Options are a quick way to make money...or lose money.
They are conceptually simple.... but in reality very complex.
Say you think a stock price is going to go up... you could buy a call. If you think price is going to go down you can buy a put.
In both instances you are considered "Long".
You can also sell calls or sell puts. This is considered "short".
There are all sorts of pieces that go into the pricing of options etc. You'll also hear about the "greeks" which are all important in terms of potential, how time effects the price, etc.
Like i said simple on the surface but a ton of details.
There is a trading platform called "Think or Swim" TD ameritrade I believe owns the platform now. you can download the platform and create an account. there is a "paper" trade option. it gives you the chance to practice trade without losing money. once logged in top left side there is where you find real trading or paper trading button. I strongly suggest if have never traded options that you spend some time getting familiar with them and practice with the paper trading. trading stocks and the futures market takes practice and disipline. people get into trouble when they trade on emotion because when you do that, more often than not you will get your head torn off and lose your *** I did some amatuer trading 2008 made some nice coin off short squeeze's and sometimes shorting stocks. I missed the long entry in 2009 and later I just quit trading because I did not have the time to dedicate to spending hours on end watching Mr Market. I wish you good luck
