I'm pretty new to call options and I am trying to go slow and conservative until I get the hang of it but today's trade was strange.
Today: I bought 25.00 calls on MWA with expirations 3/21/2025. Cost basis: $230.00
It immediately went up over 30% with a market value of $300 ish.
Here I am thinking, heck yeah, close and it move on. but when I went to sell to close my proceeds dropped to under $200.
Is it because it would be a same day? Did I just enter into an options contract without understanding enough? I kind of understand theta decay but would I really lose upwards of 35% of the market value on theta decay under 1 hour? Is it related to the strike price and I am misunderstanding?
Please hold my hand and explain to me like I'm 5.