What is the most useful tools for making profit from trading stock options?

There are people that do make money trading options, but it is not for the faint hearted. You are paying a premium for the right to buy or sell the stock at a particular price within a certain amount of time. Luck is your most useful tool. If you get lucky and hit a stock during a major move, you will make a lot of money. If you hit a stock at the end of its move, you will loose the amount paid for the options. The more volatile the stock the higher the premium for the option. Many professionals use the Black-Scholes Pricing Formula for Call Options. Look it up on Yahoo to determine how it works. It is too complicated to go into here.Personally I think the best way to make money on options is to write covered calls. That way you get the premium. Of course, if the stock makes a big move on you, some one else gets the benefit of that.