re: Visa getting roughed up today?

One of the main things about options that are nice as opposed to buying the stock is that your losses are usually capped at whatever you purchased the contract at. However, say you purchased a call for a stock at a certain price, your gains can be potentially unlimited if the stock keeps going past that price as long as the contract hasn't expired. Bullish on a stock would be buying a call or selling a put, and bearish would be the opposite. You can use these to hedge yourself through covered calls and the like, as well as a source of income. Read up on some books, the world of options is fascinating.