Reviews (88)

Learn by losing or buy this book
I love this book. It has helped me understand myself in both the market and in life.

I sold a stock that wasn't acting right this week because of the way I've changed my mindset from reading this book. I know I did the right thing and I fully expect it to go down in the near future. This is something I wouldn't have admitted to myself before. I feel like a chain has been broken.

I really like the way he describes things. He tends to give a lot of examples and "in other words" type descriptions.

CANSLIM

Should be three chapters long
An OK book, but very repetitive. The last chapter is the most useful. There are better books, such as Trading for a Living.

Thank you Mr. Douglas
Anyone noticed that Mr. Douglas's detractors are NOT experienced traders? All I have to say is: THANK YOU 1000 TIMES MR DOUGLAS.

Written by a successful trader
It doesn't matter that Douglas is not a psychologist -- the book is about trading, and the mental processes involved in becoming a consistently successful trader. Since the early 1980s, Douglas has been, and still is, a successful trader -- not someone who makes his living writing books about trading -- as Mr. Kiev seems to do. Also, with regard to Mr. Kiev's book and the fact that he is a psychologist -- keep in mind -- Mr. Kiev is NOT a trader, never has been, so how could he write about being successful at something he has never accomplished himself??? But hey -- go ahead and buy Kiev's book -- if you need "degree" initials after an author's name to give a book validity. Myself -- I'll stick with a REAL trader's point of view and Douglas' books and talks -- he knows what he's talking about because he's been there in the trenches with us!

A MUST FOR SERIOUS TRADERS
It is apparent that Douglas exhaustively researched material for his book by talking and coaching other traders -- I see myself, and my fellow traders, in every chapter! It is great to know that even a successful trader like Douglas had problems in the beginning, like most of us, and learned how to overcome them. But more importantly, that he chose to share those ideas with the trading public. Thank you for your generosity! ... Read more

Book Description

Covered Calls and Naked Puts Create Your Own Stock Options Money TreeReaders Are Amazed! They can earn good income on their stock portfolio. Even in a stagnant market. Put Financial Nightmares to Rest! Quit Leaving Piles of Money on the Table!Most common response: "Why the heck didn’t I know

about this sooner!"• Provides a clear, easy to understand process for the average investor to make money in the stock market. • Illustrates points that are not currently known or understood by the general investing public. Once grasped the financial value is obvious and the reader is most appreciative. • Provides the tools for independent investing beginning with wise stock selection, building a prospect list, sorting stocks based on clear criteria. • Covered call strategy is appropriate (and allowed) for IRA accounts. • Gain peace of mind from your own financial competence.Brief Summary

Jake Kimball sold his CPA Firm and retired to south Florida in his mid fifties. Funds are running low when he encounters his former Finance professor at a local Rotary Club meeting. The professor is doing unusually well financially. Step by step, with examples, the prof explains to Jake his stock market strategy of careful stock selection and earning a high rate of return by selling options. "You make money by selling, not by buying!" ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Covered Calls and Naked Puts is a Masterpiece
Covered Calls And Naked Puts is truly a masterpiece. Ron Groenke has managed to present the fascinating subject of covered calls and naked puts in the most understandable and refreshing manner imaginable. Buy it now!!

Covered Calls And Naked Puts Is A Masterpiece
Covered Calls And Naked Puts is truly a masterpiece. Ron Groenke has managed to present the fascinating subject of covered calls and naked puts in the most understandable and refreshing manner imaginable. Buy it now!!

