Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD)

[sgolds]

HailMary, did you mean that? -

Regardless there are people buying puts all the time, and they're asking for a time value premium. That time value premium varies hugely as you have noted. On the other side you are buying the call, and in this case you are paying the time value premium.

On the other side of a put purchase is a put sale. A call purchase is on the other side of a call sale. Call purchases are definitely not on the other side of a put purchase.

At any one time, the option market acts as buyer for all sales and seller for all purchases so as to maintain liquidity. They have to do a good job keeping the numbers close to even, or they lose a lot of money. They do this by adjusting the price and thus making a market. Thus you do not actually have an individual buyer every time you sell an option, or vice-versa, so we can only talk about that in the abstract.

Overall, though, I do agree with your position and have enjoyed reading this thread. I do not subscribe to the opposing 'zero sum' assertion, it fails when one considers combined stock and option strategies. On the other side of your profitable option move, there are others being matched up by the options market who can be using all sorts of strategies. You really can have winners (or losers) on both sides of the transaction.