Options primer

[bilgert]

A couple of people in "da room" have been looking at Options plays lately. They're inherently risky, but it's a good way to take advantage of the market volatility with a small amount of capital.

I've been asked to help people out with the fundamentals of options trading. Honestly, I'm a novice, a veritable nickle and dime player- so I may not be the greatest teacher. However, here are a couple of nice links to get you started. I'm happy to answer anyone's questions if I can help. If I can't answer 'em, I'll try and point you in the right direction- and we can learn together.

http://www.investopedia.com/search/results.aspx?q=options%20trading
http://biz.yahoo.com/opt/
http://www.888options.com/classes/options_pricing/introduction_01.jsp

Also look at the relatively new book "Options Trading for Dummies" which just came out in March.

[bilgert]

More nice links:
http://www.cboe.com/LearnCenter/Tutorials.aspx
http://www.thinkorswim.com/tos/displayPage.tos?webpage=lessonCallsPuts#essentials

[Mark Wolfinger]

I'm available to help any of your readers who have option questions.

I'm a 30+ year professional options trader and have written three books for the options rookie. Visit my blog or website for information geared to people who are first learning about options.

http://www.mdwoptions.com
http://blog.mdwoptions.com/options_for_rookies/

[bilgert]

Good stuff Mark- thanks for the info.