The Rookie's Guide to Options: The Beginner's Handbook of Trading Equity Options (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "Our discussion is limited to options involving stock market investments..." (more)
Key Phrases: option worth, iron condors, selling credit spreads, Short Dec, Proof Assume, Long Dec (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Learn to use options from veteran option trader Mark D. Wolfinger, who spent more than 20 years on the floor of the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE). If you are a seasoned stock trader or a casual investor who dabbles in mutual funds, this book is for you. Learn why stock options a versatile investment tool that has seen explosive growth over the past few years belong in your portfolio. If you re already trading options, this book is also for you. You will gain a thorough understanding of option pricing, function and equivalents, which will help you trade more effectively. Learning to adopt more advanced option strategies, like iron condors and double diagonals, will help protect your nest egg and, at the same time, earn healthy returns. Unlike many options guides, this book features step-by-step instructions, with extensive examples that outline the costs and benefits of each choice along the way everything you need to plan and execute each trade on your own. Wolfinger shows you how to analyze alternatives and explains why each may be appropriate for a particular investor with certain investment objectives. You ll develop a basis for deciding what is suitable for you and your investment philosophy. A thorough understanding of option basics will help you move on to powerful strategies to earn high returns with limited risk. Wolfinger s strategies will help ensure that your portfolio survives a market downturn. Stock options first traded on an exchange a mere 35 years ago and have exploded in popularity in recent years. Today nearly two billion options trade every year in the United States alone. Many people dabble in options without really understanding how they work and how they can be used most effectively. The Rookie s Guide to Options: The Beginner s Handbook of Trading Equity Options will give you the basic trading tools you need to start trading options profitably, as well as help you move on to more advanced strategies. Options were created to allow risk takers to hedge part of that risk. This book will help you learn to use options they way they were originally intended to manage risk and increase profits. You ll be guided step-by-step as the author guides you through the decision-making process in terms of puts, calls, strike prices, expiration dates and strategic equivalents. This book, aimed at the beginning options investor, will help you gain a clear understanding of how you ve been using options for years, even if unaware of doing so. If you have bought car insurance, accepted a rain check at a discount store or used a bus transfer, you already understand the concept of using options. If you thought options were too complicated, Wolfinger s clear and detailed explanations put that myth to rest. You ll see how to adopt basic options strategies, how to use them to earn profits and how to manage risk effectively. You ll move on to learn about the versatility of options and master advanced strategies, such as iron condors and double diagonals all selected to help you minimize risk and maximize profits. Learn how you can use options to: 1. Sell your stock above market value. 2. Turn a non-performing stock into a profitable investment. 3. Protect your holdings against a disastrous bear market and even profit in a bear market. 4. Create steady income. 5. Manage risk. 6. Earn profits more often than those who buy only stock. 7. Limit losses. 8. Own investments that earn a profit when the market moves higher or lower. The Rookie s Guide to Options: The Beginner s Handbook of Trading Equity Options shows you how you can get the most out of these versatile tools to protect your investments, create steady income and generate substantial profits.

About the Author

Mark D. Wolfinger has been in the options business since 1977, when he began his career as a floor trader at the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE). Over the next 23 years, he worked primarily as a market maker, but also held a variety of positions in the industry, including risk manager, off-floor trader and coach for new traders. Wolfinger is still an active options trader who finds it more fun and less stressful to trade from his home computer than to trade in person on the exchange floor. After leaving the CBOE he began educating investors on how to use options profitably and safely. He gives trading seminars as well as provides individual mentoring via telephone or email. Over the past seven years, he has published three books and written more than 20 articles. Born and raised in Brooklyn, Wolfinger currently lives in Evanston, Illinois, with his life partner, Penny. He holds a BS from Brooklyn College and a PhD in chemistry from Northwestern University. Prior to his trading career, Wolfinger was a research chemist for Monsanto Company. His website is mdwoptions.com and he welcomes comments at [e-mail].

Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: W&A Publishing; 1st edition (February 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 193435404X
• ISBN-13: 978-1934354049
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 7.7 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #6,043 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

65 of 66 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars By far the wisest buy for earning income with options, rookie or otherwise, May 25, 2008

By	Donald West "learn-a-holic" (Marietta, GA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Options are a complicated investment instrument, but if properly understood and implemented, they are far less risky than owning stock or mutual funds. And as a bonus, they are most often more profitable. Trading options, one can choose to be a risky gambler (not recommended) or a conservative income generator.

The trick is understanding options and understanding risk management. If you trade options WITHOUT understanding them, and WITHOUT any risk management implementation, then by default you are a risky gambler. You will be out of money before you know what hit you.