A Great Book for the Beginning Options Investor
If you are looking to increase the earnings on your portfolio with a minimum of risk this book is for you. You will learn in a very interesting writing style how to use Covered Calls and Naked Puts to generate a cash flow that could average 25% a year regardless if the market is going up or down. The author even takes into account taxes and losses to arrive at this figure. He introduces a number of basic conservative concepts using covered calls and naked puts but really places the emphasis on how to pick the right stocks in the first place. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in increasing their portfolio income by learning how to use convered calls and naked puts to achieve their investment goals. Once you have read the book you will be very comfortable using these investment tools.

the options primer every trader should read
Ron's new book does not offer the reader the Holy Grail for options trading, but rather provides a very logical and disciplined approach to this type of investing. His writing style is easy to read and understand. He greatly simplifies a complex subject. A good portion of the book is devoted to proper stock selection, with very definable criteria to greatly improve the odds of placing a winning trade. He continually reminds the reader of the importance of managing risk. For any aspiring options trader, this book is A MUST!

Do Yourself a Favor...
Do yourself a favor and buy this book. I've been doing cc writing and option investments for some time. This primer picks up where most other books on covered calls leave off. In addition to covering naked puts, the author holds your hand through critical factors such as when to buy, what to buy, how to buy... simply "put", this is a great book at a very reasonable price. ... Read more

Book Description

Discover how option Volatility indicates market tops/bottoms, how it tells you the best strategy to use, how it indicates whether options should be bought or sold & how it can be used to take advantage of premium "disparity" between option stock prices. Learn expert ways to exploit opition market inefficiences, how to use "neutral strategies" to trade like a "bookie" and methods that take advantage of seasonal factors in volatility. A special section explains how "gurus" like Natenbert, Najarian, Trester and others use volatility to their beneift."Comprehensive discussions of the most important variable in option pricing-volatility- is certain to benefit both profesional and novice traders" according to Larry McMillan, Author of "Options as a Strategic Investment."This edition has all new, fully updated charts. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

I'm not fond of options....but this is a great book!
Mr.Caplan has put a great spin on option investing. If 90% of options expire worthless why buy them, just sell them. This is where this book shines. I have been involved with futures for 11 years. I have been a broker an investor ...

In each instance I have avoided options on futures. With Mr.Caplan's assessment on how volatitlity plays a key role to determining what options to sell and what price to sell them at. I was impressed at how he was able to take a complicated subject and make it easy to read.

His inclusion of articles from various other option traders was great as well.

If you write options ONLY!
This book was promoted heavily on different sites on the net, and I happened to be one of those who bought it!!!! To cut the story short, this book is not for amatuers! And not for ordinary regular option buyers (like me)!

This book covers only:
1. Futures trades (mainly).
2. Option writing and spreads.

But if you are not both of the above... forget this book!!! At the beginning of this book, you'll see how deeply the author discusses futures not stocks! And when you get to page number 47, you understand that this book is useless if you (like me) only buy options.

I am not saying this book is good or now, how am I to know?!! I can't even test his methodology... but in my situation this book is of no use!

Worth a Read
Though dated and focused on Futures, I found this book to be very helpful. The last 3rd of this book is a collection of articles written by other authors on the subject. Very useful!

Why not 5 stars? It is focused on Futures instead of Options in general.
This is only mildly annoying as most of the information is relevant to Options.

Again, very helpful book. ... Read more

Book Description

Swing trading is gaining popularity as a powerful method to increase returns—and potentially lower risks—by profiting from short-term price moves. The Master Swing Trader explains how traders can use technical analysis, charting, and market sentiment to make trades that hold through price fluctuations and noise with wider stops. This complete, practical guide to making profitable short-term trades—based on the author’s popular “Mastering the Trade” online course—uses dozens of charts and graphs to illustrate proven swing trading concepts and strategies. Experienced day, position, and online traders will benefit immediately from: - The 7 Bells – unique tools to uncoverpromising short-term prospects - Techniques to profit from low-risk short sales- The 4 repeating cycles for perfectlytimed trades ... Read more

Reviews (212)

A good book beyond the apprehension of the mass
Seldom on Amazon a popular book (with 187 reviews utd) carries so extreme comment as this. I fully understand so because I did have negative feeling of it, which only improved gradually from page to page. In the beginning, the book really seems so complicated, full of jargons, candlestick charts elaborating on chart patterns with little reference to oscillator indicators like MACD, Stochastics, which I personally believe the alignment of several of them to be a prerequisite for any profitable trade. In the end, I realized that if I didnt put so much emphasis on the words "Swing Trading" and its virtual difference with "Momentum Trading" which the author criticized much, this book is not so bad when considered to be a general trading book with above average practical advice.

