5 comments about Hot Commodities: How Anyone Can Invest Profitably in the World's Best Market.

1. Everyone praises Jim Rogers. And despite that the general trend of what he says is correct, he is very often wrong. For example, i remember when he said in 1986 that there will never be another Democratic President ever again, because the party will self-destruct itself. He was also very negative on Russia, only to see Russian ETFs charge higher and higher. If you truly want to learn how to trade and time the markets in commodities, you should consider buying the books of Linda Raschke and Toby Crabel. They trade for a living and currently run successful hedge funds. Their writings are almost out of print at this point, but you may be able to find it on Ebay or Amazon.



2. Title doesn't say "anyone who wants to research their tail off"... but it should. I would have to be investing a large amount of money to invest such a large amount of time figuring this out. I don't have a ton of money. I do suppose the Rogers International Commodity Index is worth looking into.



3. Jim Rogers as a investment master give you an insight of commodities before you got lost in the formulas in financial textbook in schools. Actually I don't know how to invest in commodities after I sat-in some financial derivatives class in a university.



4. When most people think of investing they think of stocks and bonds. Jim Rogers has been an advocate for investing in commodities for years. Whether it is oil, wheat or sugar, Rogers argues they are an important asset class which individual investors should have exposure to. This book will help you to learn more about commodities and how to invest appropriately in them.



5. As someone with no prior knowledge about commodity markets this book was for me an excellent first step. Rogers is clear and approachable; he explains his approach to commodiities trading and ends the book with a series of examples that demonstrate his ideas in practice. Advice of this kind regarding specific commodities is out of date before the book is published, however, as demonstrations of method they are excellent. I've now moved on to Kleinman, which is a bit more in depth, but the foundation I've got from Rogers is proving invaluable. A great first step in commodities!

5 comments about Trading Options For Dummies.

1. I picked up this book to learn about options as a supplement to my stock investing. The first three times I tried to read the book I thought I was just too tired to "get it." Yesterday I became absolutely certain that this book is so poorly organized and edited that YOU WILL NEVER UNDERSTAND options and their strategies from reading the text. Moreover, the glossary in the back of the book is incomplete.
   
   Don't even think about buying this text. It is worthless. I just threw my copy away this morning to insure that no one else would have it inflicted on them.



2. I've read many books written for the Dummies series and this one is by far the worst. Fontanills seems to have a very strong personal understanding of options and what it takes to trade them successfully but NO idea of how to teach the basics successfully to others through the written word. I've spent entirely too much time going back to reread pages as he glosses over important information, information that is then required to continue to understand the following concepts. After barely highlighting key terms he often then only refers to them by their acronyms, again requiring you to page backward to find the info. Charts are frequently impossible to read and very few walk-through examples are given. He never stops to gather and go over the important information in a chapter or section and often leaves you clueless as to how things apply to the average day trader sitting at home in front of his computer. I like to think that I have more than a basic knowledge of the stock market and how it works but, with that said, way too much prior knowledge is assumed on his part for this too be an introductory book into anything.
   
   These books are not cheap and, as far as I'm concerned, Fontanills owes me some money back!



3. Options for idiots is one of the poorest written books of this series. Its set-up is confusing; there are no sections that delineate options strategies. Half the book is spent reviewing options basics, which is far too long. I think most people buy this book to learn basic option strategies, when to use what strategy, the advantage and disadvantage of each. This type of information is either buried in the book or just not present. This is a "dummies" book I would pass on, you should be able to find far better basic reviews.



4. it's a total SCAM for dummies!
   I bought this book over Amazon a week ago, thinking it would help me understand what options trading is all about. just a simple book you know, the kind that you read in the subway and finish in less than three hours, to give you a global idea about the subject and explain where things come from, to make you UNDERSTAND, putting it in a nutshell.
   
   The book complicated my life and made me question my IQ level, until I did a thorough search online and finanlly realized that NEGATIVE reviews were countless! Even Gordon Gekko of Wallstreet movie will find it HARD to understand a single paragraph of this book. What are all those complicated financial jargons about?!!! the author assumes that the reader owns brokerage house in wallstreet or something!
   
   he doesn't take into account hundreds of readers who know nothing about the subject! Look how he defines "options" on page 10 of his book, under "understanding options" title, and I quote:
   
   "options are financial instruments that derive their value from another underlying asset or
   financial measure, because options come in two forms, calls and puts, adding them to your current
   investing and trading tools allows you to benefit from both bullish and bearish moves in either
   underlying you select. you can do this to limit your total assets at risk or to protect an
   existing position. etc.. "
   
   I think it's the publishers' fault not the author's. it DEFINITELY shouldn't be placed in a Dummies section. The book fails miserably in delivering what the title promises. Never once in this book will you see a walk through on how to buy a call, how to sell the option, etc, not even one example in numbers on vertical spreads for instance. Verrrrrrrrrry poorly constructed and makes you run in circles.
   
