Buying a stock option isn't the same as buying a stock when stock market trading. Options are a form of leverage, a way to control a lot of money using only a little money. The down side of this is that there is no free lunch. You can make a lot more money than you use to control the options, but you can lose anything up to the full value of the stock if things go badly.
A stock option is simply an option to buy stock at some point in the future for a pre-agreed price - no matter what the market price at that time is. You are under no obligation to exercise your option (i.e. buy the stock) if you don't want to, but there may be restrictions on when you can exercise them. It might be that you can only buy on specific days, or it may have an expiration date, or you might not be able to exercise the option until the stock hits a certain price.
An option trading strategy will vary based on the type of options, which aren't always traded in the same way stock market trading is done. Options are available both on an exchange (which can cover options on not just stocks, but bonds, commodities, futures, etc) and through private parties (called "over the counter" options, which include interest rate options).
Figuring out the value of options is problematic. When you own an option, you don't actually own a thing, you own the potential to own a thing. Many models have grown up over the years to figure out what that's worth, and at least one of them has won the Nobel prize in economics for its contributions to financial understanding. Unfortunately most of the pricing models are quite complex and take a fair bit of effort to understand.
But all the models rely on four basic actions: short and long puts and calls. Call and put refer to the option to buy or sell the stock at a fixed price (specifically at the time of the put or call). Long and short refer to different option strategies for managing the puts and calls depending on whether the stock is expected to increase or decrease in stock market trading.
I have to reiterate that financial stuff can be complicated and difficult to understand so don't assume that you'll simply learn by doing. Trying things that way, jumping in without knowing what you're jumping into, can leave you broke very fast. Use the old gambler's rule: if you don't understand a bet, don't put money on it.
Taking a stock option contract is different from just purchasing shares when you are stock market trading. There are four basic actions in regards to stock trading. They are either short or long and puts or calls. Puts or Calls have to do with when to buy or sell a stock at a specific price. This refers to either the time of the put or the call.
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