Best Options Trading Books

My Personal List of the All-Time Best Options Strategy Books

Here’s my list of the best options trading books available, in the order that I would recommend reading them. Before starting to read this list, I would recommend getting a basic understanding of options since I’m starting the list at the beginner/intermediate level and not absolute beginner level. At a minimum you should understand what a covered call and a cashed secured put both are. 

As an options trader myself, I'm looking at this from the point of view of someone who trades options actively every day, although I don't consider myself a "day-trader" with options since my trades are typically 7 days to 100 days in length, with a few exceptions.

I will continue to keep this list up to date if I read anything else that belongs on this list. I’m always looking for new books and reading most of what is recommended to me, so I’ll likely extend this list a few times eventually.

If you click on the images of the book covers you can read my full book reviews and summaries individually.

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These first 2 books on the list are the intermediate level books (Option Volatility & Pricing, and Options as a Strategic Investment), and I wish I could have made this list without both of them since they are on everyone’s best options trading book lists. But they’re on those lists for a reason. I think these first 2 books are the absolute minimum that must be read for any options traders. They are similar books, so technically you could probably get away with reading just one of them, but I would really recommend getting through both.

Option Volatility & Pricing - Sheldon Natenberg

Many people call this book the “bible” of options trading. Option Volatility & Pricing covers everything you would need to know to begin a full-time options trading career. It’s shorter than Options as a Strategic Investment, and covers just about the same information. If you read this book as a beginner, you’ll highlight plenty of information that is important. And then if you come back a year or two later and read it again, you’ll end up highlighting completely different topics that you now realize are the important pieces of information. There’s so much range covered in this book, and it’s definitely a must-read for every options trader.

Check out my full book review and summary of Option Volatility & Pricing

 

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Options as a Strategic Investment - Lawrence McMillan

If I had to teach someone how to trade options and I could only have them read one book, it would be this one. It’s very long, over 1000 pages, but none of the book is wasted space. Everything in Options as a Strategic Investment has its place in options knowledge. It’s simple to read, it just takes time. When I first read it, some of the information was over my head. But over time you’ll really appreciate at least having that knowledge. The book starts out at the very basics, so a beginner could start reading this book slowly over time, and eventually finish the later chapters at another time. 

Check out my full book review and summary of Options as a Strategic Investment

 

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The Unlucky Investor’s Guide to Options Trading - Julia Spina

The Unlucky Investor’s Guide to Options Trading is a perfect book for someone that has learned or wants to learn the Tasty Trade standard options setups. Tom Sosnoff, from Tasty Trade, is a major player in the options trading industry, and he worked with Julia Spina to put this book together. The main trade this book focuses on is the 45 DTE Strangle selling. It was my first real options trading setup that I became consistently profitable from, and still use that setup today.

Check out my full book review and summary of The Unlucky Investor's Guide to Options Trading

 

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Trading Options as a Professional - James Bittman 

This is my most recent addition to this list. It was on my shelf for awhile before getting to it. I wish I would have read it sooner. I was very surprised at how much I loved this book. Bittman does use quite a bit of technical math and equations in this book but he does a great job making them easy to understand so you don’t need to spend too much time trying to understand the calculations. Trading Options as a Professional focuses a lot on market makers, arbitrage, and delta-neutral trading. 

Check out my full book review and summary of Trading Options as a Professional

 

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The Option Trader’s Hedge Fund - Chen & Sebastian

Of all the books on this list, The Option Trader’s Hedge Fund is probably the one that I reference the most. This book has a few trading setups that are completely walked through on how the trade should be setup, traded, and exited. I use a few of the trades from the book almost exactly how Dennis Chen and Mark Sebastian wrote them up in the book. It’s a really easy to read book that is written for traders without too much math or equations. It’s very straightforward. 

Check out my full book review and summary of The Option Trader's Hedge Fund

 

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Positional Options Trading - Euan Sinclair

This is probably the most advanced topics of any book on this list. Sinclair has even more advanced and complex books on options, but this is his best book in my opinion for options traders. Most of his books are too mathematical and theoretical for me to get much value as a trader out of them. They mostly read like a college textbook. But Positional Options Trading is a perfect blend of theoretical and practical knowledge. There’s many advanced topics but covers them more specifically for uses in actual trading.

Check out my full book review and summary of Positional Option Trading

 

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Thanks For Reading My List of The Best Options Trading Books

I appreciate any feedback on my book lists and reviews. Please let me know if you think a book should be on this list, I'll give you my opinion on it if I've read it, and if I haven't I will go read it. Contact me anytime through my social media or right here on the site. I will keep updating my lists if I come across anything that I believe should be added. Thanks!