Options can be a blast, allowing you to make many times your money in a short period. But getting familiar with how options trading works can take some time – and if you’re using real money, it can be ...

If the past is prelude, in 2025 many individual investors will trade options heavily. In doing so, some will win big and others will lose big, with the average options trader likely losing some money.

Just a few years ago, if you were in your early 20s and said you wanted to trade options, most people would either laugh or warn you about losing money faster than you can say “expiry.” But ...

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Andrew Menaker, a psychologist and a day trading coach based in San Francisco. It has been edited for length and clarity. First of all, I had ...