INTRODUCTION 
A put option gives the holder the right to sell the underlying security at the striking 
price at any time until the expiration date of the option. Listed put options are 
slightly newer than listed call options, having been introduced on June 3, 1977. The 
introduction of listed puts has provided a much wider range of strategies for both 
conservative and aggressive investors. The call option is least effective in strategies 
in which downward price movement by the underlying stock is concerned. The put 
option is a useful tool in that case. 
All stocks with listed call options have listed put options as well. The use of puts 
or the combination of puts and calls can provide more versatility to the strategist. 
When listed put options exist, it is no longer necessary to implement strategies 
involving long calls and short stock. Listed put options can be used more efficiently 
in such situations. There are many similarities between call strategies and put 
strategies. For example, put spread strategies and call spread strategies employ sim­
ilar tactics, although there are technical differences, of course. In certain strategies, 
the tactics for puts may appear largely to be a repetition of those used for calls, but 
they are nevertheless spelled out in detail here. The strategies that involve the use 
of both puts and calls together - straddles and combinations - have techniques of 
their own, but even in these cases the reader will recognize certain similarities to 
strategies previously discussed. Thus, the introduction of put options not only 
widens the realm of potential strategies, but also makes more efficient some of the 
strategies previously described. 
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