   Now usually I don't leave feedbacks after buying my books, but this time I felt really ripped off my money by eating the bait of a misleading book title, and I'm totally dissatisfied :(



5. OK...any time I see a book with "For Dummies" in the title, I assume it is a "Beginner's" book. This author clearly wrote a different book. While the information in this book is probably accurate and useful to those with options experience, it is absolutely useless to anyone with no experience.
   I admit it...I'm a "Dummy"...who was looking for a book that would walk me through the basics. You know, "square one" kinda stuff. With that in mind, I purchased this book. After all, that's what the title suggests...right?
   So, my suggestion to anyone who is looking for a real beginner's book on options is to stay clear of this one. It's a complete loser as it fails miserably in delivering what the title promises.
   It may be a great book for those with experience...but, what would I know ? Like I said, I'm a "Dummy".
   Bottom line...don't waste your money.

5 comments about Option Spread Strategies: Trading Up, Down, and Sideways Markets.

1. I saw that each strategy had about 30 pages of information, so I thought that the depth of discussion would be quite good. Unfortunately, the first 10 pages of each chapter is simply which options make up the strategy. Investopedia does the same job in 1 page. The next 10 pages shows pictures of the greeks, which I did not find very useful. Probably the reason why is that there is not a single options chain in the whole book. The values he picks for his greeks would seem to come out of thin air to the newer trader. Also, the pictures often times do not use the same scaling/pricing as the examples that they are supposed to be describing. Qualitatively, they are good, but it could have been much better if Saliba matched the graphs more tightly to the text. The only parts I liked was the last 10 pages when he talks about adjustments. I have had a tough time finding books about adjustments, and this one gives a good introduction to adjustments. Sometimes though, his advice is not really advice: "If your trade moves against you, then take appropriate actions to protect your capital." What can I do with that? I thought the exercises at the end were trivial. They test you to see if you understood what you read like "What does a short put vertical made of?" I would have rather seen questions about what to do in different situations, but these only make up 10 or 20% of the questions.
   
   Overall, I would describe this book as teaching the newer trader about how options work, but not how to trade them successfully. Saliba avoids complicated math and keeps it simple. As other reviewers have noted, he is perhaps a better teacher than others. However, this is really only an overview of option strategies and does not give enough real-world scenarios to equip the reader to make money by trading options.



2. If you are looking for a clearly written book on Options to understand and trade some good option strategies look no further. Anthony Saliba and his team have written this cook book style options instruction manual to educate the reader (with beginner/intermediate level options skills), so the reader can assess if the strategies are a good match to his/her risk appetite and trading philosophy and then trade them for potential profits.
   
   As the authors indicate in the `Important Disclosures', in order to trade the strategies discussed in this book the reader must have his trading account approved by a broker/dealer for that specific trading level. With this in mind, I recommend you look at three of the eight strategies discussed by the authors: Strategy 1 (Covered Write, or Covered Call or Buy Write), Strategy 2 (Bull Put Spreads with cash covered puts), Strategy 4 (Straddles and Strangles), since the level of approval required should be straight forward (for example, a level II approval at Fidelity).
   
   Any book however well written can stand some fine tuning to maximize the reader's benefits. Given the excellent exposition in the rest of the book, I would recommend that the authors could have taken greater care with the opening chapter on Covered Calls. The Profit/Loss diagram shows two profiles (Long Stock and Short Call). It would be a perfect accompaniment to the text if the authors showed the profile for the position (Long Stock + Short Call). This would better illustrate the `breakeven and Loss' on the downside, and the `profit and the opportunity loss' on the upside. The accompanying text misstates the maximum profit, which does not fit the ATM call in the example. In addition, the figure (Example 1, p 20) for original position and closing trade is introduced without any explanation in the accompanying text. Finally, to close my nit-picking mode, the authors could have included the P&L diagrams for a simple Call and Strike along with the definitions so that the book is amenable even to the rank beginner.
   
   The entire book is strewn with simple and concise advice (`nuggets of wisdom'). Example1: `Covered writes are not "fire and forget" trades. They require attention ...' Example 2: `call and put bull spreads and call and put bear spreads are synthetically equivalent... and may be used interchangeably to accomplish the same task. Deciding which one is best to use depends on the pricing of at the point of execution. Example 3: Traders looking for a "sure thing" can become addicted to short straddles and strangles. They give the appearance of making money in every direction and have unlimited profit potential.
   
   The inclusion of Greek profiles with each of the strategy discussions adds immensely to the understanding of the reader and provide the tools to assess the strategies for themselves. The authors neglect to say that the horizontal axis in the Greek chart represents `Stock Price - Strike Price'. All examples appear to be academic although explained very well. Inclusion of real ticker symbols would add greatly to the reader's feel and understanding (even if the author's may have to add one more caveat to the `Important Disclosures' section).
   
