Honest reviews of the best options trading books, plus the trading and psychology books that help. Each review says who the book is for, and who should skip it.
Short answer
New to options? Start with one beginner book, such as The Options Playbook or Understanding Options. Then read Trading Options Greeks, then Option Volatility and Pricing.
Options: Beginner to Advanced
Pick the level that matches what you know. Each book says who it is best for, and who should skip it.
Steps 1–3
You have never placed an options trade.
Brian Overby
Best for: seeing 40 strategies laid out one per page.
Skip if: you want theory before strategies.
Michael Sincere
Best for: a plain-English first pass, no math.
Skip if: you already know calls, puts and strikes.
Joe Duarte
Best for: a broad tour, broker setup included.
Skip if: you dislike the For Dummies format.
Steps 4–6
You know calls and puts and want to manage a position.
Dan Passarelli
Best for: learning delta, gamma, theta and vega on real positions.
Skip if: you have not finished a beginner book.
Lawrence G. McMillan
Best for: a desk reference that covers every strategy.
Skip if: you want a cover-to-cover read; it is 1,000 pages.
Steps 7–9
You want to price options and trade volatility.
Sheldon Natenberg
Best for: how market makers think about price and volatility.
Skip if: you are not comfortable with some formulas.
Euan Sinclair
Best for: finding an edge and sizing it.
Skip if: you have not read Natenberg first.
Six options trading books worth owning, in editorial order. No star ratings: every card opens our review.
Lawrence G. McMillan
The standard strategy reference: nearly every options strategy, and when each one fits.
Sheldon Natenberg
The text professional option traders train on, written from the market maker’s seat.
Dan Passarelli
The clearest book-length walk through delta, gamma, theta, vega and rho.
Euan Sinclair
A practitioner’s framework for finding an edge and sizing it.
Mark Douglas
Frames trading as thinking in probabilities. Read it before you risk real money.
Jack D. Schwager
Interviews with top traders that boil down to a handful of durable principles.
Seven topic hubs: four for options, then the trading, psychology and risk books that make you better at options.
Options
Calls, puts, strikes and premium, from zero.
7 books · includes The Options Playbook and Understanding Options
Options
Delta to vega, and how volatility prices options.
10 books · includes Option Volatility and Pricing and Volatility Trading
Options
Spreads and combinations, and when each fits.
10 books · includes Options as a Strategic Investment and Option Spread Trading
Options
Education on covered calls and cash-secured puts, and their risks.
6 books · includes The Complete Guide to Option Selling and Understanding Options
Trading
Charts, candlesticks and price action.
7 books · includes Technical Analysis of the Financial Markets and Japanese Candlestick Charting Techniques
Psychology
Discipline, losses and thinking in probabilities.
10 books · includes Trading in the Zone and Best Loser Wins
Risk
Tail risk, randomness and uncertainty.
4 books · includes The Black Swan and Fooled by Randomness
Catalog
All 39 books
Filter by category, topic and level.
Open the catalogThe method behind every pick on this page.
Each review covers what the book teaches, where it falls short and which level it suits.
The wrong book costs you months, so every review says who should pass on it.
We never show Amazon star ratings, review counts or bestseller badges. No display ads.
Read how we review
Answers are always visible on the page, not hidden in an accordion.
Start with one beginner book, such as The Options Playbook or Understanding Options. Read one, not three, then move on to the Greeks.
Beginner book first, then Trading Options Greeks, then Option Volatility and Pricing. Keep Options as a Strategic Investment as a reference. The 9-step options path sets out the full order.
Natenberg needs algebra and patience more than calculus. Hull is a university textbook and assumes calculus and statistics. Read Natenberg first.
No. Books are education, not advice. Read the OCC’s Characteristics and Risks of Standardized Options, and know that your broker must approve you for options trading. Investor.gov explains how.
We review every book ourselves, so we show our verdict, its level and who should skip it. Star ratings and review counts are Amazon’s data, not ours.
Education, not investment advice
Options involve risk and are not suitable for every investor. Before you trade, read the OCC’s Characteristics and Risks of Standardized Options and Investor.gov’s Introduction to Options.