Set to Expire: July 17, 2015

There are a couple of options expiring today.  Both will expire worthless.  

Option	Position
GILD 17JUL2015 130 C	1
YUM 17JUL2015 80 P	-1

What does this all mean?

For $GILD, I bought 1 contract of CALL $130 for 0.38.  Each contract represents 100 shares, so I paid $38.00 (100 shares @ $0.38).  Since $GILD did not go over $130 by my expiry date which is today, my CALL will expire worthless and I lose $38.  <-- in order for me to profit from this trade, I need $GILD to go near or above my strike before my expiry date and sell my CALL for a profit.

For $YUM, I sold 1 contract of PUT $80 for 0.25.  Each contract represents 100 shares, so I collected $25.00 (100 shares @ $0.25).  Since $YUM did not go below $80 by my expiry date which is today, my PUT will expire worthless and I gain $25.00.  This trade requires margin room to make.  <-- in order for me to profit from this trade, I need $YUM to stay above my strike before my expiry date or end up getting assigned $YUM 100 shares @ $80.

Today, my total realized loss will be $13.  

There are a lot of ways to play the OPTION market.  I'm just picking away at it little by little with calculated risks.