Option Spread Trading: A Comprehensive Guide to Strategies and Tactics
$19.49
Option Spread Trading: A Comprehensive Guide to Strategies and Tactics by Russell Rhoads is a definitive handbook for traders seeking to master one of the most versatile areas of options trading—spreads. Written by Russell Rhoads, a seasoned trader and instructor at the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) Options Institute, this book bridges the gap between theory and practice by breaking down complex strategies into clear, structured lessons that traders can apply immediately.
The book begins with a concise refresher on essential option fundamentals, covering calls, puts, intrinsic and time value, and the Greeks. Rhoads emphasizes that options are not as intuitive as riding a bike; traders need a solid grasp of the basics to consistently apply advanced strategies. From there, he guides readers through an expansive set of spread techniques, including covered calls, cash-secured puts, protective puts, collars, straddles, strangles, bull and bear spreads, butterflies, condors, ratio spreads, backspreads, calendar spreads, and diagonal spreads. Each strategy is presented in a modular format, making it easy to focus on specific setups like condors or straddles without losing the broader context.
A distinguishing feature of this book is its emphasis on payoff diagrams and key levels. Rhoads explains how to calculate maximum profit, maximum loss, and breakeven points for every spread, illustrating with real-world option prices and scenarios . This hands-on approach equips traders not only with the mechanics of placing trades but also with the analytical framework to evaluate risk and reward effectively.
Beyond individual strategies, the book explores advanced concepts such as synthetic positions, the role of volatility, and delta-neutral trading, including how market makers use hedging to manage risk . Practical execution guidance is also provided, showing how to enter single-leg and multi-leg spreads, as well as the nuances of legging into trades .
Whether you are a developing trader looking to expand beyond basic long calls and puts, or an experienced market participant aiming to refine your spread trading skills, Option Spread Trading serves as a comprehensive reference. Its blend of educational clarity, structured examples, and professional insights makes it an invaluable resource for anyone serious about trading options with precision and confidence.
Contents:
- Essential Option Knowledge
- Spreads Using an Underlying Securit
- Synthetic Positions
- The Greeks
- Straddles
- Strangles
- Bull Spreads
- Bear Spreads
- Butterfly Spreads
- Condor Spreads
- Ratio Spreads
- Backspreads
- The Stock Repair Strateg
- Calendar Spreads
- Diagonal Spreads
- Delta Neutral Trading
- Executing a Spread Trading
Option Spread Trading: A Comprehensive Guide to Strategies and Tactics By Russell Rhoads pdf
| Author(s) | |
|---|---|
| Format | |
| Pages | 287 |
| Publication Year | 2011 |
13 reviews for Option Spread Trading: A Comprehensive Guide to Strategies and Tactics
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Zahra Buck (verified owner) –
good read
Jon Pittman (verified owner) –
Very specific book to explain strategic and the creeks. It start to make sense when apply strategies in the market
Keanu Tanner (verified owner) –
For the first person who posted their review of this well in-depth book, I feel sorry for you my friend. Just because you lose money on a consistent basis does not mean you have the right to post a negative review. Believe it or not, people/companies are not perfect. Mistakes happen and you have to move on. I am pretty sure the Publishing company found the mistakes, but did not want to wait any longer to release the book. Not to mention, spend the extra money it would of cost to republish it for correcting their mistakes. Regarding your comments, you might want to look “outside” the book and figure out what Russell is talking about instead of complaining about the figure inside the book. He wrote the book to educate people as much as possible in order for them to build their skills and incorporate his information to get a much better sense of options. Obviously, this book is strictly not produced to give anyone recommendations on how to handle their investments. It’s a great read if you have a good understanding of the basics in options and want to expand your knowledge in greater depths
Gianni Pena (verified owner) –
Just like the front cover says, Option Spread Trading is a comprehensive guide. Not only will you go from the basics of options, you will also get into advanced option topics such as the greeks, and delta neutral trading. There are several different option spread strategies covered including Straddles, Bull Spreads, Bear Spreads, Butterfly Spreads, Condor Spreads, Ratio Spreads and more. The author also covers exactly how to ‘leg’ into a spread trade.
