aldrums, the "Bible" for options is Lawrence McMillan's Options as a Strategic Investment.
It is a thick, largely-boring book. :)
At least read the first few chapters. If you are only going to trade long calls and puts, you can avoid most of the book. But it is worth at least a peek, to see what kind of strategies you will be trading against.
McMillan has a newer, more "chatty" book, but it's not a substitute. It's a more "from the trenches" view, and is a good adjunct. McMillan On Options.
When I trade options, most of the day-trading concerns you see discussed here go by the wayside. Traded-out of my June 30 WGR calls last Thursday. Got raped on the spread going in. Got raped on the spread getting out. Made a bundle. You can't worry too much about getting a good "deal". In fact, there's an old saw that says that the more you feel you got rooked buying options, the more likely they are to return a profit.
Options can be a real fun way to play this market, especially if (like me) you have basically cashed-out, and are just having fun with some pin money, and want to keep a hand in the market. I made a 500% profit in the last two weeks. Of course, I had an 80% loss in the two weeks before that, so I am even. :) |