   In conclusion, this well written book belongs as a handy go-to cook book on your options reference shelf.
   Options Made Easy: Your Guide to Profitable Trading (2nd Edition)



3. I'm usually pretty open to reviewing books. Sometimes I get books that I can't do justice to in reviewing. The following two books may be examples of that:
   
   Option Spread Strategies: Trading Up, Down, and Sideways Markets
   
   Option Strategies for Directionless Markets: Trading with Butterflies, Iron Butterflies, and Condors
   
   I'm not an options trader. Do I understand the math? Largely, yes. Do I understand how they can benefit investors? Also yes. I occasionally use options to enhance income, but for the most part, I avoid using them for personality reasons. I fear that I would make bad decisions while working at a higher level of leverage. I don't trust myself.
   
   As for the books, they are clear and well-written, giving both the common view of options, and the view using the "greeks" a la Black-Scholes. The chapters explain, and then offer tests at the end to see how well you have understood. These could be textbooks in a business school.
   
   The books explain how you can make money in any environment if your view of the world is correct. That's the catch, though. Few of us get it right within the length of time before an option expires. Be wary of the correctness of your opinions.
   
   Now, my opinion is not of the highest value here. Better to consult Adam Warner or Bill Luby, who have far more practical experience on a retail level. My experience is largely institutional with respect to options.



4. It's a good idea before buying a book, especially a book on options trading, whether you're in the audience for which the book was written. If you're a beginner, don't start here. I would recommend another book by the same author, "The Options Workbook." If you can make it through that book, you'll be more than prepared to take on this one.
   
   Learning options or anything else involves two very different types of skills: (1) knowing how to do what you're trying to learn; (2) knowing how to learn it. You can learn (1) by studying the subject itself, but not (2). And unfortunately, there are very few options-trading books on the market that will teach you. The reason is that most of their authors, while they may be great traders, don't know how to teach. In fact, when it comes to giving satisfactory explanations, many are scatter-brained. The great strength of Saliba's books is that he does know how to teach. The books are in workbook format. He gives you examples of the strategies he's discussing, gives a fairly detailed analysis of each, and then offers practice questions (with answers) after each strategy, as well as at the end of each chapter. There's also a bonus final exam at the end of the book. This is sound teaching technique; these books are almost ideal for self-study. If you're anything like me, you learn by doing, not by staring at a page in a book. Both of Saliba's books are very hands-on.
   
   Why do I say that Saliba's books are "almost ideal" for self-study? Because Saliba doesn't always spell out each of the steps that a beginner would have to know in order to justify the conclusions he draws. One thing a beginner has to know is how to construct a profit/loss table for any strategy he or she is studying, however simple or complex. And from that table, he or she must be able to construct the graph. Once this is done, he or she will know what the profit/loss picture looks like at expiration. The student will then know, for each price of the underlying at expiration, the intrinsic value of the component (long call, short call, long put, short put, long stock, short stock), and the profit/loss value for each. Once this is known, the combined profit-loss figure can easily be calculated. By looking at the table, one will know where the breakeven points are, as well as the maximum gain and maximum loss one can expect when putting on that strategy. "The Options Workbook" gives both profit-loss tables and graphs. But it doesn't make explicit how the values in the table are calculated. (Saliba probably assumes that the reader already knows this. But a beginner doesn't know this, unless he or she is told.) To close this pedagogical gap, I would recommend the beginner read James Bittman's book, "Options for the Stock Investor," especially chapters 1 and 2. While this process of constructing tables and graphs may at times be tedious, and even seemingly redundant, DON'T TRY TO SIDESTEP IT. Unless you understand the configuration of any option strategy at expiration, you really don't know what you're doing. And when you go online and click on the button to put on your position, you still won't know what you're doing. I'm convinced that a great many people who lose their shirts in the market, do so not because they were wrong in their prediction of the direction of movement in the underlying, but because their assessment of their positions were either wrong or incomplete.
   
   "Option Spread Strategies" does a fine job of integrating the option Greeks, and volatility, into the analysis I've just described. However, this means that you have a working understanding of the Greeks before you begin. Saliba's discussion of the Greeks in "The Options Workbook" is woefully inadequate. In "Option Spread Strategies," as I said, he skillfully weaves the Greeks into the fabric of the strategies he discusses. But again, he's making great demands on the reader's understanding of the Greeks. To get a working knowledge of the Greeks, I would recommend two books: (1) "Trading Option Greeks," by Dan Passarelli; (2) "Trading Options as a Professional," by James Bittman. (All the books I've mentioned are available at Amazon.) In Bittman's book, focus on chapter 4. In that chapter, pages 118 to 134 are crucial, because Bittman hammers away at the essential distinction between option delta and position delta, option gamma and position gamma, and so on, for each of the Greeks. Unhappily for the beginner, the discussion is extremely terse. But it contains everything you have to understand to work with the Greeks. After I had torn out what little hair I have left, I finally got it. So will you. And when you've got it, you will be more than well-prepared to delve into Saliba's book "Option Spread Strategies." But please keep in mind, there are no shortcuts to learning options. If you don't expend the time and effort to learn before you expose yourself to the market, you'll most certainly learn from the market itself, the school of hard knocks. And I would say that paying the price for these books is a whole lot less traumatic. If you can't explain EXACTLY what you're doing when you put on an options position, what you hope to gain, and what you stand to lose, you don't understand it. Unfortunately, there's someone else taking the other side of your trade, whose face you'll never see and name you'll never know. He too may not understand what he's doing. But is that a risk you can afford to take?



