Options and Options Trading: A Simplified Course That Takes You from Coin Tosses to Black-Scholes
$17.60
Options and Options Trading breaks the code that envelops the often-foreign language of options, providing an accessible introduction into how the options market works as it explains the rules that traders must understand if they hope to take part in this high-leverage, high-profit game. Author Robert Ward’s goal is simple–to demystify the tangled world of options trading without leaving readers too confused and frustrated to continue. The book to read before continuing on to the more detailed, and much higher-level, existing library of options trading guides, Options and Options Trading features:
- End-of-chapter material including “Things to Think About” and “Key Concepts”
- Simplified explanations of complex mathematical equations
- Step-by-step rationales to help readers move from basic to complex
In the options market, it always comes down to you versus them. Thing is, they’ve been at it a lot longer than you, and have years of hands-on experience navigating the tricks and traps of profitable options trading. Before you take your place at the table, it’s in your best interest to discover how options really work, and how they can work for you. Options & Options Trading translates the foreign language of options into plain English. Based on Robert Ward’s experience as a Merrill Lynch head trader as well as his popular New York University trading and options course, this step-by-step primer explains what options are, introduces basic valuation and trading concepts, and demystifies this versatile trading vehicle.
Contents:
- What a Derivative Is and What It Isn’t
- Binomials and Coin Tosses
- Pascal’s Triangle and the Binomial Theorem
- Distributions Are the Key—What Are Distributions?
- Probabilities, Odds, and Payoffs
- Writing Our First Option
- Sectors, Strike Prices, and Summation Signs
- The Fair Price of an Option
- Our First Stock Option: IBM
- Statistics: The 15-Minute Cram Course
- Dow Jones versus Coin Tosses
- Turning Spot Prices into Forward Prices: S*e^RT
- Skeleton for an Option Formula
- Getting Comfortable with the Black-Scholes Formula
- Introducing Volatility and SKIT-V
- Pros and Cons of the Black-Scholes Formula
- A Primer on Risk and Hedging
- Option Risk: Finding It and Hedging It
- How Traders Make Money (Customers)
- How to Convert Puts and Calls: CPL.PCS
- The Best Option Strategie
- Market Insights and Edges
Options and Options Trading: A Simplified Course That Takes You from Coin Tosses to Black-Scholes By Robert Ward pdf
| Author(s) | |
|---|---|
| Format | |
| Pages | 405 |
| Publication Year | 2004 |
10 reviews for Options and Options Trading: A Simplified Course That Takes You from Coin Tosses to Black-Scholes
Only logged in customers who have purchased this product may leave a review.
Gunnar Bartlett (verified owner) –
Outstanding book. So well written and easy to understand. Highly recommended for anyone interested in options and how they work.
Melody Huff (verified owner) –
Hard to read. Spends too much time on theory of why and how pricing works, then shows you how to use it in real life and that it’s not a ‘sure thing’ like I had thought it was.
Bianca Pope (verified owner) –
And yet this book simplified this complex material into something that is emminently digestible. I’ve read a bunch of textbooks on this topic and this one was unbelievable useful.
Aubrielle Chang (verified owner) –
Recommend this book to anyone trying to get their minds around the complex mathematical world of options trading. Read this book in 3 days….so easy going through the pages……cheap price for a premium product…
Ari Bell (verified owner) –
This book is an excellent read. Clearly written and explains the overall concept of the option formula. The author also explains his practical outlook of the market and options and what they can do and can not do. He repeatedly drives home the point that there is no optimum strategy and that market opinion does ultimately matter. There is no free lunch. This gem alone is worth hundreds of times the cost of the book.
Lucille Dalton (verified owner) –
Starts at a very simple level and gradually increases your understanding. An excellent choice if you want to understand the how and why behind options so you can trade with confidence. Those who like to study and understand before jumping in will appreciate this book 🙂
Journee Travis (verified owner) –
I bought this book already possessing a beginning knowledge of options; however I wanted to learn more about the basics, and then to get into slightly more advanced topics. All the way through, this book has almost NOTHING to do with options… it is a terrible read, filled with common sense that everybody already knows. I am very disappointed in this book, and highly regret the purchase. I recently ordered “Options as a strategic investment” by McMillan… it appears to have more useful information than this worhtless piece.
Fletcher Vazquez (verified owner) –
This is a must have for all serious traders. Robert Ward does a masterful job of explaining probability and statistics, the foundation for option pricing and delves deep into market psychology, hedging, and numerous advanced topics.
To truly get the most of this book read it slowly and learn all it has to offer. This is, by far, the best book I have ever purchased on Options trading. It is full of wisdom, explanations, examples, diagrams, and quizes (with answers at the back of the book) to assure you truly master the language, mathematics and psychology of options trading.
Congratulations to Robert Ward on writing a great, great book!
Finnley Espinoza (verified owner) –
This book provides a broad overview of option theory and also a lot of no-nonsense practice. The author is very realistic and honest in his descriptions of market reality.
Avi Moss (verified owner) –
Options and Options Trading is a practical, no-nonsense primer for the complex and mysterious world of options. For the uninitiated like me, it is difficult going at times, but if you discipline yourself and muscle through in the end you have covered every aspect of buying, selling, and profiting from options. His goal is introduction and translation, not advanced trading strategies. In this he succeeds masterfully.
Ward demonstrates a genius for making the inscrutable accessible, leading the reader by the hand with vivid language, illustrations, and humor. His pace is steady and deliberate, but never rushed. He writes with an ease and comfort that comes from a complete mastery of his subject.
Ward instills confidence in his readers by demonstrating mathematically that good luck is not needed to succeed in options trading. And conversely bad luck will never ruin the sensible trader, who realizes he can “never be bigger than the market.”
Ward telegraphs the progression of his program well, by breaking the concepts down into many easily digestable chapters, grouped in larger sections. It is also nicely bound and packaged, and well-indexed, by McGraw Hill. About the only criticisms I have are very mild ones:
1. Frankly the foreword by John Fallon comes off as a little smug and self-serving, and adds nothing to the discussion except some interesting biographical tidbids on Ward.
2. I did great on my math SATs, but, again, without adequate course work, beginning in chapter seven I found the math tough going sometimes. This is cearly, however, a function of the subject, not the author. Or maybe its a function of this reader! It is unavoidable. And for this math-ophobe, he surely minimized the pain.
Just a few pages into teh book it’s very clear why Ward has been so successful, both as a trader and as a teacher. Add writer to the list now. A truly magnificent work in every way. One of the best book purchases I have ever made