an option can be SOLD and then bought back later, its just the direction of the trade.. up or down.
I am still trading papermoney, so this doesn't really matter, but its good practice to submit the orders and stuff.
if my stop gets filled, I lose money, but if the market really changes direction against u.. a trader could lose all the money they had on the table.. like in this instance, I needed $500 in my account (called buying power) in order to control 1 contract, and if price goes far enough in the wrong direction, then i could lose the total $500.
yea, its all pretty confusing until u really have done some REAL MONEY trading.. u pay way more attention with real money on the line. :P and it took me about 6 months to really 'get it'. :)