Amongst others, I found the following so called 7 Bells, tools to locate outstanding opportunities most interesting.

1. Dip Trip - Price that moves against a strong trend will rebound sharply
2. Coiled Spring - Constricted price gives way to directional movement
3. Finger Finder - Candles flag reversals in the next smaller time frame.
4. Hole in the wall - Gap downs after strong rallies signal a trend change
5. Power Spike - High volume events print the future diretion of price (Big volume kills a trend)
6. Bear Hug - Weak markets drop quickly after rallying into resistance
7. 3rd Watch - Breakouts through triple tops signal major uptrends

In a word, this book is quite a helpful tool of reference amidst the competitive life of trading which regular glance of its graphs do help much to refresh one's mind. Complex, time consuming but well worths the price.

Read it and Loved it
I would like to strongly recommend this book to everyone. I have been trading stocks for about 4 years and read almost every book written on trading. This book covers so many important elements of short-term trading, including patterns, indicators, psychology, cycles and execution. It doesn't only touch upon these issues but explains them thoroughly with excellent illustrations, I counted over 180 of them. If you're anything like me, you will appreciate all of the charts as visual aids for the teachings in the book.

I also found it to be very well organized. The early chapters required a lot of attention. But everything really starts to click as each new chapter builds on previous information. By the time I got to the excellent "7-Bells" sections, I could almost anticipate how the author was going to treat his detailed examples.

I learned a tremendous amount reading this book. My overall rating is 5 stars. It is well worth its price tag and you will get what you pay for.

No substance, Very wordy
VERY difficult to understand, the charts in this book look like tangled spaghetti, the wording is long and makes little sense. I returned the book 5 days after i bought it. The techniques in this book are useless if you can understand them. I am not new to trading books and have read my share but this has to be one of the worst. Don`t waste your time or money on the book.

Great ideas, disabled by poor expression
Some pluses for this book:

- I would have to say this book contains great ideas - both of logic and experience. Excellent in this regard.
- Not only are some of the ideas great, this is comprehensive stuff. It's almost everything you'd learn if you traded for a couple of years yourself (minus the actual experience of course)

However, there are some really terrible negatives in this book:

- the English is POOR. I'm not going to argue with what is good or bad English, but the simple fact that it is DIFFICULT to read make it poor. There are some very obscure expressions used to describe say, certain price movements. These are DIFFICULT to understand if not ambiguous. I do not know why the author decides to use such esoteric terms - why not use simple english?
- The diagrams are labelled somewhat poorly. Text should refer more to the diagrams!! Argh!!
- [update] forgot to mention that his elliott wave counts are basically wrong. I think he has very limited understanding of EW (even less so than me, which is quite appalling). Beginners need to be aware of this!

Although the book contains some excellent ideas, I suspect most people will have difficulty extracting this information. It's such a waste it's not funny. Needless to say, the text is quite verbose and accordingly is heavily demanding on the reader's time.

Trader
Mr. Farley is obviously an experienced and probably successful trader. He is one of the more knowledgable writers I have read on trading. His book is through and detailed.

I have only one criticism. Mr. Farley has a talent for taking a fairly simple function and making it sound complicated.

This book would make an excellent college text. ... Read more

Book Description

The new edition of Volatility and Correlation has been thoroughly updated and expanded with over 80ew or reworked material, reflecting the changes and developments that have taken place in the field. The new and updated material includes: empirical and theoretical analysis of the smile dynamics; examination of the perfect-replication model in relation to exotic options; treatment of additional important models, namely, Variance Gamma, displaced diffusion, CEV, stochastic volatility for interest-rate smiles and equity/FX options; questioning of the informational efficiency of markets in commonly-used calibration and hedging practices.

