Why do you think that's a bad fill? The ask was $1.85. IMO ......... Your stop limits will contribute to your downfall.
Is it true that when you are long, you will you be stopped out at bid and if you are short you are stopped out at ask? If so in thinly traded situation you can be gamed and stopped out.
Yes ..... When the bid hits $1.35 the position will be closed. IMO .....Options are too volatile for stops. In the OPs case I would have gone with 3 contracts, no stops for a total risk of $510 versus 12 contracts with a stop at $1.35 and risk of $420.
50% per trade? Come on, that's too much! 10% per trade should be enough, IMO. And the longer you keep the stuff, the more will you be penalized by time decay. Best is to make about 5 to 10% quickly and close that pos immediately b/c of time-decay... Ie. repeat that as many times as possible in the shortest time possible... But: you can't because of the DayTrading rules... ;-( You need an account of at least $25k for being able to do as many trades as you like. And it never may fall below $25k, otherwise problems with your broker and exchange are pre-programmed...
This stock is on a southeast trip since august last year. I would rather try to get 50 cents for 22.5/20 put credit spread
Options are too volatile for stops - they could go down to $1.00 and then back to $3.00 the next day, that happens all the time. A big advantage of options over futures is that you don't have to get stopped out of a trade only to see it rebound without you. I picked the 3 contracts at $1.70 without stops because the risk is approximately the same has 12 contracts with a stop at $1.35 - $510 vs $420. My intention would be to keep the trade open and give it time to develop - even if it expires worthless.