Customer Reviews

The Trader's Guide to Equity Spreads: Increase Returns and Lower Risk with Option Strategies

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book does a good job in laying out the facts about all of the various spreads available. However, I found it low on insight and strategy. There are simply better books out there.

I would expect someone who was going to write a book on options (an expert) to offer more insight and strategy. The title of the book seems to indicate that this is what the book provides, but I am finding it useful as only a reference guide. How the aspects of each type of spread is disseminated through the individual chapters was also a bit irritating, in that it seemed repetitive and divided into sections that gave partial information without a complete correlation of ideas.

This book is written in a style that most intermediate to advanced traders will understand, and probably beginners want to avoid. But at the same time, those with a better understanding need a more insightful author, such as Lawrence McMillan's Options as a Strategic Investment. Also a good book which summarizes most all of the option strategies is Guy Cohen's Bible of Option Strategies, which is a similar book to this but in a better format. I am not saying to not buy this book, because I find you have to have several books on options trading and cross reference the information in each one. Add this book to your collection, and use it as a reference guide.

I have traded options on stocks for over 14 years. Over that time I have bought many books on options and their trading.

This is the first book I have found that focuses on option trading for traders. The book presumes the reader is familiar with options and trading options. The book concentrates on being a guide to the multiples strategies which can be used in trading options.

Most books on trading options seem merely to layout a specific trading scheme, such as an iron butterfly spread. This book provides insight into the situation where a trading strategy is appropriate. This also provides the perceptive reader insight into when a strategy is inappropriate.

This is a reference book, an encyclopedia of options strategies. It's not a book you are likely to read cover-to-cover given its repetitive nature from chapter-to-chapter. But that's not to say it isn't useful. It does have an introduction chapter that taught me the Black-Scholes options pricing model and explains the concepts of volatility and implied volatility. It also points out how changes in volatility are likely to affect each strategy presented. The fine points of naming each strategy are explained...

Condor vs. Iron Condors
Butterfly vs. Iron Butterfly
Standard Condors vs. Albatross spreads
etc.

To get started in options trading, you'll likely want to pick up an introduction book that explains some of the more common strategies and how to pick stocks, how to choose strike prices and expirations months, and how to get in and out of trades while minimizing risk.

I ordered this book to help me learn more about different Options trading possibilities.

It is very informative and well written. It has very good examples of the different option set-ups.