I&#x27;ve got put options on SPY as well as a portfolio hedge.  They lose value every day (theta or the premium you pay for time) and if the S&amp;P goes up puts lose value so fast it would make your head spin.<p>In the end for a big liquid etf like SPY, they aren&#x27;t that much different than going short.  Now for small companies that could skyrocket overnight and destroy a short seller, puts offer some protection since your loss is capped at 100% instead of theoretically infinite losses.<p>edit:  I should add that puts give you leverage.  To short 100 shares of SPY you would need $20000 worth of margin, while to buy 1 sept 2016 in the money put (100 shares worth) you probably only need to cough up $800.  If the delta value of the put is equal to 1, your gains or losses will move inline with that 100 share short position.