Options are a complicated investment instrument, but if properly understood and implemented, they are far less risky than owning stock or mutual funds. And as a bonus, they are most often more profitable. Trading options, one can choose to be a risky gambler (not recommended) or a conservative income generator.
The trick is understanding options and understanding risk management. If you trade options WITHOUT understanding them, and WITHOUT any risk management implementation, then by default you are a risky gambler. You will be out of money before you know what hit you.
The option world has its own lingo. And there are myriad strategies to sift through before determining which one(s) suit your risk/reward desires. Placing the actual trade orders with your broker requires a thorough understanding and fluency of the lingo, as well as a confident understanding of the strategy you've chosen.
The good news is that this book will actually TEACH you what you need to know to be a conservative income generator with options. I can assure you it is the ONLY book that TEACHES this. I own all the major books on options that have been released in the last five years and this one is by far the best and most practical. And long overdue.
To me, in order for an author to teach options trading, he or she must provide the real world philosophy behind a strategy, real world examples, real world gotchas, real world "how", and most importantly, real world "why". Of all the books I own, this one provides the total package. The others do a good job of perhaps the philosophy and the how, but totally lack the rest. In short, no book until this one teaches the complete knowledge one requires to be successful at option trading for income.
I am a rookie in that I had not actually traded options until studying this book. I am NOT a rookie when it comes to attempting to learn how to trade options. The other books did not leave me confident in my abilities to consistently earn income with options. Thus I didn't make any trades. This book gave me the confidence to start trading AND EARNING INCOME. That point alone truly sums up the value of this book compared to all other books on the shelves. The other books are simply lacking in regard to earning income with options. They are good resources for information but not for implementation.
The author's approach is conservative. You will learn how to manage risk and see that options ARE a good, safe investment instrument if used with conservative strategies and prudent risk management techniques. You'll also learn, perhaps by constructing a spreadsheet on your own (strongly encouraged by me), just how much potential income you can earn. You'll be pleasantly surprised.
However, a strong warning here: You MUST understand and comprehend what you are reading. You can't skim this book and expect to do well. In fact, you'll fail if you skim ANY book on options. Most likely, you'll fail big time after a lucky string because you THOUGHT you understood. If you can't commit to learning, and I mean intensely learning and understanding this book, then please steer clear of options. There are no free rides. You must invest brain power to do well. Recognize that most people do not WANT to invest the brain power required. It's hard. It's intense. It's confounding. It's WORTH THE EFFORT. Eventually it clicks. Decide if you do want to commit, and if so, buy this book. It's the only one you will need to conservatively earn a steady income trading options. If you do invest the brain power, you will be proud of yourself and you'll do well financially with your new knowledge.
I want to add that the author is an experienced floor trader, and a gracious man who has replied to all questions I've asked of him via email. If you are inclined to purchase $2000+ in software and another $2000-5000+ in so called "training" or "education", please save your money and seed your options trading account with it instead. But before making ANY trades, nail down what this book teaches. It is all you need.
FYI, my own trading focuses solely on Credit Spreads (which have their own chapter in the book) and utilizing the author's philosophy on risk management. But I had to understand the ENTIRE book prior to making that decision. You would be wise to do the same before deciding your own direction.