This book is not intended to be read in one sitting cover to cover. There is so much covered that you will want to pick a topic and focus on that topic at first. I like the fact that there are several examples with each strategy introduced. There are also pictures and graphs for us visual people to make the wealth of information easy to digest. If you’ve ever been interested in trading options on earnings, that is covered right away in the chapter on Straddles. Each strategy comes with a chart detailing expected payoff and break-even points based on certain price levels.
One thing that I would have liked to see in the book is a resources or suggested further reading page. But overall I enjoyed the thoroughness of the book. After reading it I feel much more comfortable getting into options trading.
Oliver Bass (verified owner) –
Great deal
Mary Kane (verified owner) –
The author definitely knows what he is writing about but I have strong doubts about his ability to write a readable and error-free book. Throughout reading it, I had a strong impression that I was the first person on the planet who read it, and this includes the author himself and editors and proofreaders if there were any. (It is incomprehensible to me how such a reputable publishing house as Wiley could give it a green light.) But it is not only English, which sometimes gives you a real headache. It is also factual errors. For example, there is reference to Figure 4.4 but it is not there. There is also no Figure 4.3 but luckily, there is no reference to it, either. The author writes “straddle” where it should be “strangle” and “iron condor” where it should be “iron butterfly.” Figure 5.17 has Long Straddle with wrong numbers, and this is a Figure comparing the Long Straddle with the Reverse Iron Butterfly. There are more errors, misreferences, and clumsy sentences violating the rules of English grammar. The author also has a very strange tendency to explain relatively simple concepts in the most convoluted manner and constantly repeat himself.
The aforementioned Figure 5.17 was a last straw that broke my patience and rushed me to write this review. I am almost sure that I will see more surprises in the rest of the book, and I intend to read it to the end because of the autor’s competence in the subject (that’s why 2 stars rather than 1). So if you are eager to test your patience and to see how quickly you’ll get really annoyed with this book, buy this book with confidence.
Marie Ochoa (verified owner) –
The author is a regular teacher at the CBOE. He really knows his stuff when it comes to Options strategies.
Ismael Kline (verified owner) –
The Bottom Line Lesson Book. No Grey lines, take it to the bank, learn your P’s and Q’s kind of book. When Russell speaks you listen.
Harmoni Parks (verified owner) –
Written by the CBOE options educator/instructor. Although I am a newbie to options, I find that the writing can be understood; but, this is no casual reading. In order to completely understand the knowledge being dispensed, I sometimes have to read a section over several times, plus make annotations on the pages, or notes elsewhere. Also, one must know how to trade stocks in general, and have a good understanding and experience in shorting, which will help in digesting the concept of Puts, covered Calls, etc.
Rachel Duran (verified owner) –
I been trading options for many years now. I know the importance of risk management and looking for undervalued options. Looking for the traders’ edge. This book most verbose book on options ever. Although Mr Rhoads may have a strong command of options, he adds nothing to give you an edge. You can go to the CBOE and find more concrete examples of spreads. There is a lot of fat and no meat in this book. It is not even a good source book just to find important details. After reading his strategy on put spreads, I said where is the edge, the greeks, the diagrams???? There are a lot of words…no insight that we always look for…especially from someone like Mr Rhoads…There are lot better book on spreads. Mr, Rhoads is no Dan or Larry. Read their books on options.
Opal Williams (verified owner) –
I have traded options sparingly in the past and had never considered a spread trade. This book lays out like an encyclopedia a variety of spreads and although a little redundant does a good job of clearly explaining why different spreads using options can be useful and how to go about constructing them. This book will be a good reference for me as I pursue more complex trading strategies.
Sevyn Montoya (verified owner) –
I was interested in finding a strategy to leverage my trading and wanted some easy-to-understand explanations of advanced options trading. This was just the ticket. The author explains in detail a number of different multiple-options strategies referred to as “spreads” and it did not take long for me to find one that was suited to me and my trading style. There was also some useful practical advice. My advice is that when you are ready to move past simply buying a few puts and calls you need to read this book. You will get an idea of the different strategies available and you just might find a strategy that you like!
Winston Moreno (verified owner) –
I’m a beginner and the author breaks down the explanations in a way I can absorb. Great book.