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Options, from first principles
Primer
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The course
Six ideas, in order
Read them as a chain. Each lesson assumes the one before it.
01
A stock is a claim
Before a contract about a stock can mean anything, the stock itself has to mean something.
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02
A contract is a promise
An option is not a stock. It is a written promise about a stock, with an expiry date on it.
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03
Premium is the price of the promise
The number on the ticket is not a fee. It is what the promise costs, today, before anyone knows how the stock ends.
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04
Time is a tax
Every day the clock moves, a long option is a little less of a promise and a little more of a leftover.
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05
Five numbers that move a price
You do not need a textbook. You need five handles, and a feel for which one is in charge today.
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06
Four recipes you can book
A strategy is just a sentence made of the pieces you already have. Here are four worth saying out loud.
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