I trade stocks, just go straight long or short on different symbols. I only make money when I sell higher than I bought, and that's true whether I go long or short.
I'm wondering, why options are so much better to trade than stocks? So you can be more creative with options than with stocks, but in this game, I only care about profit - so does that added creativity afforded by trading options then carry over into added profit? If so, I'd love more details as to how that happens, exactly.
I remain somewhat unclear as to how, from the standpoint of maximizing profit, are options better than simply going long or short on various symbols.
I also once saw someone mention an option setup where he made money (and I'm assuming that means profit) whether the price went up or down. Is this possible, and if so, wouldn't that be basically the holy grail of trading?