Why You Shouldn’t Buy Options in Expiry Week

At first glance, expiry week feels like a jackpot waiting to happen. Options are dirt cheap — some strike prices trade for just ₹2 or ₹3. For beginners, this feels like the ultimate low-risk, high-reward play: “If it works, I’ll make 10x. If it doesn’t, I’m only losing coffee money.”

But the truth is, expiry week is where most new traders quietly burn through their accounts. Those “cheap tickets” rarely turn into big wins, and most of the time, they expire worthless. Here’s why.

Why You Should Never Buy Call Options in the Last 5 Days

If you are an option buyer and thinking of buying an option in the last week or near expiry, then take a pause and check its consequences:

1. Time Value Has Already Evaporated

By the time the expiry week rolls around, most of the time value in an option is already gone. What’s left is basically crumbs.

Let’s take an example: Reliance 2500 CE at ₹5 with 2 Days Left

Scenario: Reliance stock goes up by 10 points.

If You’re the Buyer (Call Buyer)

• You bought the 2500 CE at ₹5.
• Stock goes up 10 points, and you’re expecting the option to shoot up.
• Reality check: it barely moves. Why? Because with only 2 days left, there’s no time value left in the option.
• The premium is like a melting ice cube; even if the stock inches up, buyers won’t pay extra since expiry is too close.
• Frustration sets in: stock in your favor, but your option doesn’t reward you.

If You’re the Seller (Call Writer)

• You sold the 2500 CE at ₹5.
• Stock moves up 10 points, but the option hardly budges.
• That’s good news for you; time decay (theta) is working in your favor.
• Every passing hour chips away at the premium, and chances are high that the option still expires worthless.
• You pocket the ₹5 premium with minimal stress.

So, what do you learn from this example?

In expiry week, buyers chase dreams while sellers collect reality. Cheap premiums look attractive, but they’re cheap for a reason, and this is one of the major reasons why most buyers lose money buying calls.

2. Wild Price Swings That Lead Nowhere

Expiry week is chaotic. You’ll see sudden spikes and brutal drops as big institutions square off their positions.

Here’s what usually happens to beginners: your ₹5 option suddenly jumps to ₹8, your heart races, you hover over the sell button — and before you even click, it collapses back to ₹3.

This cycle repeats until frustration takes over.

That’s why seasoned traders call it the “expiry trap”; it looks thrilling, but almost always ends in disappointment.

3. The Dangerous “Lottery Ticket” Mindset

The most common mistake? Treating expiry week options like scratch cards.

A ₹2 option feels harmless, but nobody buys just one lot. You stack multiple positions.

Suddenly, you’ve got 10 lots, and that “fun” ₹2 bet becomes ₹20,000 at risk.

And here’s the catch: most of these bets expire worthless. Repeat this habit for a few weeks, and you’ll realize your trading capital has quietly evaporated.

Expiry week is where the dream of “five-rupee magic” usually turns into the reality of “zero-rupee heartbreak.”

4. OI and Market Signals Lose Meaning

In the first couple of weeks, Open Interest and positioning data actually tell a story.

But by expiry week, it’s just noise. Most of the activity you see is large players rolling over their positions or adjusting hedges.

What does that mean for you? It’s like trying to predict the weather by looking at muddy water. The clean signals you relied on earlier in the series just aren’t there anymore.

5. Liquidity Problems Make It Worse

Deep OTM strikes in expiry week often suffer from low liquidity.

So even if your option flashes green, you might not find buyers at the price you want.

By the time you get filled, the premium has already slipped away.

When to Buy an Option?

If you want to play smart, the better time to buy options is during the first or second week of the series. That’s when:

• Time value still works in your favor.
• OI data shows real positioning.
• Stock trends are clearer.
• You have breathing room instead of panicking at every tick.

One golden rule many experienced traders live by:

“Trade in the first two weeks, manage in the third, and avoid the fourth.”

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Expiry Week: Buyers vs Sellers

Aspect	Buyer (Expiry Week) ❌	Seller (Expiry Week) ✅
Premium	Looks cheap but decays instantly	Collects premium that melts in buyer’s hand
Probability of Profit	Very low without a massive move	High, since most expire worthless
Time Value	Almost zero, hurts the buyer	Works entirely in seller’s favor
Liquidity	Poor in deep OTM strikes	Easier to sell ATM/ITM
Who Usually Wins?	Retail beginners chasing jackpots	Pros selling options with a strategy

Conclusion

Expiry week may look exciting, but the reality is that it’s built for sellers, not buyers. Those ₹2–₹5 premiums are priced that way because they’re meant to expire worthless.

If you’re serious about trading, don’t waste your energy on expiry week lottery tickets. Focus on earlier weeks, where time value, market signals, and actual probabilities work in your favor.

In expiry week, the game is tilted — and just like in a casino, the house almost always wins.