One retail account · raw records · no varnish

Almost Got Rich

Post-mortems and counterfactuals from one options account — rebuilt trade by trade from broker confirmations and the quote tape, then interrogated until it confesses.

No. 3 · July 2026

Right, Eventually

In 2025 I decided the most leveraged bitcoin proxy on the board was going down — a story about megawatts, miners, and a crowded church. The stock fell 60%. So I rebuilt the MSTR put chain and measured how many ways there were to be right about that and still not get paid.

$251 → $456 → $101 the underlying 8 strategies, one bear thesis $20k starting stake
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No. 2 · July 2026

The Trade I Didn’t Take

In January 2025 I wrote a research note on Micron at $87 and asked an AI what could make it go up 200%. Then I bought nothing, and it went up 1,000%. So I rebuilt the entire MU option chain and ran the trade I didn’t take — six times, once for each version of me.

18 months of hourly option quotes 6 strategies, one thesis $20k starting stake
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No. 1 · July 2026

The Time I Almost Got Rich

I traded the meme-stock autumn of 2021 on two theses I still think were right. Four years later I rebuilt the account from raw records — every fill, every quote, every minute — and found the day, the hour, and the holding period that decided the outcome.

378 round trips 94% of premium in calls $619,502 peak · $183 finish
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