Been trading for a while now and started noticing how time decay really affects my trades.
I often choose the right direction but still lose money because I waited too long. The value drops even when the market moves my way.
Is this something others struggle with? What strategies do you use for timing your exits?
Exit timing is everything with options. Theta burn destroys you in those final hours regardless of price movement.
Setting profit targets early helps instead of chasing max gains. Taking your 40-50% when it’s there is better than watching it vanish.
Trades under 2 hours to expiry can be more trouble than they are worth.
Bail at 60% time left if you’re not making money. Time decay goes crazy in those final minutes. Set up alerts for specific times instead of staring at the screen all day.
I close around 50% of the expiry time unless I’m ahead significantly.
Time decay destroyed me when I started with binary options. Lost three GBPUSD trades in a row even though price went my way.
I don’t hold past 70% of expiry anymore. No profit by then? I’m out.
Learned this the hard way watching a $200 winner become a $150 loss in the last few minutes.