5. This book is written some of the foremost experts in the options industry. Anyone looking to take advantage of any market, not just a bull or bear market, should read this book. The "how-to" approach of this book will enable even a novice to participate in what has become THE DERIVATIVE MARKET of choice.

5 comments about Volatility Trading, + CD-ROM (Wiley Trading).

1. I was very excited about Sinclair's "Volatility Trading" about halfway into it and enthusiastically recommended it to many of my colleagues. There are several great points here, all of which are covered in a concise manner geared toward professionals (which is itself refreshing, and far too rare in the genre). Highlights include a nice overview of various volatility estimators (including some newer ones), a nifty intuitive derivation of BSM, a very interesting treatment of near-"optimal" hedging methods, a discussion of how to quantify market impact, and a useful chapter on the path-dependency of derivative payouts.
   
   However, after finishing the book, I had to temper my early recommendation severely: there are far too many obvious errors, which makes me suspect there are probably also many other, less-obvious ones (and causes me to wonder whether all the five-star reviewers here actually read the entire book carefully). A few of the most egregious examples:
   
   * The butterfly payout diagram on p. 77 is upside down!
   * Implied and realized vol terms are reversed in formula 5.1.
   * "w" in formula 6.2 should be "l".
   * p. 105 asks us to "differentiate with respect to x", but there is no "x". "f" is intended.
   * Formula 6.11 is rendered nonsense by the very strange term (I am assuming a bizarre typo): "ln[()] 1".
   * Missing parens around a subtraction on p. 113, giving the wrong result.
   * Typos in formula 7.7 render it useless ("GC" in the numerator means GG, and "GC" in the demoninator means GB).
   
   I searched for an errata list online but to no avail. I think a revised edition is badly in order.



2. This is a must for any volatility trader. That being said, it offers a lot to people who trade other products, invest, or make decisions about investment managers. Looking through it now, I would say at least half the book is useful for any type of investor. Perhaps the book should be called "trading with an emphasis on volatility" since it probably doesn't reach a wide enough audience. It leaves you wanting more in a good way. I would give it 5 stars for any level or type of investor. Get it.



3. got the book yesterday,[Aug/2008] just finished it . . .
   
   As a commodity guy [NE-Pool electricity, NYMEX Naty, HO, & WTI] that only recently got into trading individual stock equity options I was encouraged when I saw that the author was suggesting something that I had instinctively incorporated into my analysis [adjusting individual stock vol by some measure of index vol]
   
   but the real revelation was when I was reading along and would spot some paper citation and say to myself ''oh yeah, I've already read that''
   
   then I'd read a little further along about the discussion of that citation and I'd think ''oh is that what that meant''
   
   Never really wrapped my head around the Browne citation before, but when I read Euan's description in the Kelly chapter, I finally got an instinctive grasp of it.
   
   Sure I knew how to calc the Parkinson/Garman-Klass/Zhang/et-cetera historic vol measures . . . but never really understood what ''biased'' meant, until I read vol chapter.
   
   I knew OF stuff before, but now I KNOW stuff ... in my bones ... instinctively . . . thanks to this book
   
   Thank you Euan!



4. I have endorsed this book on the dust jacket already, so it is a bit of a wheeze to restate that this is an excellent, clear, and helpful book for those who (inescapably) take a position in volatility. This work is aimed for practitioners, and for those who are curious or students of the subject. But volatility market makers are the audience that should most welcome this work. Hull, Haug, Gatheral, Baird, and now Sinclair's Volatility Trading make up the short shelf of the best works in the field.



5. In "Volatility Trading" Euan Sinclair presents a compilation of the most notable features of many, many theorists. A lot of the theories have no practical value but they do make colourful commentary that leads to a meaningful conclusion. In addition he includes a potpourri of formulae including the Corrado and Su formula for including kurtosis and skewness in the normal Black Scholes Merton model call value. The Corrado Su skew curve, skew and kurtosis cones and volatility cones are included in files on the CD-Rom which accompanies the book.
   Please note that Sinclair states that most of the information in " Options, Futures and other Derivatives" by John C Hull is prerequisite to reading his book. Sinclairs book is not suitable for beginners.

5 comments about The Complete Guide to Option Selling, Second Edition.

