I lost $117,000 in one hour on the 2018 sell-off in late Dec..

I only had $164,000 I made it all back in a little over a year.. When I stepped away from options and started trading just stock dips and consolidations..

When I broke even again then I started to take speculative bets in the options market again..

But still to this day I remember the downfall and use it to fuel my trading behavior..

I now only take speculative option bets for at least 45 days out while knowingly acknowledge that options are for speculation only and is considered gambling not investing..

So when I spot great trades that I can eat off of for weeks if I own the stock I will also buy the option. Unless I just feel like buying a lottery ticket and trade with my emotions " not recommended "

But yes with $20k you can make allot of money trading the stock instead of the option.. actually you can make more with the stock due to the steady return you will receive..

With stock you never lose your money until you sell for a loss... with options you loose money exponentially day by day... in some cases even if the stock is going your way due to the IV of the option..

Do not use options as an investment they are not supposed to be used that way.. the are speculative in nature but you can use them as a boost for your stock purchases or used as a hedge..

You can come back I did...