Includes index.

"The Complete Book of Option Spreads and Combinations will be the definitive educational resource and reference guide for using option spreads and other sophisticated option strategies. Option spread trading has grown rapidly in recent years due to the reduction in brokerage commissions and ease of execution through electronic platforms. Author Scott Nations will cover vertical spreads, calendar spreads, ratio spreads, diagonal spreads, butterflys, iron butterflys, straddles, strangles, condors, and iron condors. Nations will describe the inner workings of each strategy, describing how the strategies are impacted by movements in the underlying market, implied volatility, and time decay. Most importantly, he identifies market conditions where each strategy performs well and market conditions where each strategy should be avoided. Readers will learn: n How to generate monthly income by selling covered stranglesn Using call spreads to recover from a losing stock positionn Using put diagonals to protect an existing stock positionn The best strategies for directional market plays Once the proper strategy is suggested, Nations shows how to identify the best options to use based on "moneyness" (in-the-money, out-of-the-money or at-the-money) and time to expiration. He then describes how to monitor, adjust, and close each trade to maximize profits and minimize losses. Comprehensive and authoritative, The Complete Book of Option Spreads and Combinations will provide traders with a valuable how-to manual and a lasting reference"-- Provided by publisher.

"Educational resource and reference guide for using option spreads and other sophisticated option strategies. Covers vertical spreads, calendar spreads, ratio spreads, diagonal spreads, butterflys, iron butterflys, straddles, strangles, condors, and iron condors. Describes how strategies are impacted by movements in the underlying market, implied volatility, and time decay. Identifies conditions where each strategy performs well"-- Provided by publisher.

Print version record and CIP data provided by publisher.

Title Page; Copyright; Dedication; Foreword; Preface; The Spreads and Combinations; Chapter 1: Not Just More or Less but Different; The "Flavors": Calls and Puts; The Expiration Date; The Strike Price; An Option Corresponds to 100 Shares of Stock; Defining an Option; Moneyness; What We Mean by Spread and Combination; A Final Thought; Chapter 2: Just a Little Math; The Option Price; Volatility and the Volatility Implied by the Option Price; Option Erosion; Option Price Sensitivities; Sensitivity to the Passage of Time; Sensitivity to the Price of the Underlying Stock; Changes in Volatility

Other SensitivitiesChapter 3: Vertical Spreads; Buying and Selling Vertical Spreads; Vertical Spread Maximum and Minimum Values; Naming; Moneyness and Vertical Spreads; Bullish and Bearish Vertical Spreads; Selling a Call Vertical Spread; Breakeven Points; The Necessary Price Action; Vertical Spreads and Your Market Outlook; Asymmetry of Risk and Reward for Vertical Spreads; Option Delta and Likelihood; Vertical Spread Value Prior to Expiration; The Other Greeks; The Best Measure of Vertical Spread Cost; In-the-Money Vertical Spreads; Chapter 4: Covered Calls; Profitability

Covered Calls and Downside Protection-Not As Much As We'd LikeUsing Covered Calls to "Create" Dividends; Having Your Shares Called Away; Don't Fear Assignment; Stock Covered Vertical Call Spread; Chapter 5: Covered Puts; The Regret Point; Market Outlook; Out-of-the-Money Covered Puts; In-the-Money Covered Puts; At-the-Money or Nearly At-the-Money; Covered Put versus Covered Call; Chapter 6: Calendar Spreads; Call Calendar Spreads; Selling Calendar Spreads; Directionality; Catalysts; The Super Calendar; Chapter 7: Straddles; The Short Straddle; Likelihoods; Selling Covered Straddles

Chapter 8: StranglesSelling Strangles; Selling Covered Strangles; Chapter 9: Collars; Wider Collars; In-the-Money Collars; Potential Outcomes; A Zero-Cost Collar; Skew; How a Collar Is Similar to Other Spreads and Combinations; Put Spread Collar; Call Spread Collar; Chapter 10: Risk Reversal; Likelihoods; How Skew Helps a Risk Reversal; Call Spread Risk Reversal; Chapter 11: Butterflies; Buying and Selling Butterflies-The Terminology; Put Butterflies; Butterflies Prior to Expiration; Butterflies and Your Market Expectations; Broken Butterflies; Chapter 12: Condors and Iron Condors

Selling a CondorThe Bid/Ask Spread and Condor Spreads; Iron Condor; Directional Condors; Chapter 13: Conversion/Reversal; Reversal; Dividends; Pin Risk; Chapter 14: Ratio Spreads and Back Spreads; Vertical Spreads, Butterflies, and Ratio Spreads; Call Ratio Spreads; Call Ratio Spreads for Stock Repair; Back Spreads; Super Back Spreads; Chapter 15: Other Spreads and Combinations; Married Put; Diagonal Spread; Iron Butterfly; Christmas Tree; Box Spread; Jelly Roll; Stupid; Guts; Other Potential Spreads and Combinations; About the Website; About the Author; Index; End User License Agreement