The book is split into four sections. Part I deals with a deterministic-volatility Black world (no smiles), and sets out the author's 'philosophical' approach to option pricing. Part II deals with smiles in the equity and FX worlds. Beginning with a review of relevant empirical information about smiles, this part provides coverage of local-stochastic-volatility, general-stochastic-volatility, jump-diffusion and Variance-Gamma processes. Part II concludes with an important chapter that discusses if and to what extent one can dispense with an explicit specification of a process-based model, and can directly prescribe the dynamics of the smile surface. Part III focuses on interest rates, and part IV extends the setting used for the deterministic-volatility LIBOR market model in order to account for interest-rate smiles in a financially-motivated and computationally-tractable manner. In this final part the author deals, in increasing levels of complexity, with CEV processes, with diffusive stochastic volatility and with Markov-chain processes.

Covering FX, equity and interest-rate products, Volatility and Correlation is a blend of theoretical and practical material and is designed for traders, risk managers, financial professionals and students.

‘The second edition is even more comprehensive than the first, and ideally suited to quantitatively oriented traders and risk managers. Rebonato has a knack for distilling the essence from a wide range of complex option pricing models.’ Darrell Duffie, Stanford University, USA

‘The author has greatly extended the first edition of this book, whose main merit remains its courage to deal with relevant issues for practitioners. Rather than concentrating on fictional problems stemming from the need to give financial ground to one’s favourite theories, the author moves from problems posed by the market. At times a colloquial stance is privileged over mathematical rigor and formalism, allowing a larger public to benefit from this book.’ Damiano Brigo, Head of Credit Models, Banca IMI, author of Interest Rate Models: Theory and Practice.

‘This book is about equity, FX and interest-rate option pricing at its best. It combines rigorous theory with practical knowledge of markets and models. Riccardo Rebonato uses his technical mastery to make the theory clear, and his wealth of experience to give insights into applications. Whatever your level of knowledge of these markets, you will learn from him.’ Ian Cooper, Professor of Finance, London Business School

‘In this book, Riccardo Rebonato discloses his invaluable expertise, shedding light over the gloomy path of modern model selection for pricing and hedging derivatives. Both practitioners and academics will benefit from his teachings and advice.’ Fabio Mercurio, Head of Financial Models, Banca IMI, Milan, Italy ... Read more

Book Description

Options are potentially one of the most profitable investment instruments available in todays intensely volatile financial markets. Just a few years ago, the information needed to exploit the vast earnings potential of options was beyond the reach of all but a handful of analysts. Now, anyone with a PC and a few basic software tools has direct access to all the up-to-the-minute market information needed to compete successfully with the "big boys." But, having information and knowing how to wield it are two very different things. In this groundbreaking book, online options trading innovator George Fontanills arms you with the knowledge and skills youneed to unleash the phenomenal power of your computer to become a successful online options trader.

Following a concise review of the basics of online trading--including hardware andsoftware requirements and essential online resources--Fontanills cuts to the chase with step-by-step coverage of 15 proven managed risk option trading strategies. Specifically designed for online traders, these tested off-floor techniques provide you with a sure-fire method for consistently building up your trading account. Drawing upon his years as a leading international options educator, Fontanills makes it easy for you to master online options trading by walking you through a series of hypothetical trades that demonstrate how to compute the maximum risk, maximum profit, breakevens, and exit alternatives for each strategy.

Trade Options Online also includes a comprehensive guide to fundamental and technical analysis methodologies, a detailed list of 240 hot financial resources, websites analyzed from the point of view of an online options trader, and a review of more than 70 online brokerages. Trade Options Online is your complete guide to earning a living and making a killing as an online options trader.

