I guess that's the difference between buying options and shares...

I guess that's the difference between buying options and shares …. if you are buying shares, you are betting the price will rise - eventually. If you buy options, you are betting the price will rise within a certain time limit. There is no comeback with options unless you are prepared to convert at a loss; at least shares have some level of forgiveness that way.

If we all sit down and look at it objectively, the fact is that small punters have no chance against those with deep pockets. They will manipulate the share price (and option prices) with no respect for the "rules" under which trading is supposedly conducted.

A good lesson to learn is that you rarely win with options - you can only generally get out with a profit if you manage to get them on a low (or for free) and get out early. The big market players are not interested in fair play, reasonable conduct or honesty … they are greedy for money and will steel whatever they can get their hands on, from whomever they can, by whatever methods are condoned under the rules (which are written by those who make the money from them).

The Board of a small company has no chance to move the sp against the direction most advantageous to the big players; whatever announcements are will be sold into with such pressure as to render them worthless (unless it suits the faceless ones).

A REALLY good reminder of the way the world works was posted here by @meerkat a few years ago. I read it every now and then, just to keep my perspective in check. It costs me in dentist bills (because it makes me grind my teeth), but it saves me a lot of money.