You probably don't want to hear this, but my friendly opinion is that options is one of the fastest ways to lose your money in the market, especially when you are first starting out; in part, because the premium decays so quickly, especially if you're trading weeklies. On the other hand, once you understand the rules of the game and you can control your emotions (not an easy task), you can obviously make more money in options so the risk/reward is higher.
The issue with options, though, is that you are juggling many balls at once (unless, of course, you are just "guessing", which many people do when they first start out), so it's a more challenging game imo because in options you are "still" trading stocks, you are just controlling more shares. Most options traders I know pay a lot for their education; by that, I mean you will generally lose money learning how to trade, that's just the nature of it. The learning curve is high and the risk is high...but what keeps people coming back for more is the reward is also high when it goes your way. So one of the biggest obstacles is risk management imo... figure that out, both financially and psychologically, and you are headed in the right direction.
Go take a look at JB's current trades, which he has so graciously posted on this board, and you can get an idea of risk/reward. Of course, everyone trades differently and you have to learn your own style. You can follow other people but ultimately to make money imo you have to learn it for yourself.
But to reiterate I would say options trading is one of the most challenging games out there and it's very easy to lose your entire account. I think most people, if they are being honest with you, could tell you some great options trading stories that cut both ways. In fact, if you scroll back I think one was posted here recently by Power...Good luck to you. Oh and by the way, trading options is an "addiction". The trick is to stay in the game.
