Introduction
Does the world need another options trading book? Before writing this book, I looked at all of the options books available on Amazon and it was daunting. But this book brings a different perspective to options trading. The existing options trading books fall broadly into two categories: (1) how to become financially independent in two weeks, and (2) how I made a fortune trading on the exchange floor. In the first case, it is largely marketing hype, and the second case describes trading options from a perspective that isn’t realistic for the retail options trader. I admit this generalization does a disservice to several excellent options trading books, but exceptions do not invalidate generalizations.
My experience learning to trade options was lengthy and often painful. Trial and error characterized much of my learning curve. I spent large amounts of time and energy debunking many of the options trading myths. For those of you new to options trading, we will debunk those myths in the first few chapters of this book. But if you have some familiarity with options trading, you have probably heard or read the adage, When implied volatility is high, sell credit spreads, and when implied volatility is low, buy debit spreads. This is a classic example of a commonly taught rule for options trading that is absolutely false. The truth is that the credit spread and the debit spread at the same strike prices will always have the same risk/reward characteristics. Another instructor ...
