Option BOOKS

I have had many traders asking me for my top option book picks over the years so I thought it would be a great idea to list with opinion on my top pics.

In my journey through reading hundreds of trading books these are my favorite 10 that benefited me the most in my option education over the years.  After looking through my home library these are my top 10 picks.

Options Made Easy

I won’t say I’ve read every book on Options out there, but I’ve looked at a range, from the very complex, full of calculus equations and whatnot, to the very simple, and to my mind, this is the best out there. First of all, it is very thorough and well organized. It goes step by step through virtually every option strategy, analyzing the various payoffs, follow-up actions if the market goes against you, etc. It is written clearly and concisely, with lots of examples. This book is filled with examples, and if you find you understand the concepts the author describes just fine without the example, then you’ll probably just skip them. However, if there is something you don’t quite get, the examples are a real help. In summary this is  a terrific reference that every serious option trader that wants to learn should have this book to be the first on his Options bookshelf.

You can order your copy here

The Bible of Options Strategies: The Definitive Guide for Practical Trading Strategies

This is the encyclopedia of option strategies. You get a description of each strategy along with specific metrics for each one and the steps in creating it, the rationale to trade it, if it is net debit or credit, the effect of time decay on the strategy, appropriate time period, selecting the right stocks and options, risk profile, the Greeks, the advantages and disadvantages and how to best exit the trade. This book is meant as a reference book but I read it through cover to cover.

You can order your copy here

The Option Trader’s Hedge Fund

In this book, a hedge fund manager and an option trading coach show you how to earn steady, reliable income selling options by managing your option trades and running your option portfolio as a real business with consistent, steady returns. Packed with real-world examples, the authors show you how to manage your own “one man” hedge fund and make consistent profits from selling options by applying the basic framework and fundamental business model and principles of an “insurance company”. This framework helps you to apply your option trading strategy to a solid, predictable, business model with consistent returns. For someone who has some knowledge of trading options and wants to become a consistent income earner. The authors provide a complete “operations manual” for setting up your business. Gain pearls of wisdom from both a professional options trader and coach, and from a hedge fund manager focused on managing an options based portfolio.

You can order your copy here

Following books are suggested for reading.

1. The Master Swing Trader – Alan Farley
2. Japanese Candle-Stick Charting – Steve Nison
3. Trade your way to Financial Freedom – Dr. Van Tharp
4. Introduction to Technical Analysis – Martin Pring
5. A Guide to Short-Term Trading – Toni Turner
6. The Disciplined Trader – Mark Douglas  [ MUST HAVE ]
7. Trading in the Zone – Mark Douglas   [ MUST HAVE ]
8. High Octane Trading – Steve Wirrick
9. One up on Wall Street – Peter Lynch
10. Market Wizards – Jack Schwager  [ MUST READ]
11. The New Market Wizards – Jack Schwager
12. Reminiscences of a Stock Operator – Edwin Lefevre
13. Trading for a Living – Alexander Elder
14. Come into my Trading Room – Alexander Elder
15. How to make money in stocks – William O’Neil
16. How to make money selling stocks short – William O’Neil
17. The Secrets of Floor Traders – Larry Levin
18. Psycho-Cybernetics – Maxwell Martz
19. Trading Athlete by Dough Hirshorn
20. Wall Street Jungle – Richard Neys
21. The Intelligent Investor – Benjamin Graham
22. The Logical Trader – Applying a method to the madness – Mark Fisher
23. McMillan on Options Trading – Larry McMillan

“But my greatest discovery was that a man must study general conditions, to size them so as to be able to anticipate probabilities. In short, I had learned that I had to work for my money.” – Jesse Livermore