1. Book focuses on options on futures which is good as most texts focus on stock options. So if you're looking for something about stock options, this isn't for you although the techniques, in theory, can be applied to any underlying.
   My main criticism with the book has to do with the fact that its central premise, selling of options, is not discussed in sufficient detail, or at least won't explain the clear gap between the book's thesis and reality.
   The idea to sell far out of the money options with long durations is a good idea in principle. However, finding a market which has sufficient premium at 75-100% OTM in ANY month, no matter how far out you go, is nearly impossible, inspite of the author's claims.
   I have tried to raise a number of issues/questions I have had about the book and it's recommended techniques with the authors directly, wondering if I was missing something. They have not honored me with an answer.
   The authors try to avoid advertising their brokerage business but I couldn't help but think that in addition to lacking real substance, this book was more of a vehicle to get people interested in becoming their clients. Given that they claim to run a business managing 100s of accounts using the book's advertised method, I cannot help but wonder what they're NOT telling the reader. Their unwillingness to answer more specific questions probably means they want you to become their client first.
   In short, don't buy this book if you really want to learn a practical approach to options trading. Instead, I would recommend David Caplan's classic The New Options Advantage.



2. This book's main focus is on the commodity space -- author did a good job describing option selling within this space. book less useful from the perspective of the equity option seller however, book still worth the money. good book to have on hand.



3. The book was basically written for futures/commodities options trading, not for equity options trading. It becomes confusing throughout because the examples given by the authors are based on futures/commodities, with little or no examples of equities trading. When examples do appear, they do not take up much space on the page!
   
   It is also disappointing because the hype selling this book makes it seem otherwise. I'm sure these gentlemen know their business cold, but some of us still like to trade in good old equities.



4. I enjoyed this book and if it was titled "The Complete Guide to Selling Options on FUTURES." I would have given it another star. I read the reviews by others that complained that it was really guided towards futures options and still bought it because I wanted to learn about this market. But the title is misleading. I thank the other reviewers who wrote that because I would have been annoyed if I bought this book thinking it was a complete guide to trading options. The book is well written, thorough ( on futures options)and a good read. I learned things and that is one of my major criteria for any book like this: Did it have any new information for me? And it did.
   I used to be a professional bond trader. I have Series 7, 63, 8 & 24 licenses. So I am not a novice to the markets but my exposure to option trading was limited to my own account.
   The authors are part of a full service broker and towards the end of the book they really push full service brokers against discount or "order clerks." And the only full service broker listed in the resource section is theirs.I would prefer less spin towards their business and more listing of pros and cons of both as well as listing some other full service brokers that specialize in options and futures. That being said. If you're looking for a book on how to trade your own account I highly recommend this book.
   That may seem contradictory but the authors really do a good job telling you what you need to know to trade successfully. If you can't do what they recommend or do not wish to spend the time you better not trade these options on your own.
   As for me. I just might become a client of theirs. I need to do more research first.



5. The authors take a unique approach to selling options--simplicity. They have developed a method which is easy to understand and implement. Their approach to the subject matter is to follow a fully explained, step-by-step method of selling options. They inform the reader which options to sell and which to avoid. The method culminates with a profitable plan that will provide regular income on a monthly basis. Anyone interested in making money from selling options should put this book on the top of their reading list.

5 comments about Getting Started in Options (Getting Started In.....).

1. GETTING STARTED IN OPTIONS Getting Started in Options (Getting Started In.....) as an introductory guide to the potentially risky and complicated world of options trading; this book written by MICHAEL C THOMSETT makes learning the language and possibilities SIMPLY UNDERSTOOD!!! purchased this book after previous reading as permanent reference in my library of financial tools along with GETTING STARTED IN FUNDAMENTAL ANALYSIS Getting Started in Fundamental Analysis also titled by MICHAEL C THOMSETT as another well written financial reference source!!!



2. The good part is that he covers all the basic and advanced option trades. He gives useful and good ideas about trading, and many warnings. However, the writing is choppy because he constantly inserts examples, sidebars and graphs which are not integrated into the flow of the text and are annoying. I don't get why he calls the exercise or strike price a 'striking price,' or why he insists on trades as whole-dollar amounts ($1.00, $2,00, etc.) when everyone trades in dollars and cents ($1.26, $3.71, etc.). The book is certainly worth the time and money to study, and as a reference.



3. While I found this book helpful, it is clear that the author is a generalist and not an options expert. He is continually giving similar examples of using the same strategy and at other times is discussing different strategies (he has a whole paragraph & example about puts in the Selling Calls section) in chapters related to specific strategies. Overall, this is an acceptable book as a primer, but I'm definitely looking for more help to discover what strategies to use in my options portfolio. Hopefully, though, they have fixed some of the typos and edited better in the next edition coming out soon.



