If you dont abuse the leverage, and aside from the fact that options are 10x more complex that stocks, is it best for a new trader to learn on options, sense they're cheaper?
How are they cheaper ? The premiums are cheaper but you're still controlling 100 lots of stock. Why would u think options are easier ? Not only do you need to worry about price movement, you need to worry about volitility and time decay. With stocks, you only need to worry about price movement
Like the last poster mentioned, worrying about vega, delta, gamma, and theta, adds a whole different level to trading. Learn to grind it out on straight equities before moving into options. My advice is to learn how to swing trade on weekly charts before doing anything else. Just my two pence.
How about this one: Yeah you can get in for a fraction of the "price" but you can loose the entire ball of wax in one volatility swing. Hence, they may look cheaper but really they are not. Entry and exit can be problematic as well depending on how complex your spread is (if you do that) or OTM, ITM, ATM etc. If it's leverage your seeking, look to futures. They behave more like a stock and there are no Greek people to get in your way.
Options are derivatives whose value is derived from some underlying, lets say stocks in the case of equity options. If you do not understand stocks or how to trade or invest in them profitably, how could you expect to do well using its derivatives. New traders need to learn how to analyze charts/price action, develop set ups and entries and exits, formulate risk management plans and learn how to be consistent and have discipline. Then they can worry about the specific security.
Options are derivative securities. You can't trade options well without understanding how the underlying security behaves. If you're going to trade delta-neutral, you quickly get much more complex than stocks, making it even more the right answer to start with stocks. Also, a first foray into share ownership can go wrong, but rarely goes as catastrophically wrong as a really bad newbie option trade. So, yeah. Bake the cake before you start spreading on the icing.