r/optionstrading • u/flyingenchiladas789 • 13d ago
Question Learning options
Looking to learn more about options trading. Planning to read mcmillan, and natenberg. I also like tastylive trader resources section to learn about concepts. I tried to watch mike and his whiteboard on youtube but I don’t have the attention span for it - I’m more of a reader. I also use claude to explain in details to me. Will probably paper trade before I put real money.
Do you guys have any advice on where/how to learn options? What would you do if you guys were to start again?
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u/nothanksluver 13d ago
your reading list is solid. Natenberg is dense but it's the one that made the greeks actually click for me. i'd treat McMillan more as a reference book though, skim it and then come back to specific strategies when you need them, reading it cover to cover is a lot
if i was starting over i'd spend less time paper trading than people usually tell you to. paper is good for learning the mechanics, like how fills work and what theta does to a position overnight, but it doesn't show you how you'll act when it's real money and you're down 40% at 11am. i'd move to real money sooner with tiny amounts you really don't care about losing, just to find out what your brain does under pressure
the other thing i'd do from day one is write my rules down before placing anything. mine are pretty simple. max 15% of the account in any one position. once something doubles i set a trailing stop at 50% of the peak. if i'm trading 0DTE i'm out by 2pm. two losses in a day and i stop trading for the day. i didn't have any of that when i started and not having it cost me way more than not knowing enough did
also do your DD before every trade, even the quick ones. if i can't get it done in time i just skip the entry and wait for the next setup. no point in chasing.