4. I have been investing for a few years and wanted to start trading options. After much looking I settled on "Getting Started in Options" and I don't regret it one bit. The book is very well organized and there are tons of examples. For example during the chapter on puts Thomsett puts in examples of all of the strategies he explains. And he does this in every chapter to help illustrate the point he is trying to make. He explains how you will make money with each method and how you will lose money. He even talks about researching companies in which to invest. I think this could have been left out since you should be familiar with stock investing before you start with options but this is really just a gloss over and you will need to read other books for any decent level of detail. In the later chapters he discusses numerous different spreads and how they play out.
   
   If I was to complain about the book it would be the numerous spelling and occasional math errors. But if you are following along you will be able to spot them and figure out what the correct calculation/word is supposed to be. While I would usually deduct a star for this type of oversight it really isn't significant enough considering the wealth of knowledge contained in the book.
   
   If you read some of the negative reviews they state specific problems people found with this book. Those reviews were of previous editions. With this latest edition (seventh edition) most of the complaints previous reviewers have stated have been addressed and the book is very good.
   
   Bottom line: If you have limited or no knowledge of options this is a great start. After reading this you will have an excellent understanding of options and be ready for books covering advanced topics. The author has addressed the shortcomings of previous editions and has made a book that should be on the shelf of every options investor.



5. This book is explains the options trading for the beginners in simple language. A great book to start the trading business.

5 comments about Options for the Beginner and Beyond: Unlock the Opportunities and Minimize the Risks.

1. At first read, I went to some of the other basic books I had also purchased.
   After reviewing the Thinkorswim (TDameritrade) archived Web-cast training, I picked up some of the Titles in their Investools lessons, and found them explained well in this hard-copy book. Highly recommended for the beginner.



2. Ok, I haven't read "hundreds" of Options books and I am not a sophisticated trader, however I have been trading options for over 10 years, probably 15 years by now. I do it on a small scale like many of the people who will read this book. I have attended two expensive "Options Seminars" and a couple of freebies. I was very reluctant to read Professor Olmstead's book since he is a math professor and I have trouble with anything other than basic math. I was also put off by all the claims of how great a teacher he was, since often these claims in the preface of a book are the sure kiss of a mediocre read. I actually had to force myself to start this book since I ordered 4 different books on Options at the same time. Boy, was I surprised, pleasantly. He does get right to the point and moves on quickly to the next point in clear, succinct language that "even a Cave Man" can follow. I expected erudite and esoteric for a writing style and, instead, got "meat and potatoes" with gravy. This was a terrific book and I will read it again and again. It was more than worth the price of admission. My favorite trade for some years now has been the vertical call bull spread option and I thought I was doing OK with it, not terrific, but "OK". Dr. Olmstead taught me in 2 pages that I have been missing out on optimizing the return on these trades. I had it embedded in my head the concept of Theta and Time Decay and how detrimental that is to a Call or Put Option... and that was all true, however in the case of spread trades once you are In The Money then Time Decay is actually your friend... and Dr. Olmstead shows you how this is true. I was bailing out of these trades with a profit, when I could have held on to the Expiration date and made so much more of a profit. It is a simple concept and I am sure most people who trade spreads already had that down... but for some reason I didn't... not until I read: Optons For The Beginner And Beyond. It is not as though that is the only thing I got out of this book. There is so much more packed into this small volume. I would expect that the professional traders will lambast this book just to show their greater level of knowledge and sophistication, however not all of us are professional traders. I think any beginning trader or any intermediate level trader will find this book to be helpful. I recommend reading it first and then following up with: Options Made Easy, second edition by Guy Cohen. They make a terrific combination read. Cohen's book is often criticized for not including enough of the option strategies. Olmstead discusses a larger amount of strategies and Cohen fleshes out some of the material of Dr. Olmstead. To me, they are complementary reads.



3. Mark LaMoure, Boise, ID
   
   OPTIONS POWER
   Outstanding: "Options For The Beginner And Beyond" by W. Edward Olmstead is the best stock options book I've read in over 11 years. Its exceptional. The book deserves Five Gold Stars for excellence. From Basic to Advanced stock options, it will be one of your best friends for investing education. You'll use it for future reference, as the book delivers important knowledge. The book has 30 Chapters and 231 Pages with a useful Index.
   
   In the books first section, Mr. Olmstead covers in detail all the basic strategies to unlocking opportunities in stock options for profit. He also teaches ways to strategically minimize investing risks. In the books second section, he explains leading edge trading strategies rarely touched on in other books. Copyright 2006.
   
   BIG CONTRIBUTION
   Grade: Excellent! Edward made a big contribution to stock option education by writing this book. It covers all the major topics important to stock option investing for both Beginners to the Advanced. But Olmstead also includes crucial topics most other books don't touch, making the book even better. So you get a lot more value for your money. The book is well written, its format is simple making it easier to read.
   
