I'm shocked to see Options being mentioned on hackernews. Though, I have been doing options for the past 6 months. Previously I had never even heard of them an

I'm shocked to see Options being mentioned on hackernews. Though, I have been doing options for the past 6 months. Previously I had never even heard of them and knew nothing. Here are some insights as to what to expect... Options are not for the faint of heart. If you are brand new to options and are just starting out then I suggest having a friend/expert help you. I also suggest you use very little money at first to get a feel for it. (Less than $300 at a time). Otherwise you will lose money, and quickly. The only way you'll get good at options strategy is to practice them. There are no shortcuts to success (aside from getting lucky). You will likely lose money at first, unless you have a good teacher to hold your hand. There are a lot of little nuances and safer ways to make money with options that I've slowly discovered over the past few months. Earnings are an exciting time. One could safely make several thousand each quarter if they are smart. I am just getting the hang of it after 2 quarters. I personally stick to tech stocks like apple, google, and facebook. I usually only do weekly options. Ideally, you want to dabble in stocks that move as much as possible. (For example, if you had Apple PUTS this past week, you would have made a killing. This is true for Straddles or Strangles). After dabbling in options for 6 months I would say that the average person should avoid them at all costs. You really can lose a lot of money and sleep. You need to be a certain type of person to do this as a hobby. For those of you willing to take the risk, best of luck to you. With options, you are better to be lucky than good. It is true that you can make a lot of money if you are smart and patient. However, you will lose a lot of sleep either way.