THE OPTIONS PLAYBOOK
Contents of this book 2009 by TradeKing. Member FINRA/SIPC. All rights reserved.
Options involve risk and are not suitable for all investors. This book is distributed with the booklet titled Characteristics and Risks of Standardized Options, published by the Options Clearing Corporation (OCC). You must read this publication before investing in options. To obtain additional copies of this booklet please go to: www.tradeking.com/ODD or call (877) 495-KING.
The content of this publication is provided for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute a recommendation to enter in any of the securities transactions or to engage in any of the investment strategies presented in such content. TradeKing provides self-directed investors with discount brokerage services, and does not make recommendations or offer investment advice. You alone are responsible for evaluating the merits and risks associated with the use of our systems, services or products. All investments involve risk, losses may exceed the principal invested, and the past performance of a security, industry, sector, market, or financial product does not guarantee future results or returns.
LEAPS is a registered trademark of CBOE.
eISBN: 978-0-615-97467-5
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Calls as a Stock Substitute
INTRODUCTION
BY BRIAN THE OPTIONS GUY OVERBY TradeKing Senior Options Analyst
OPTION TRADING is a way for savvy investors to leverage assets and control some of the risks associated with playing the market. Pretty much every investor is familiar with the saying, Buy low and sell high. But with options, its possible to profit whether stocks are going up, down, or sideways. You can use options to cut losses, protect gains, and control large chunks of stock with a relatively small cash outlay.
On the other hand, options can be complicated and risky. Not only might you lose your entire investment, some strategies may expose you to theoretically unlimited losses.
So before you trade options, its important to think about the effects that variables like implied volatility and time decay will have on your strategy. This playbook will help you answer those tough questions. No need to ponder, just turn to the play.
Im not going to derive the Black-Scholes option pricing model in this book. As a matter of fact, this is one of the only times I even mention the Black- Scholes model. Its nice to know that sort of thing, but the goal here is to provide the essential knowledge needed to trade a specific strategy, not to completely bore the pants off of you.
Throughout this playbook, youll also find Options Guys Tips, which clarify essential concepts or give you extra advice on how to run a particular play. As an indicator of these tips importance, I put a little picture of my head next to them like the one you see above. So be sure to pay extra attention whenever you see my melon.
I certainly hope you enjoy reading The Options Playbook.
JUMP IN, THE WATERS FINE
For rookies, Ive created a brief overview of how options work, and outlined some plays to help you get started. These strategies will help familiarize you with the option market without leaving your proverbial backside overexposed to risk.
Dont get me wrong, however. All option trades involve risk and are not suited to all investors. Option contracts usually represent 100 shares of stock, so be careful. You should avoid trading more options than the number of shares youre used to.
If you typically trade 100 shares of stock, trade one option contract. If you typically trade 200 shares, trade two option contracts, and so on. (Get used to hearing me say that last bit. Ill be repeating it often, and for good reason.)
STAY MENTALLY TOUGH OUT THERE
For more experienced option traders, I hope this playbook will serve as a convenient reference tool. Here, youll find the construction and risk profiles for many different strategies. That means you can stay focused on forecasting or analyzing The Greeks, instead of experiencing brain strain while trying to remember exactly how to calculate your break-even points or set up an iron condor.
For each play, Ive pointed out key indicators to look for using the option tools on TradeKing.com. These tools can be an invaluable resource for option traders. So remember to use them as much as possible. (Tattooing our URL on the back of your hand might help in this regard.)
Ill be honest, youre not going to reap wind-fall profits every time. So dont dig fingernail marks into your desk or tear out clumps of your hair every time youre about to get hit with a loss. Sometimes you make money and sometimes you lose money. Its all part of the game. The idea is simply to run the right plays, and win more often than you lose.
LETS GET BUSY
Im not going to overload you with minute details about how the option market works, how options are priced and that kind of thing. There are already plenty of textbooks out there designed to do that. So well just touch briefly on those topics and then stay focused on the knowledge you need to run the 40 option plays in this book.
If youre still hungry for knowledge when you get to the end, head to TradeKing.com and visit our learning center. Theres plenty there to satisfy even the most gargantuan mind.
GOOD PLACES TO STUDY THIS PLAYBOOK
IN AN AIRPLANE
IN A CAR (AS LONG AS YOURE NOT DRIVING)
BY THE POOL
ON THE CAN
IN BED
IN A WAITING ROOM
AT WORK
ON THE TRAIN
AT YOUR COMPUTER WHILE TRADING ON TRADEKING.COM
WHILE SIPPING A COCKTAIL
BAD PLACE TO STUDY THIS PLAYBOOK
ON A TRAMPOLINE
HERE are a few things you absolutely need to understand before this playbook will make as much sense to you as I hope it will. Some of you probably already know these terms and concepts, or at least think you do. But how will you really know you know them unless you read this section? Therein lies the paradox.