Recommend a book on options

[Pat494]

Can anyone recommend a good book on buying and selling options ?
This caught my eye

" Not only ​

can you make​

more ​

money​

with ​

options trading​

, but ​

you can​

also benefit from the way they work when it comes to risks. Simply put, ​

you can​

never lose more than what ​

you​

originally paid for the call ​

option​

contract, no matter how far the value of the stock may drop. "​

 

[cantagril]

Not sure whether this might be of interest to you but I have a couple of options books that I'd be happy to lend you. They could be a more technical than you would wish so I'd suggest googling for a synopsis.

1)"Options, Futures and Derivatives" - John C. Hull.

2) "Futures , Options and Swaps" - Robert W. Kolb

Neither of these are exactly page-turners (unlikely plot, weak characterisation etc etc) but very useful in understanding the numbers aspects of the markets. I believe that Hull is still required reading for professionals. Both now somewhat ancient copies have seen better days and Hull's tome nearly ended up being dog fodder so it's a bit tattered.

 

[Pat494]

Not sure whether this might be of interest to you but I have a couple of options books that I'd be happy to lend you. They could be a more technical than you would wish so I'd suggest googling for a synopsis.

1)"Options, Futures and Derivatives" - John C. Hull.

2) "Futures , Options and Swaps" - Robert W. Kolb

Neither of these are exactly page-turners (unlikely plot, weak characterisation etc etc) but very useful in understanding the numbers aspects of the markets. I believe that Hull is still required reading for professionals. Both now somewhat ancient copies have seen better days and Hull's tome nearly ended up being dog fodder so it's a bit tattered.

Thanks very much for your answer.
I will have a look at them this morning on the web.
Would you say options are worth the effort to understand ? My attention levels these days are not long, so serious stodginess may be too much of a good thing for me. My MT4 account charges a small fee if held overnight but there is no expiry date to worry about.

 

[cantagril]

Thanks very much for your answer.
I will have a look at them this morning on the web.
Would you say options are worth the effort to understand ? My attention levels these days are not long, so serious stodginess may be too much of a good thing for me. My MT4 account charges a small fee if held overnight but there is no expiry date to worry about.

I'm no expert as my option trading days were in the 80s and early 90s and I am just beginning to consider them again after having more or less (mostly less) familiarised myself with online trading generally. What I knew 30 years ago, I've forgotten and anyway the world has moved on and there are so many tools available.

As to your questions: both of my books are really really serious stodge and I don't believe that it's necessary for a civilian to go into the theory that deeply. Having amused myself - I use the term loosely - with trying to wrestle with the likes of the Black-Scholes formula on first a scientific calculator and afterwards on the then cutting edge of space age technology as represented by an Amstrad 1640, I can say with complete confidence that everything you could possibly need to trade options effectively is available on the web and stodge consumption is not a prerequisite; in fact, I'd think that most of the option broker sites would have sufficient education material.

BTW - I'm interested that you're using MT4 for options as I'm not aware of any UK regulated ones and I'm curious as to whether yours is offshore. Somebody ("Macgomes", I think) asked precisely that question and I was able to lead him up the garden path by saying that Avatrade offer that. I subsequently realised that whilst they do offer MT4, the options trading is on their own platform, which I've not even looked at. Onward and Upward.

 

[Pat494]

My MT4 account just does forex ETFs and some like oil, gold, silver, indices etc. not options as such.

 

[cantagril]

My MT4 account just does forex ETFs and some like oil, gold, silver, indices etc. not options as such.

These guys do a demo account and offer options trading through mt4 BUT ....based in Cyprus

 

[Sharky]

My favourite getting started books for options are:

Options Plain and Simple (pick up an old 2nd hand copy)

Amazon.co.uk: Buying Choices: Options, Plain and Simple: Successful Investment Strategies Without Rocket Science

The Rookie's Guide to Options

The Rookie's Guide to Options; 2nd edition: The Beginner's Handbook of Trading Equity Options: Amazon.co.uk: Wolfinger, Mark D: 9780988843912: Books

Buy The Rookie's Guide to Options; 2nd edition: The Beginner's Handbook of Trading Equity Options 2 by Wolfinger, Mark D (ISBN: 9780988843912) from Amazon's Book Store. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders.

www.amazon.co.uk

Then when you're ready to get more advanced:

The Volatility Edge in Options Trading

Volatility Edge in Options Trading, The: New Technical Strategies for Investing in Unstable Markets (paperback): Amazon.co.uk: Augen, Jeff: 9780133925401: Books

Buy Volatility Edge in Options Trading, The: New Technical Strategies for Investing in Unstable Markets (paperback) Illustrated by Augen, Jeff (ISBN: 9780133925401) from Amazon's Book Store. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders.

www.amazon.co.uk

 

[postman]

Like Cantagril I started with derivatives in the 80's 90's and the Financial times produced a series of financial books amoung which is the classic.

Traded Options: A Private Investor's Guide (Financial Times Series)
by Mr Peter Temple
ISBN is 9780273653202 / 0273653202

The oldies are the best, they dont treat you like a 5 year old with an attention span of a gnat.
You can get it on ebay for under £3.

 

[Sharky]

Nice one, just ordered a second hand copy off Amazon.

 

[Windlesham1]

Nice one, just ordered a second hand copy off Amazon.

For education that demands your attention 21stcenturyinvestor.com is free online training, a structured course that will give you the technical tools. CME has a volatility calculator, as we have none in the UK (the City hates us taking money off them all the time). Charlie Cottle's books are available as free downloads- he is the real deal. anything on Youtube by John Carter too. I have traded options for 20 years and have a blog with a weekly ftse trade-if you're looking for losers go to any forex/CFD site!

 

[flyingeagle]

Good online free education everything Options https://tastyworks.com/

 

[Windlesham1]

SJ Options has a lot of stuff on Youtube too

 

[sideways-sid]

I found Trading volatility by Colin Bennett very helpful.

 

[CrystaletTrading]

Good references above, but depending on how you want to trade with options, I thought I would add a few.
If you want to use them as a separate asset class, you should dig a bit deeper on how they work.

have a look at those
Nassim Taleb, Dynamic hedging (quite technical)
Peter Leoni, hedging and greeks explained
Sheldon Natenberg, Option volatility and pricing strategies