There are occasions when you come across a stock which you are sure will rapidly move — but you do not know in which direction. An example would be the day before a company releases an earnings report — if it is a good report, then the stock is likely to soar. Conversely, if it turns out to be a poor earnings report, then the stock will plummet.

In our ongoing series on money investing, we’ve previously covered stock option basics, so now let’s explore basic options strategies. Options are like a gun — they can be dangerous, or alternatively they can be used as a critical defense.

Nowhere does the testosterone flow faster than within the pits of the CBOE and other options exchanges. Options trading has long been a male purview, and guys seeking outsized returns often display more balls when brains.