Gamestop Corporation (GME)

[janice shell]

have you ever short sold a stock

Yes, twice. By accident. That was many years ago. I covered quickly, but did make money.

Options are different. If you want to create one, you "write" is. Ordinary people can write covered calls to hedge; that's considered a cautious, conservative thing to do. People with deep pockets (usually) can write naked calls or puts, but if they go in the wrong direction, there could be hell to pay. Ordinary people simply buy calls or puts. The advantage is that you get a lot of leverage; the disadvantage is time decay.

It's usually said that more than 80 percent of all options expire worthless.