Options Plays for a Wild Earnings Season

Earnings season is perhaps one of the most alluring times for investors to get involved in the options market, and the most dangerous if you're not careful.

In these times of dramatic moves after earnings announcements, professional traders often use options to speculate ahead of quarterly reports. The game can be played by individual investors.

The most intrepid will simply buy a call if they think earnings will move the stock higher and a put if they think a quarterly report will relegate a stock to the scrap heap. ...