"George Fontanills, the dean of options trading, has put together an online options trading approach that is down-to-earth and insightful. Armed with this book, investors should feel well equipped to play on the battlefield, having been forewarned of the risks, dangers, and opportunities. Fontanills cares about everyones money as much as he cares about his own--a rare find in the world of finance." - Peter D. Henig Senior Editor, The Red Herring

"Fontanills clearly and concisely outlines a map for options traders looking to move online. Covering options strategies as well as some technical information, Trade Options Online provides a solid overview of this emerging area of investing. As always, Fontanills is ahead of the trend." - Brenon Daly Options columnist

"Fontanills has written a great guide for the experienced and novice options trader. I highly recommend Trade Options Online to anyone. Trading options online is the obvious next frontier. Be ahead of the curve." - Bill M. Williams, PhD, CTA Author, Trading Chaos and New Trading Dimensions

"Options trading expert George Fontanills has written the definitive guide to trading options online. Filled with everything from a comprehensive list of insightful website reviews to innovative options strategies, Trade Options Online is a ‘must read for all investors who want to compete successfully in the computerized markets of the twenty-first century!" - Brown President and CEO ... Read more

Reviews (24)

Good primer for home-spun traders
This text contains wealth of information on online trading in general and trading of options in particular. But be careful, you need to know more than that to succeed in this business. Although this book will tell you how to go about placing your orders and which option strategy is good for which situation, making money comes down to predicting the behavior of your stock price and volatility, something you will have to learn elsewhere. Incidentally the book was most likely written to increase subscriber base of the author's website, so don't let your guard down.

Comphrensive Option book w references
Finally a book you can sink your teeth into and getstarted. I've read dozens of trading books where you finish and youwonder what your next step should be. Here the author gives detailed examples of strategies. There are also very few typos or mistakes which to me is most infuriating. You buy a "how to" book and you need a decoder ring to try and figure out what the author really meant because they didn't bother to proof the book. Not so with this book.

Chapter 9 was so refreshing! Here the author walks thru step-by-step what his typical trading day would involve. No "well-chosen" examples to fit the author's purpose, just fundamentals that he looks for and where online he looks.

The web site reference section alone is worth the price of the book. For me it well save hundreds of hours of World Wide Wait (WWW) searching for relevent sites with good, useful and reliable information. The reference site also had pricing info for those sites that weren't free. It also gave me an idea of what's available out there, Online!

There was a lot of educational sites for those remaining questions, like the break down of the "Greeks". These would of been too much to cover in this book and I'm glad the author didn't try to.

This book is a great first-step for ONLINE Option traders.

Good Luck Trading!

PS The author doesn't self promote. He mentions a couple of his own sites amoung the hundreds of sites he references. The reference would be less than complete if he had left out his own sites.

Time value of that book is zero
First 8 chapters give you a very superficial introduction to the options trading and some strategies. Let me repeat - very superficial. If you want to learn that matter, you definetely need another book.

So, I was trying to get usefull info on the WEB resources. Let me tell you - two years make a big difference in the Internet world. Many sites do not exist. Some of them have nothing in common with the description, which you find in a book. Chapter 9 - "cybervesting from A to Z" is a complete waste of time and is full of frustration. It guides you through interfaces of nonexisting web pages. The pages, which, according to th author, answer the crutial questions of a trade. I lost most of time just to verify nonexistence of the referenced resources.

Decent Introduction to the Options Arena
I won't pretend to be an expert option trader. I'm in my third year of seeking a bachelor's, and the degree will not be very finance or investing related. This is the first book I read about options, and it successfully heightened my interest by introducing me to some basic option strategies. Another success of the book is the advice it gives on how to initiate and monitor trades throughout the trading day.

Unfortunately, the only people with time to check these complex positions each and every minute are multi-million dollar hedge fund managers (such as the author). The rest of working class America and I can only check our investments on occasional evenings. My guess is the average reader does not have the time or the stomach to sit on pins and needles every day wondering if it's time to exit their risky positions. The only advice the author lends about early exits from trades is that if the stock looks poised to move against you then get out.

