Education · Lessons from the Byte
What would you do?
Consider the INTC October 9, 2026 $105 calls, a real trade from Ian's public record.
Imagine you've bought three contracts. Before entering, you've decided on a simple exit plan:
- Sell one contract at a 20% gain.
- Sell one contract at a 50% gain.
- Sell the final contract at a 100% gain.
- Apply a stop 60% below your entry price to any contracts still open.
The choice: Do you take profits as your targets are reached, or hold all three contracts until expiry?
Taking profits in stages lets you secure some gains while keeping part of the position open for a larger move. But every contract you sell reduces your exposure to further upside.
Holding all three contracts gives you the full benefit if the option continues to rise. It also leaves the entire position exposed if the price reverses.
The complication: You don't know how far the move will go. A strong gain today might become a larger gain tomorrow, or disappear before expiry.
And the option doesn't have to move gradually. A sharp overnight change can take the price straight past your planned stop, leaving you with a worse exit than expected.
The highest price an option reaches isn't necessarily a price you would have sold at.
Your decision: Would you follow the three-target plan, hold everything until expiry, or use a different approach?
If you'd choose something different, think about exactly when you'd sell and how much you'd be prepared to lose.
There's no single exit strategy that produces the best result on every trade. The question is whether you have a plan that makes sense before you know the outcome.
Next week, we'll reveal what happened to these INTC calls and compare the results of taking profits in stages with holding until expiry.
This lesson first appeared in Weekly Options Bytes, our free email from Ian Harvey’s options research desk.
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