The Rookie’s Guide to Options: The Beginner’s Handbook of Trading Equity Options by Mark D. Wolfinger is written by a veteran option trader with more than 20 years of experience on the floor of the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE). I rate this book number 1 currently in the beginning stock options trading category because of its logical chapter layout and structure as well as its clear prose.
Wolfinger thoroughly covers the covered call by using three chapters to explain it in detail. In addition, there are chapters on collars, credit spreads, iron condors, double diagonals, writing cash-secured puts, and much more. I especially like Wolfinger’s chapter on equivalent positions in which he explains the use of synthetics.
In the chapter on risk management, Wolfinger talks about trading within your comfort zone. This implies that fear will have little impact on your trading decisions. In fact, if you feel too much fear in a trade, I recommend gradually reducing the number of contracts per trade until you experience little or no fear in the trade. Then, when you feel ready to challenge yourself and move beyond your comfort zone, you can gradually and incrementally increase your per-trade contract size.
A beginning book on stock options could be dull and boring. Instead, Wolfinger’s book is written with a precision and clarity that leads to an enjoyable learning experience.
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