   PREMIUM BOOK
   "Options For The Beginner And Beyond" is a superior stock options book. It will be one of your finest books on stock options. As for a grade, I give it an "A+," because it delivers far more quality than you would ever expect.
   
   If you liked this review, please click YES. Thank You.



4. I read this book because the cover looked like my short term financial management book. I ended up reading the entire book at the bookstore. IT was that good especially the options daytrading of certain indexes opened some new windows of opportunity. He presented this book with quick detailed info. I would reccommend it to anyone thinking about speculating with options. I'm gonna get me a copy through amazon because the bookstore (who wont be named) didn't really give me a good deal on it.



5. I have taken hours of classes on how to trade options. I have read lots of books on how options work and how to trade them. I have traveled hundreds of miles and spent thousands of dollars to learn how to become a better options trader. This book is sooooo... good if I had read this book first I would have made more money, loss less money, and I could have gained 100% more value from all the other options training I have done. If you are looking at trading options this is your starting point! If you already trade options then use this book as a review, becasue it has some very lucid explinations e.g.Chapter 29 - IV (implied volatiltiy) and the Black Scholes model. Now this will not be the only options book that you will get, and it does not go into super detail depth like a Sheldon Natenberg, but it is easy to read, it gets directly to the point and it's relatively small compared to other options books. The chapters are written independently of one another, so you can skip through the book and read exactly what you want. So if you just want to know how a double diagonal works then you read that chapter and your done. Thank You Professor Olmstead!They need to rename you Uncle Option :)

5 comments about Get Rich with Options: Four Winning Strategies Straight from the Exchange Floor (Agora Series).

1. This book is for a beginning option trader who wants to make small profits. I have tried the first two strategies and they really work.



2. There are much better ideas for solid option ideas, listed below. As for this book, you know its going to be bad when the author is dumb enough to leave the same review over & over here on Amazon. Look at how many reviews here have the word "practical" in them. With a dumb author, you get a dumb read. Much of the material in the book is obvious, and it was tough to finish the book.
   For better option trading strategies I recommend the book McMillan on Options, and these two websites: OptionMonster and OptionSpreadStrategies.
   And do your own research. Hope that helps.



3. The option strategies are explained in a basic and effective way, but not much is covered on how to manage the risk trough the use of the greeks. The author claims he makes money by trading, yet this is the second edition not to mention the promotion of his website for $600 x year in the book.
   
   Maybe keeping on selling more and more "option selling related products" is his favorite strategy and it works 100% of the times.



4. I have been trading options for a while and read at least a dozen different books on them. This particular one was simply practical and honest!! I say honest because the author shared actual and practical techniques that stood the test of time in terms of probabilities in the trader's favor. In addition to the practicality, the compactness of the material simplifies the understanding of such techniques. I would whole heartedly recommend this book to any option's trader.



5. This may be a good book for a biginner in option trading, but I would advise not to follow it blindly. Being a trader for some time, I did not enjoy it much. Too many repetitive phrases. The whole book could be summarized in a few pages. The author paints a rosy picture of profit through out the book, not putting enough emphasis that trading is a two way street. The author describes him as a technical trader, but failed to give clear explanation of the technical aspects he used in the examples given in the book.

5 comments about Study Guide for Trading for a Living: Psychology, Trading Tactics, Money Management.

1. This book provides a basis for accountability in making trades as you do. I found the psychological part the best. It is somewhat hard to implement the basic structure required by the author for me personally. However it all rings truth in it's wording. This is a work book and therefore leads the reader through a series of questions to let you know how good you understand the basic fundamentals prescribed of his book "Trading For A Living".
   It has increased awareness and led me to stop making the same repetitive mistakes. And that is the basis for success in trading.



2. What is your learning style? If you don't trust that you know something until you've taken a test, this book can help. It does an excellent job of pulling out the key topics and quizzing you on them. There are no 'silly' questions here--only the important stuff. On the other hand, if you like to read and underline, then return to the text when you are actually 'doing' the activity, then this book is probably a waste of money. One nit complaint: some of the labeling of chart features is a bit unclear. Since it is sometimes tough to tell which letter goes with which feature, answering some questions is difficult, even when you know the material.



3. In order for this book to work you need to have the initial Trading for a Living. With both books together you will begin to have all of the necessary tools to conquer the most persistent troublemaker of the market...yourself.

   In 200 questions you will learn a lot about yourself, your motives, and most of all your personality. This is where Dr.Elder's background shine. In order to conquer the markets you must conquer yourself.

   After being involved with futures trading for 11 years and writing several books on the subject I still find books like Dr.Elder's inspirational and mentally clarifying.




4. I ordered the guide along with the actual book and really never did use it. It may be cheap, but I think the book itself should be enough.



5. Not as advertised, this book will not work alone -, and the added value will not be that much You need to have the book "Trading for a Living: Psychology, Trading Tactics, Money Management" and the combination will be great. ...

