The first thing that you have to do when you are looking to begin trading in stock options is to read everything that you can find on the topic. Stock options are not stocks, and trading in stocks does not qualify you to trade in options by default. If you want to be successful, see what others have to say about the subject and learn as much as you can from as many diverse sources as you can.
This means doing internet research, talking to people who trade in stock options, reading books on the topic, and possibly even buying software that is designed for stock options traders to see what they are using and what they need to know. Next you will want to build up your experience by "trading on paper" for a while.
Go through the motions of making trades without actually doing so and see if you are making "money" or if you are losing out. If you have been losing out on your imaginary deals, you will not do much better in the real market. Get a feel for how things move before you jump in with both feet. Once you feel like you have a good background in information, you can set up an options account.
Contact a broker or discount broker who specializes in stock options, and set up an account with him or her. You will do your trading through your broker, at least at first, so make sure that you are comfortable with the broker, what he or she has to offer, what that broker does not offer, and what their requirements for opening an account are.
Invest a small amount of money to begin with, and focus on safe trades and following recommendations to keep the risks low. Once you have really started to get into things, you can ease your investments and your risks up a little higher in the quest for greater profits, but starting small will help keep you from digging yourself into a hole too early in the game.
Stock option trading can be a fun and profitable adventure, but you should go into it fully prepared and with the knowledge that you could lose money just as easily as you can make it, especially at first. Keep that in mind and study hard, though, and you will soon be trading options like a pro on the market.
