Sure, I can have a big winner, but it is offset by those that expire worthless. Basically, we have very little chance to make it in a zero sum game against the pro's and market makers.
This has not been my experience. I tend to buy LEAPS aka Long-Term Equity Anticipation Securities aka options with an expiration period >1 year of cyclical stocks. Sure, these are not as exciting and fun as trading weeklies on SPX or VIX and bragging about your "juicy tendies" on reddit, but the long time horizons give the positions quite a bit of opportunity to fall and rise as needed. I'm great at buying in too high and selling out too soon, but at least I usually sell out positive. Nice cyclical sectors are energy, metals, electronics, etc. For example, stocks like Shell (SHELL) or ArcelorMittal (MT) have options with expiration in Dec-2026 which provide a lot of wiggle room (although perhaps not right now).
Note: I am not offering any buying or selling advice here. Also note that I hold positions in both Shell and MT.