Also, the author tells us to start looking for trades based on increased media coverage, high volume, and/or price volatility. This sort of herd following mentality is what I think leads to the massive market swings which cable commentators and industry insiders pretend to understand but incorrectly predict on a daily basis. If the author could truly capture these wild swings, writing this book would not be necessary.

Even the author's own website (after buying expensive extra services) does not search through all optionable stocks to find volatility skews that would make the pie in the sky trades illustrated throughout the book possible. The "platinum" site lets you pick a stock and then see what you can do with it. The odds of randomly finding a stock where you can risk less than $75 and possibly gain over $400 with a 15 point spread of profitability (chapter 8, long condor), are close to a needle in a hay stack.

Applicable advice to average investors is something this book truly lacks. Modifying simple stock ownership with options is not discussed. All of the option strategies included contain absolutely no stock positions (long or short). Trading within IRA's was important before the maximum contributions started being increased, but now they will become more important than ever. I suspect the rankings of brokers in the book and on the author's website are based more on advertising compensation than usefulness to individual traders. The rankings refuse to recognize the lowest-commission-charging online brokerages, and left out completely is the issue of assignment and exercise fees. Assignment and exercise fees can range from 15 to 30 dollars - per contract ... emphasis on per contract. I chose my current broker (not on any ranking list) only because they do not charge those fees.

In a final derogatory note, the seventh chapter contains text that contradicts itself when explaining the ratio call spread and the call ratio backspread. I had to reread the chapter a few times to sort out where the errors are, and what those positions entail.

Again, the book did shed light on an area of investing I knew little about, and intrigued me enough to want to learn more. Yet by sporting a sexy neon cover and depicting life from the point of view of someone managing millions, this book and others like it will probably keep average people thinking of options as risky, scary, and strange. Other than giving me a basic understanding of some common ways to trade, all this book really accomplished was motivating me to write a better one.

Please Read This Review Carefully
This book is only a decent overview of options trading. Its pluses include its concise descriptions and profit/loss graphs of different option strategies and invaluable information on finding an online options broker. HOWEVER, it leaves the reader with unrealistic expectations (like all of Fontanills' and Optionetics' materials) in that ALL of the trades in the book are profitable. Take it from someone who has learned this personally -- options trading is NOT a "get rich quick" scheme. Should you choose to try it you will have MANY unsuccessful trades. A book which is very easy to understand, yet which provides valuable guidance on WHAT CAN GO WRONG is Max Ansbacher's _The New Options Market_. I sincerely recommend that book because it is able to describe the pitfalls of options trading in a manner which I've not found in other books. Good luck! ... Read more

Book Description

"McMillan is the top name in options education, bar none."
—Paul Stevens, President, Options Clearing Corp. and The Options Industry Council

"Larry wrote the book we built an industry on," notes Ned W. Bennett, CEO of OptionsXpress, referring to McMillan’s thick volume, Options as a Strategic Investment. A decade later, McMillan on Options focused on McMillan’s own personal strategies and favored techniques. Now comes Profit with Options, a treasure that complements his previous works and continues his legacy of educating investors on the benefits and strategies for incorporating options into a winning investment program.

Profit with Options is a unique course book that covers every phase of the options trading process step-by-step, and then reinforces individual concepts through end-of-chapter quizzes, thereby allowing readers to refine their skills. Each chapter covers a specific concept and closes with a set of review questions and answers that will assist the reader in implementing the material covered.Focused on practical ways to profit from stock, index, and futures options, this guide covers basic to advanced concepts and includes everything you need to consistently "profit with options." Learn how to determine whether to buy options or the underlying stock, use price and volume as technical indicators, apply index options as portfolio protection, and implement powerful volatility strategies.

