Options as a Strategic Investment

A very detailed book explaining ins and outs of various option trading strategies. Recommended for those with basic knowledge of options universe to upgrade and streamline their thinking. I especially liked the part where author discusses the follow up actions and how to go about selecting a specific stike price for a given strategy.

Best ptinting quality ,i read very useful fot trading

The book is voluminous. It has grown over the years. It contains lot of information and author's wisdom, no doubt. I think one trying to trade options should buy this book and refer to it to get theoretical understanding of option strategies, P/L curves, nuances of each strategy etc. But the following are the issues I have seen with the book... 1. Although it has tons of strategies, the key strategies used by traders these days are missing...e.g. Iron Fly, Jade lizard, unbalanced strangle etc. 2. Overall emphasis is on defined risk strategies. That is fine in US market where you can dramatically reduce your margin requirement using defined risk strategies. But in India that does not work. Sebi in her infinite wisdom has decided to ask for same margin even if risk is lot lower in defined risk strategies. So for iron condor (defined risk strangle) and strangle (undefined risk) will need almost same margin. In India you have no advantage using defined risk strategies from return of capital standpoint. Keep this in mind while reading this book. Adapt to Indian market conditions. 3. If you are option seller like me then you may want to get hold of the book that focuses only on option selling. Because you get tired of reading only about option buying. Option buying is low probability trade. 4. The author had trashed straddle as high risk trade and covered it in few pages. If people are trading straddle ( or options are being traded at strikes same as CMP) then those traders are not idiot. There must be some risk-reward that encourages traders to trade those options. The actual quantitative research on straddles is eye opening. Look at actual data and then decide not because some book says straddle is to be avoided. 5. Important variable for the option seller is current IV with respect to past history. This is not highlighted in strategies. One reason is author has not focused on option writing. 6. No advice or suggestion on managing profits and trade. The option traders hardly wait to get last paisa or wait till the last day of epiry to take the profits or take the loss. The option trading is very volatile and it has its own best practices discovered by veteran option traders over the years. The author does not touch this important topic. 7. Although this book covers tons of strategies the professional option traders only trade few profitable ones. And few of those are missing in this book. In Indian context it is even more important. In Indian context you may rely on 3-4 strategies max. So you may want to be selective while reading his book because otherwise you may spend lot of time reading something which you may never use in life. Use this book as reference book only. Do not read from first page to last page. Looking at such weaknesses it is clear that, based on this book you cannot successfully trade the options. You need to learn from the practitioners the nuances of option trading like managing profits, stop-loss, entry criteria etc. But you can get the theoretical underpinning of different strategies though from this book. That is why I said it is good place to start your journey.

Voluminous and exhaustive,but definitely it's bhagavat Gita of options,best reference book,..

Thanks to the Lawrence McMillan

This book provides a thorough overview of the mechanics of options, and different trading strategies. A must read for any who wants to start trading options.

original an beast for options

Liked to read

Title says it all. Haven’t finished reading it yet and so far so good 10/10

This book is universally hailed as the "bible of options trading." This comprehensive reference is absolutely indispensable for anyone serious about mastering the options market. It covers all modern strategies and market innovations, from basic calls and puts to complex volatility derivatives. It provides unparalleled depth, explaining the mechanics, ideal market conditions, and risks of every strategy. Simply put, this book is the definitive, essential resource for turning theoretical knowledge into strategic, profitable option investing.

Thick book, very informative and easy to read.

オプション取引のバイブルとして1冊は持っておきたい本。 オプション取引の中級レベルから上級者レベルが対象。 「現物オプション」だけでなく「先物オプション」まで網羅されている。 「先物オプション」について書かれた書籍は稀有なので重宝すべき。 オプション取引では、その構造から「買い」よりも「売り」に優位性があると様々な書籍で書かれているが、その常識が覆される内容が満載。様々なオプション戦略の具体例が示されていて、各ポジションのメリット＆ディメリットが理解できる。また、相場変動によるポジション調整のフォローアップまで詳細に解説されている。

This is the ultimate book on options and well worth the cost and effort to read it. Few people will ever want to read the entire book. Read the sections that match your option interest and investment strategy. An option position can be a safe and secure part of your investment portfolio management, adding income, protecting gains and avoiding heavy losses. At the same time an option position can be very risky with the possibility for unlimited losses. There's lots of hype floating around on making big money trading options. Beware the hype. This is not that book. This book has all the basics, read those sections. Go back and read them again. Explore the more complicated strategies more slowly. If you want to dig into real detail and the mathematics, it's there if you want it. This book would be the obvious choice for a two semester sequence as part of an undergraduate or graduate fiance program. At the same time if the extent of your interest is limited to buying puts and calls, generating income through covered calls and maybe buying stocks at lower prices through short puts, this book should still be in your library. If you have enough money to feel comfortable with the more risky aspects of options (100% losses sometimes) you certainly can afford to buy this book. In spite of the detail provided, each chapter is well written and not difficult to digest. It's the totality of the subject and the wide variety of trading strategies, some of which are complex and should be undertaken only by those with discipline and self confidence. I found this book a perfect companion to pursuing options trading through a free, on-line program offered by the Chicago Board of Options Exchange (CBOE). This is a program of on-line self training, with a certification test for each training module and a series of comprehensive tests for the basic, intermediate and advanced certification level I have completed most of the modules and concluded that many of the more complex strategies should be left to the real experts. Again, like this book, go with what you are comfortable with.