Yeah it's all about how much capital you have. People selling "cheap" options whose underlyings are worth 10x more than their entire net worth are playing with fire. Options should always be bought or sold as a proxy for the underlying, not thought of as standalone priced securities, IMHO. I think this is the mental trap that most people fall into when they get screwed by options -- they are seen as just another symbol on their trading platform with a price they can buy and sell. However, they have wildly different dynamics since they are, literally, derivatives.