the money it can go, and when they go against you, you get hit simultaneously on all sides. Personally, never happened to me. I could never own enough of them. I'd gobble them up like potato chips. I guess, one mans garbage truly is another mans treasure.
In your long professional career, below never happened or it did but you have been able to manage it? If you didn't get caught, was it luck or skill or both?
I prefer the more immediate gratification of trading futures, but I have to admit I'm an options trader first and foremost. I liked the idea of being "out" of the market overnight. My happy place is a combo of selling options while hedging with futures. Hope this makes sense.
Neither luck nor skill. It never happened, because I always owned them. So I'll go with discipline. It is impossible and a waste of time to attempt to impress on people the foolishness of selling those things. Total waste of time. People cannot see extremes. It's hardwired into our lizard brains to seek comfort in mental mean reversions. A warm-fuzzy desire for normalcy.
Target theta is between 0.10% and 1.00% of the net liquidating value Target theta/vega ratio is |0.20| or higher Maintain negative delta in the account to alleviate downside risk in the market Target delta/vega ratio is -1 delta to -2 vega (keep ½ negative delta to negative vega)