If you’re interested in trading options, you need to understand the difference between the two major types—calls and puts.

First, let’s review how options work. An option is a contract. It gives you the right—but not the obligation—to buy or sell an asset at a specific price before a certain date.

As I mentioned, there are two types of options. One is the call option. It gives you the right to buy an asset at a certain price by a certain date.

That may seem complicated, so let’s look at an example.

Say you think a particular stock, which is currently trading at $100 a share, is going to skyrocket, but you’re short on cash at the moment.

So, you buy a call option on that stock for $1,000. It lets you buy 100 shares of the stock at $100 each anytime within the next three months.

As you predicted, the stock goes through the roof, hitting $1,000 a share. But guess what? You have a contract. Someone has to sell you the stock for $100 a share.

So, you borrow the cash, buy the stock for $100 share, and promptly sell it for $1000 a share. Your profit: $900 per share, or $90,000, minus the cost of the option contract.

So, to sum up, call options are similar to owning stock. You would buy a call option on a stock if you think the stock will increase in value before the option expires.

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