Why was my copied options trade skipped?

The most common reasons

• Less than one contract fits. Options can't be split. If your allocation (the smaller of your dollar amount and account percentage) can't buy one contract, the trade is skipped.
• Not enough options buying power. Buying power is checked at your brokerage the moment the order would be sent—not from a saved balance. Other open positions or unsettled funds can reduce it.
• Co-pilot approval expired or was skipped. Unanswered approvals expire after about five minutes or when the session ends, so a stale trade can't fill hours later.
• Your brokerage link needs attention. An expired or unlinked connection blocks new opening copies until you relink.
• A loss limit or drawdown stop was reached. Your own daily loss limit or peak-drawdown stop pauses new copies for the rest of that period.
• A failed fee payment. New opening copies stop until payment is fixed; protective closes still work.
• The strategy isn't currently approved or active, or a market safety pause (such as a VIX spike) is in effect.
• Account permissions. Your options approval level or account type (for example an IRA) may not allow that trade.

A quick example

You allocate 5% of your account and your options buying power is $8,000. Five percent is $400. The trader buys a contract priced at $5.20, which costs $520 (premium × 100). $400 can't cover one contract, so your copy is skipped. Raising your allocation to $600, or 8%, would let one contract fit. This is an illustration, not a recommendation.

How to find the exact reason

• Open Order responses to see each attempt, the reason it was blocked and any brokerage response.
• Check My trades and your approvals queue for expired Co-pilot requests.
• Confirm your brokerage link and balances on Connect.

How to prevent it next time

• Read how much buying power you need to copy options and size your allocation to fit at least one contract of the strategy's usual trades.
• Turn on alerts and answer Co-pilot approvals quickly, or choose automatic copying if it suits you.
• Test your allocation first with a free paper practice account.
• A skipped trade means no position was opened—you don't owe a fee on it and nothing needs closing.

Related

See the options copy-trading guide, the Tastytrade guide and the full FAQ. Options carry substantial risk; past results don't predict future results.