🔎 Old CBOE Readings for Options lecture

I find the readings for the first lecture on options to be exceptionally helpful. Unfortunately, the week before we start options can be busy, so it’s helpful to get a very early start on these readings. In fact, I think it’s very smart to complete them right after the midterm or the first two lectures on stocks.

We used to have several truly excellent options readings on the syllabus. They carefully covered the core skills required to understand options in a thorough manner. Unfortunately the website on which they were posted took them down and replaced them with less helpful, more marketing oriented content.

I still have PDFs of the original, and I think you will find it very helpful to read them:

• IntroductionToOptionsBasics.pdf
• ProfitandLossDiagrams.pdf

🙋How carefully do I need to read them? Should I study them?

✔ When reading Introduction to Options Basics, you want to understand the material well enough that you will be able to follow the next tutorial on Profit and Loss Diagrams.

🗝 With the second tutorial, Profit and Loss Diagrams, practice filling out the profit and loss tables yourself. Bruce will assume that you can rapidly fill out similar tables by the second options lecture and will teach new material that builds upon that skill. Because of this, I suggest that you plan your studying so you can fill out the tables in the reading without using any hints from the text before the second lecture on options.

🙋How long do they take?

One successful student commented: 🙋‍♂️ “cboe may take several hours to complete: maybe 2 hours for the 1st one an another 90 minutes for profit loss diagrams. Write notes to help memorize diagrams”