--- title: "Knowing it's a mistake but still waiting for the right moment to sell is a very dangerous idea." type: "Topics" locale: "en" url: "https://longbridge.com/en/topics/40350017.md" description: "On March 31st, I set up some covered calls and was secretly pleased to be "making friends with time," only to find out that time is a killer. Still, I have to argue that the logic behind the above covered calls was correct, it's just that I chose a completely wrong time. At a moment when the stock price pullback was very suitable for long calls, I did the opposite, which was extremely foolish. Looking back, I was indeed influenced by some market sentiment, thinking it was more likely for the stock price to continue falling, but who knew that a big rebound moment would happen as soon as April arrived. Fortunately, I still have the awareness to admit my mistakes..." datetime: "2026-05-01T11:46:19.000Z" locales: - [en](https://longbridge.com/en/topics/40350017.md) - [zh-CN](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/topics/40350017.md) - [zh-HK](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/topics/40350017.md) author: "[长坡行者](https://longbridge.com/en/profiles/14120321.md)" --- # Knowing it's a mistake but still waiting for the right moment to sell is a very dangerous idea. On 3.31, I set up some covered calls and was secretly pleased to be "making friends with time." Little did I know, time is a killer. I still have to make an excuse: the logic behind those covered calls was correct; I just picked a completely wrong time. At a moment when the stock price pullback was perfect for long calls, I did the opposite, which was utterly foolish. Looking back, I was indeed influenced by some market sentiment, thinking the stock price was more likely to continue falling. Who knew that April would bring a major rebound? Fortunately, I have the awareness to admit my mistakes. After I figured it out on 4.16 (or more accurately, after being taught a lesson), I immediately admitted my error. Figuring it out is one thing, admitting the mistake is another, but my actions still didn't follow. If I had cut losses promptly then, I could have recovered half of the losses from the Google covered call options alone. ### I made another mistake on top of the mistake: trying to time the exit! Having made a mistake, hoping the market would give me a chance to recoup some losses—this thought might be even more terrifying than setting up covered calls at the wrong time. The best time to plant a tree was ten years ago; the second best is now. ### The best time to realize a mistake and cut losses promptly is the next second; the second best is now. Recognizing the mistake and cutting losses promptly, no matter how large the loss, makes it the "smallest" loss. The covered calls set up on 3.31—Google, this $4 trillion+ behemoth, actually rose over 40% in the following month. The US stock market truly is a place where anything is possible. ### If I hadn't set up a long call as a hedge earlier, this covered call would likely have taught me a bloody lesson. Even now, I don't understand why I set such a conservative strike price on Google, a stock with such high certainty. Tesla's covered call strike price during the same period was 650, nearly double the stock price on 3.31. What was I thinking with Google's strike price of 365? Let me give myself an out: maybe I misread 465 as 365🤣. If that's the case, such a low-level mistake deserves a proper bloodletting to serve as a lesson. No matter what, even if the King of Heaven himself shows up tonight, I'm going to close out those Google covered calls. ### Google should be the kind of company you never sell. If I must set up covered calls, any covered call within a year should have a strike price set at more than double the price, even after Google hits a new all-time high. Reflecting on this, options are a tool. I was indeed a bit "addicted" recently and need to refocus my main energy back on the underlying stocks. 🤔 $Alphabet(GOOGL.US)  $Alphabet - C(GOOG.US)  $Tesla(TSLA.US)  $NVIDIA(NVDA.US)  $Taiwan Semiconductor(TSM.US)  $Apple(AAPL.US) ### Related Stocks - [GOOG.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/GOOG.US.md) - [GOOGL.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/GOOGL.US.md) - [TSLA.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/TSLA.US.md) - [GGLS.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/GGLS.US.md) - [GGLL.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/GGLL.US.md) - [TSDD.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/TSDD.US.md) - [TSLL.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/TSLL.US.md) - [TSLQ.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/TSLQ.US.md) - [09366.HK](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/09366.HK.md) - [07766.HK](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/07766.HK.md) - [07366.HK](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/07366.HK.md) - [TSLR.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/TSLR.US.md) - [TSM.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/TSM.US.md) - [AAPL.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/AAPL.US.md) - [NVDA.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/NVDA.US.md) ## Comments (2) - **其实呢77 · 2026-05-01T12:52:42.000Z**: Look on the bright side, having stock-covered calls (CC) isn't afraid of rising, it's afraid of falling. If it rises, at worst you exit at the strike price plus the premium, which is still a profit. What you fear is a black swan drawdown. - **长坡行者** (2026-05-01T13:30:33.000Z): It depends on the valuation logic. If the valuation logic remains unchanged, just increase the position in Black Swan, and CC can make up for some losses; if the valuation logic has changed, then it's