When it comes to options trading education, no one is more respected than "Trader’s Hall of Fame" award-winner Larry McMillan. Through his bestselling books, popular newsletters, and packed trading workshops, he has become a true industry icon. In Profit with Options, McMillan’s newest offering, you’ll learn powerful, proven, and profitable options trading techniques with the expert guidance of one of the world’s foremost authorities. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Sloppy editing makes it difficult to learn from this book
Profit with Options seems to have been thrown together from a series of talks, with little attempt at editing. The book is replete with mistakes that render the book useless to a novice options trader and frustrating to read for an expert.

The figures are particularly bad, with incomplete or incorrect legends. On page 9, for example, are shown profit graphs for puts and calls. One problem is that the graph for calls is labeled "Put purchase" and the graph for puts refers to buying a call. This is worse than useless to a beginner because it is flat out wrong, and makes the expert wonder whether anything else in the book is sufficiently reliable to trust. Another problem with this figure is that neither graph has any numbers on the axes.

Poor labeling of figures renders indecipherable many of the figures in Chapter 2, which deals with options as direct indicators. Figure 2.1, for instance, does not provide dates on the X-axis, so when the text says something about what happened on July 29, it's difficult to know where to look on the chart. Many of the charts in this chapter include several data plots, apparently including price and option volume, but the plots are not labeled. Sometimes the text refers to put volume and call volume, but the charts don't indicate which is which.

The text often is no more clear than the figures. The discussion on stops on page 133, for example, states: "So you gave back a lot by waiting for your stop to be hit. Or did you Will, in this case you did, but what if the S&Ps had gone on to 1335?" Who the heck is Will, and what does he have to do with anything?

The "review" questions are not really review questions. I expected them to review subject matter that was covered in the preceding chapter. However, the questions are directed to material is not covered in the chapter.

I'm going to try a different book on options. It's just too frustrating to get anything useful out of this one.

Mostly Great
This is the fourth book on options that I have read.

I learned a lot from the 2 chapters on using options as indicators to spot insider trading activity and the chapter on volatility.

The chapter on using options as insurance will help me teach my family the bare minimum of what every stock investor should know about options.

The chapter on System Trading was useless to me.

One "feature" of this book that irritated me at first is that the "Review Questions" after each chapter quiz the reader on information that wasn't covered. However, I quickly got over this minor irritation because the answers are useful new information. The section is simply mis-labled. It should be called "Relevant Questions" or "Frequently Asked Questions".

At any rate, I used up an entire highlighter pen and that is good indicator that this book is worthwhile.

One other minor nit-pick; the copyright date is 2002 but the examples are from 1999 and 2000 (pre bubble-burst). There are also a few references to "the video" which leads me to belive that this book is a collection of previously written reports. That's fine because the chapters are self-contained but the editor should have deleted the reference to "the video".

Overall I give it 4 stars.

Thank you to the author.

For McMillan fans
This volume continues the work of the author's two previous tomes on options. The author states this work answers questions raised by readers of his first two books. If you liked his previous work, this book is for you. If you are just getting started with options, there are other books for the beginner, including THE SHORT BOOK ON OPTIONS or GETTING STARTED WITH OPTIONS ... Read more

Book Description

To accommodate sweeping global economic changes, the risk management field has evolved substantially since the first edition of Value at Risk, making this revised edition a must. Updates include a new chapter on liquidity risk, information on the latest risk instruments and the expanded derivatives market, recent developments in Monte Carlo methods, and more. Value at Risk, Second Edition, will help professional risk managers understand, and operate within, today’s dynamic new risk environment. ... Read more

Reviews (18)

