Books on Options Trading

In addition to the above recommendations, I recommend options trading: the hidden reality by Charles Cottle. Another good practical book that is hardly mentioned is “ The options Doctor : option strategies for every kind of market “ by Jeanette Schwarz Young.
 
I can't say that there is only one book that says it all. It's always helpful to get different perspectives to really firm-up yours. However, one book I have found very helpful is "The Only Options Trading Book You'll Ever Need" by Russell Stultz. Found it an excellent diverse resource, including discussions of FA and TA (although not in detail). Use it more as a quick reference to refresh my thoughts on plays to make.
 
ironchef said:
The best 5 minutes introduction to options:

https://www.elitetrader.com/et/threads/5-basics-of-options-in-5-minutes.330524/

Be sure to read the post by @tommcginnis :thumbsup:

I use the following books as my references:

1. Lawrence McMillan: Options As A Strategic Investment. This is my first serious book on options. If you read it cover to cover, you will get a good appreciation of all the different options, the strategies of each and if you are math inclined, it even has several chapters on the math of options.

2. Colin Bennett: Trading Volatility, Correlation, Term Structure and Skew. sle mentioned this book and I found it very insightful. You can find more specific practices and approaches compared to McMillan.

3. John C Hull, Options, Futures And Other Derivatives. I just bought this book and am in the middle of reading it, cannot comment on it yet.

4. Tomas Bjork: Arbitrage Theory in Continuous Time. I bought it based on someone here recommended the book. It was a mistake for me. You need a PhD in Mathematics to be able to understand the equations. But if you do you will become a real expert in option theory.

Welcome and best wishes to you
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Regarding John Hull's book, I finished reading the sections on equity options. :thumbsup: Very well written and very useful. You should read John Hull's book if you are serious about options.

I found it very useful for analyzing my butterfly set ups.
 
I agree with all the recommendations so far (McMillan, Hull, Sinclair, Bennett (amazing), Natenberg, Cottle) and would only add "How to calculate Option Prices and their Greeks" by Pierino Ursone. It has helped me a lot to be able to do very quick calculations and estimations instantly without the need for any calculator/software. Very intuitive and practical.
 
Most options texts are garbage. Hull is the Bible, but no one is willing to do the work. Euan Sinclair is the exception. His work is geared towards the practitioner, rather than the academic. Plus he offers an elegant, intuitive derivation of BSM.

Option market making by Baird is legit too. Rebonato also good.

Anything by Natenberg or Taleb works well as a door stop or kindling.
 
Doobs789 said:
Most options texts are garbage. Hull is the Bible, but no one is willing to do the work. Euan Sinclair is the exception. His work is geared towards the practitioner, rather than the academic. Plus he offers an elegant, intuitive derivation of BSM.

Option market making by Baird is legit too. Rebonato also good.

Anything by Natenberg or Taleb works well as a door stop or kindling.
More...
I like Taleb. :D
 
ironchef said:
1. Lawrence McMillan: Options As A Strategic Investment. This is my first serious book on options. If you read it cover to cover, you will get a good appreciation of all the different options, the strategies of each and if you are math inclined, it even has several chapters on the math of options.

3. John C Hull, Options, Futures And Other Derivatives. I just bought this book and am in the middle of reading it, cannot comment on it yet.
More...

Hi,

Bumping an old thread.

Did you finish Hull? How does it compares to Lawrence McMillan's book?

I was recommended McMillan's book by another member here and see that it's getting really great reviews. At the same time - I've always had my eyes on Hull for learning options.

Of course - there's nothing wrong with buying both either. :)

Thanks in advance.
 
Euan Sinclair just tweeted that he finished writing his new book. Not sure its title or exact topic (i'm sure and hope options)

But his other books Volatility Trading and Option Trading are great books and I suggest any aspiring trader who wants to trade options read his books. Yes it can get technical but you can just gloss over those parts and read what you think is important (obviously).
 
Laissez Faire said:
Hi,

Bumping an old thread.

Did you finish Hull? How does it compares to Lawrence McMillan's book?

I was recommended McMillan's book by another member here and see that it's getting really great reviews. At the same time - I've always had my eyes on Hull for learning options.

Of course - there's nothing wrong with buying both either. :)

Thanks in advance.
More...
Actually I started with Lee Lowell's Get Rich With Options, then McMillan. Lowell is good for someone new to and knows nothing about options for it is very simple and easy to understand. His chapters on spreads and buying DITM options were eye opener for me. I stopped mechanically trading covered call and CSP after I read his book.

I read McMillan from beginning to end several times, bought and worked on the Study Guide. My complains on McMillan is it is only descriptive, lists the various strategies but without really getting into the guts of how to trade each strategy and why.

I have not finished Hull yet. I read all the chapters on options but none of the other derivatives yet. It is a step above McMillan IMHO because it gave me a deeper understanding of the behaviors of options and the relationships with the underlying.

If you have to pick one, get Hull.
 
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