The option world has its own lingo. And there are myriad strategies to sift through before determining which one(s) suit your risk/reward desires. Placing the actual trade orders with your broker requires a thorough understanding and fluency of the lingo, as well as a confident understanding of the strategy you've chosen.

The good news is that this book will actually TEACH you what you need to know to be a conservative income generator with options. I can assure you it is the ONLY book that TEACHES this. I own all the major books on options that have been released in the last five years and this one is by far the best and most practical. And long overdue.

To me, in order for an author to teach options trading, he or she must provide the real world philosophy behind a strategy, real world examples, real world gotchas, real world "how", and most importantly, real world "why". Of all the books I own, this one provides the total package. The others do a good job of perhaps the philosophy and the how, but totally lack the rest. In short, no book until this one teaches the complete knowledge one requires to be successful at option trading for income.

I am a rookie in that I had not actually traded options until studying this book. I am NOT a rookie when it comes to attempting to learn how to trade options. The other books did not leave me confident in my abilities to consistently earn income with options. Thus I didn't make any trades. This book gave me the confidence to start trading AND EARNING INCOME. That point alone truly sums up the value of this book compared to all other books on the shelves. The other books are simply lacking in regard to earning income with options. They are good resources for information but not for implementation.

The author's approach is conservative. You will learn how to manage risk and see that options ARE a good, safe investment instrument if used with conservative strategies and prudent risk management techniques. You'll also learn, perhaps by constructing a spreadsheet on your own (strongly encouraged by me), just how much potential income you can earn. You'll be pleasantly surprised.

However, a strong warning here: You MUST understand and comprehend what you are reading. You can't skim this book and expect to do well. In fact, you'll fail if you skim ANY book on options. Most likely, you'll fail big time after a lucky string because you THOUGHT you understood. If you can't commit to learning, and I mean intensely learning and understanding this book, then please steer clear of options. There are no free rides. You must invest brain power to do well. Recognize that most people do not WANT to invest the brain power required. It's hard. It's intense. It's confounding. It's WORTH THE EFFORT. Eventually it clicks. Decide if you do want to commit, and if so, buy this book. It's the only one you will need to conservatively earn a steady income trading options. If you do invest the brain power, you will be proud of yourself and you'll do well financially with your new knowledge.

I want to add that the author is an experienced floor trader, and a gracious man who has replied to all questions I've asked of him via email. If you are inclined to purchase $2000+ in software and another $2000-5000+ in so called "training" or "education", please save your money and seed your options trading account with it instead. But before making ANY trades, nail down what this book teaches. It is all you need.

FYI, my own trading focuses solely on Credit Spreads (which have their own chapter in the book) and utilizing the author's philosophy on risk management. But I had to understand the ENTIRE book prior to making that decision. You would be wise to do the same before deciding your own direction.

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars esential reading for anyone trading options, June 25, 2008

By	G. French "Greg" (Naas, Kildare, Ireland) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Before reading Create Your Own Hedge Fund (one of Marks other titles)I considered options to be far too risky and exotic and solely for the professional trader. However after reading the book options were no-longer anything to fear and I was completely sold on the idea of using options to both reduce risk and increase profits.

The Rookies Guide to Options takes the ideas that were previously introduced and takes them to the next level. Concepts are introduced and explained in a way that makes them easy to understand and completely transparent. You're never left wondering - but what would happen if?

It's a master class in options from a truly brilliant teacher.

I can't recommend this book enough

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars extremely practical advice for options traders, November 7, 2008

By	Bill Freeman (Waitsfield, VT USA) - See all my reviews

Mark has written a terrific book that all options traders should read. He focuses on several popular strategies that you can find in many books, but the difference is that Mark gives you practical advice on how to trade, and even more importantly, how to stay out of trouble when you do trade. Mark's advice is consistently conservative. He is not so focused on milking every trade for every last dollar. It's more important to keep trades gone wrong from losing big. Over and over, you will find this important message coming through.

Mark writes in a style that is friendly, easy to read, but deceptively informative. You don't feel like you're being overwhelmed with theory, but when you look back, you find that you've actually picked up more than you thought. He demonstrates the surprising equivalence, for example, of covered call writing, which many people are comfortable doing, and selling a naked put, which sounds riskier but is in fact identical.

This book is full of really useful and practical information, and I believe anyone actively trading options would benefit from studying this book thoroughly. It's not just rookies who will gain from Mark's shared experiences. BTW, Mark maintains a web site and blog where he continues to share his knowledge. He is also most generous with his time, answering numerous questions from his readers.