5 comments about Day Trading Options: Profiting from Price Distortions in Very Brief Time Frames.

1. Volatility trading is an elusive subject with few practical texts. Retired floor trader techniques usually don't work well for retail traders and the available books on volatility are theoretical lacking practicality. Augen's book should really be considered a textbook written from the perspective of an active retail trader who thoroughly understands volatility and trades volatility both long and short. This book argues subtly but powerfully against time decay strategies such as condors and butterflies. Too often volatility spoils these trades. Augen's book presents concrete examples of price anomalies and market distortions where volatility yields profitable trades in short periods of time. The book describes real trades and discusses the theoretical underpinnings. The information is put into perspective with discussion of volatility with nuance and texture absent in other books. To capitalize on this short book requires copious note taking, case based reasoning and modeling software to visualize both the many concepts and the risks associated with placing and maintaining the positions. This book is not intended for a passive reader. It is most rewarding to those who are knowledgeable about option theory, and option trading experience. The option strategies that are described in detail in this book are rarely or only briefly mentioned in passing elsewhere, and include ratio backspreads among others. One of the most compelling concepts is modeling price movement in terms of volatility, i.e. as standard deviations. . This book affirms Augen as the ultimate preceptor in Option Volatility.



2. I manage a hedge fund that trades equity and index options. Augen's books are required reading for all our traders. The current book is by far the best. The most important sections for us have been the discussion about calculating volatility in different time frames and the detailed trend analysis using minute-by-minute price changes expressed in standard deviations.
   
   Following the approach outlined in this book, we now calculate a stock's overnight, intraday, and close-to-close volatility. Comparing these values allows us to identify stocks that have large overnight risk or stocks whose options are underpriced during the trading session. We use this information exactly the way the book describes along with our own knowledge to structure trades that are statistically advantaged.
   
   The trend analysis using minute-by-minute price spikes calculated in standard deviations is equally valuable. This approach has dramatically improved our day trading capability. We've been building on the idea using other indicators and time frames longer than 1 minute.
   
   The book is a fine piece of academic quality work. It's far superior to the more common "get rich quick" style investment books that have little value for serious investors. But it's not for beginners. Like the other books in the series, it was written for serious option traders.



3. Users of Optionvue should take note of this book. Although Optionvue is limited modeling the most important concept in this book --graphing stock movement as standard deviations, users can nonetheless grasp concepts about trading implied volatility that are beyond the scope of the remainder any of the books on Volatility and Optionvue's own basic tutorials.
   What distinguishes this book from all the rest is an explanation of situations where volatility trades can be profitable, techniques that are useful and the entry and exit points. Careful reading also makes condors and butterflies less attractive when the number of average volatility spikes for stocks greater than 2 and 3 standard deviations does not vary much between low and high volatility stocks in the same time frame. The information also hightlights
   Optionvue's inability to visualize important information about volatility. Chapter 4: Working with Intraday Price Charts is totally beyond the capability of Optionvue modeling. This chapter introduces a new charting tool which models price change in the context of volatility. FASTMONEY commentators often state that a stock's option has a $5.00 move priced in. This book explains the concept of graphing stock price change over any period of time as a standard deviation, not as price change or percentage. Chapter 5 discusses special events that can be traded and the usefulness of graphing stock price as a standard deviation.
   In summary, to the informed this small book is a great tutorial by a great teacher. The concepts are both original and based on years of experience as a trader. It makes the case for short term trading, but more importantly explains the best way to profit from volatility. This book is 168 pages. Good things, when short, are twice as good.



4. Each chapter in this book really could be a book in itself. The first chapter on technical analysis actually made me laugh out loud. Mr. Augen applies popular indicators to randomly generated graphs to illustrate a point that he makes statistically, namely, stock prices do not contain information about what will happen next. Coming to terms with this reality should save investors a fortune. In the next chapter he then proposes a statistically based indicator rather than one based on moving averages. I've found it to be very predictive because it is based on the reversion to the mean concept. The third chapter is really fabulous for hard core options traders. Taking advantage of the differences between the intraday and interday volatility to create a day trading strategy is an opportunity not to be missed. I love these books that are intelligently written, not get rich quick, and very real world practical.



5. I just finished reading Augen's latest book on options trading, and I would say it is worth a read. I can't give it 5 stars because it really doesn't give that much direction on entry and exit requirements. This is slightly disappointing. An unnecessary amount of pages are devoted to showing that the market is random, so you can't predict it. This book does detail how to use volatility to possibly spot changes trading patterns. It also details how to find possible volatility distortions. It is up to the reader to implement these methods with his/her own programming and back testing. Back testing will be crucial to implementing the strategies outlined in this book because there really isn't that much guidance on when to enter and exit trades trying to capture volatility distortions. You will have to build your own rules after back testing.
   
   Overall, this book isn't overpriced for what you get, so I'd recommend it to anyone who has a good grasp with programming.