This book is written for the person who needs to know the information and strategies to be an options trader.

To many the purpose and function of the financial markets may seem like a bewildering maze of charts, trends, and data points that only wizards and financial geniuses could possibly comprehend. This apparent complexity can be extremely daunting to some and may discourage many would-be investors from taking advantage of the many opportunities to make investing profits or protect their nest eggs or retirement accounts. For many this hurdle can be easily overcome by taking advantage of the vast array of research materials and online tutorials available. As the novice investor gains more experience and confidence in their understanding of the workings of the market they can begin to place their first trades with a broker and really learn the ropes of buying and selling stocks. This is not the end of the trading learning curve however, as the financial markets offer many alternatives to the traditional buy and sell positions that may come to mind when a novice investor is planning a market strategy.

One of the most useful alternatives is the trading of options. Options are a powerful investment tool that can be used for a variety of purposes, including market speculation and hedging a position in a wide range of market conditions. As these ideas are understood, traders will see that they are no longer limited to a "buy low, sell high" approach that is considered to be the only way an investor can make gains in the market.

Once a trader has reached an advanced stage in his options trading education, it is time to start expanding the trading strategies in order to truly take advantage of the benefits these markets can offer. When comparing options trading to traditional forms of investment, it is clear that these alternatives provide many additional strategy choices to investors. The intricacy of these choices might appear overwhelming to an investor with little trading experience, but once we examine these strategies in detail and explore the fundamentals of these option positions, things will begin to be much clearer.

For this discussion of options trading we will assume that the reader has an intermediate level of understanding of options trading and will concentrate on the strategies, techniques and rationale underlying some of the more advanced trades available in the options market.