Options DeMYSTiFieD

Options DeMYSTiFieD reveals why today’s smartest investors rely on the versatility of the options marketplace–and how you can, too! With its quick, snappy explanations and easy-to-understand examples, it provides the knowledge you need to start trading options like a pro in no time. Chapterending quizzes and a final exam round out Options DeMYSTiFieD into a comprehensive self-teaching guide that allows you to learn at your own pace.

Author’s Note:

In addition to explaining how the professionals speculate in the markets, this book teaches you how to hedge with options. This strategy provides a variety of methods for using options to mitigate your worse nightmare—watching the value of your favorite securities plunge like Wile E. Coyote when he overruns a cliff. Options help any investor or trader sleep the sleep of the righteous. Please take note of some of the words and phrases that I use, like learning about and being exposed to. This book demystifies options, giving you a solid understanding of what options are and how to use them. It is a place to start your study of options if you choose to:

• Speculate for profit
• Generate additional income from your existing assets
• Use options to protect your current wealth

It does not attempt to teach you how to trade. There are hundreds of books on that subject already available. As you will learn, you cannot become a trader by reading or attending classes, any more than you can become a scratch golfer or tennis wizard without hitting balls. It takes time on the links or courts to become proficient. Nevertheless, reading and studying in advance is the first step. My objective by the end of this book is to enable you to decide if you want options to become a part of your investment life.

Do not let my use of words like market/markets and strike or striking price confuse you. When I use the word market, I am referring to a specific market, such as the stock, futures, or option market. Markets means all markets or the concept of the marketplace in general. Strike price and striking price are interchangeable and mean the same thing—the price at which an owner of an option can exercise his or her position. In your future reading, you will see different authors favoring one version or the other. Do not let it bother you.

I favor the Socratic approach to teaching. Therefore, you will encounter many questions within the text. To get the very most out of this book, read each question thoughtfully, close your eyes for a second, and attempt to devise an answer to the question. Make notes in the margin. This helps you define your investing/trading philosophy. Answering these questions generates insights that will help you understand what you want out of the subject matter and how to apply it. The more thought and effort you put into understanding options, the better the learning experience will be for you, making this book much more readable, enjoyable, and valuable.

At the end of each chapter, you will find a quiz, and at the end of the book, there is a final exam. These are openbook tests. If you do not immediately know or understand the answer, look back in the chapter. Read over the material if need be. Never leave a chapter without completing the quiz. It is part and parcel of the learning experience.

Contents:

• The Wide, Wide World of Options
• Everyday Options
• Your First Serious Look at Using Options
• The Playing Fields
• Hitting Moving Targets
• Getting Down to the Business of Trading
• Who You Do Business With
• Fortune Telling 101
• Just Trade It!
• Some Advanced Concepts
• The Mighty Futures Markets
• Become the Bubble and Ride the Wind

Options DeMYSTiFieD By Thomas McCafferty pdf