Reddit mentions of Options for the Beginner and Beyond: Unlock the Opportunities and Minimize the Risks (2nd Edition)

Trading options is more complex than trading binary instruments (stocks, fx, futures, etc) as there are a lot more moving parts. Options are like ternary instruments, they allow one to profit if the underlying goes up, down, or sideways. Best way to get started is to learn what a put and a call are. Then move onto basic positions. The best approach I can recommend is to pickup a beginners book. I read this - the first version - which taught me the ropes quickly. I also picked up several other books afterwards that got into the subject on a deeper and more technical level. One of the most fascinating things I've learned so far is what implied volatility is. See another post. With IV you can work out statistically the chances of a trade profiting. Like someone else mentioned, www.tastytrade.com, a free streaming live options talk show, is based on statistical trading and not trading on fear/hope.

Traditionally, iron condors are traded with index ETF options such as the SPY or IWM. There's obviously less risk of a massive move in a short amount of time. Though black swans do exist, see 2008, euro crisis, debt ceiling, etc. If the s&p or the russel stays in your IC's range until it expires, you win. You profit on theta decay this way. Since ICs are short volatility, there was a huge drop in NFLX implied vol today -went from 70sh to 50sh. That 20 some odd point drop in IV alone amounted to over 50% of $4800. The rest was from theta decay and delta.

I started with a book (It may not have bee the greatest book, but HERE it is.)

Then I went through almost every archived webinar on the CBOE site. (I just looked for a link to provide, but I can't find it on their site anymore.) I also attended a lot of live webinars and asked a lot of questions.

What did I learn? For starters, options can make OR LOSE money quickly, so it's best to know what you're doing before you start trading. Start small.

I read this book: http://www.amazon.com/Options-Beginner-Beyond-Opportunities-Minimize/dp/0132655683?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage

Which left me with a feeling like I learned a bunch but it also felt academic which is why I wanted to try to go for this as a way to really cut my teeth. Do you have any book recommendations?