Still useful as reference but check out the competition
Currently the VaR literature is cluttered with books all clamoring for your attention. Thus the potential student of the subject is blessed with being in a position to make a choice. The 'reader from New York' provided a good overview of the relevant literature. IMHO, this book tried to hit a balance between breadth of coverage (different models in practice) and depth (rigour), but the result is a compromise that leaves neither the student of the subject nor the practitioner satisfied. Since other reviewers have done such a good job dissecting this book, I will just concentrate on recommending the books that I feel are better values: For beginning students I feel Kevin Dowd's provides a good overview of the VaR literature in a clear and concise way. For pracitioners and more advanced risk mangement students, I HIGHLY recommend Glyn Holton's new Value-at-Risk Theory and Practice book. His approach is totally refreshing. Instead of starting at the top of the pyramide (the value-at-risk metrics), he starts out at the bottom. He breaks down VaR into its most basic elements. By providing a detailed explanation of difference between exposure and uncertainty, he introduces readers to the mathematical and probabilitistic background material needed to formulate the VaR measure (methodology) and the metrics (resulting VaR value). Both Kevin Dowd and Glyn Holton's presentations are organized and their writing are crisp and easily understandable. You won't go wrong with either book.

No longer useful
The first edition was for a while the only book on the subject. As such, it had to be the best. But, at that time, RiskMetrics VCV approach was the only approach. Jorion analyses this approach in detail, and derives many results (for example, attributing risks, etc.). He then implies by omission that they work for other methods, they don't. He also implies by omission that RiskMetrics is the absolute greatest, it isn't - it's probably now the weakest method. Surveys show that now only 10% of banks worldwide are using this method - and the numbers are falling.

There is nothing about coherence, the problems with VaR, the fundamental problems with using it to allocate risks to portfolios...
There was no reason to bring out a new edition.

Good Book for sophisticated investment analyst
Good Book for sophisticated investment analyst

Value at Risk
The financial and banking sectors have changed dramatically over the last two decades. The traditional commercial banks are shying away from loans and relying on riskier (??) products such as derivatives to bolster the income. Non-bank financials have been consistently adding products and product lines to their inventory (insurance & loans??). As these firms change themselves, their need for risk measurement and management has also increased which in turn has driven the advances and increased focus on Value at Risk type concepts during this time.

Despite improvements in measuring risk the newspapers are full of stories where risks have been mismanaged. Jorion?s introductory chapters on risk management failures are good at proving why risk management is important. I think beginners would find the chapters that define the different types of risks (credit, liquidity, operational, legal & market), the role of VaR in regulatory capital measurements, and the first part of the VaR discussion as being useful. The chapters that specifically deal with credit, operational, and liquidity risks are also important though the author does not cover these topics as deeply as he covers VaR.

I understand that this book used to be the bible for managing financial risk. I still think it?s an extremely useful book, but agree with some of the other commentators that it could have been more than it is. With an industry that changes as quickly as the financial sector you?d hope for some more detail on current trends and events besides Basel II. (Role of new products such as credit derivatives? Do firms really care about incremental VaR or Marginal VaR, and if they do when? When is it practical to use? How do firms use it? Who are the current leaders in the techniques?). I would also have liked to see more on reputational risk (how do firms decide if a product is appropriate for a client? how would the public perceive a firm?s transactions with a particular client? Enron and WorldCom are current examples).

The difficulty in writing about this subject is that it?s very easy to be too complicated and detailed for beginners but not complicated or detailed enough for professionals. For example, beginners may have difficulties with the material if they don?t understand basic financial concepts, but professionals are probably looking for more specifics on how these concepts are applied for specific products. I?d imagine that there aren?t many readers in that middle ground. This book is definitely geared more towards the professional.

Better Alternatives
This book was rushed into print following the release of JPMorgan's landmark RiskMetrics description of VaR. Like RiskMetrics, its focus is on explaining VaR to corporate end users. For a while, it was the only book available on VaR, so it became well known. A second edition added material on topics other than VaR, but did not update the treatment of VaR. By today's standards, the book is dated.

Now there are a number of excellent books available on VaR, and these cater to various audiences. Depending upon what you are looking for, they offer a more accessible, more sophisticated, or more up-to-date treatment of VaR.

For an elementary introduction, you can't beat Butler. Downplaying theory, he shows you practical spreadsheet examples you can use to implement basic VaR models. He explains related topics, such as probability distributions, delta and gamma, and the Monte Carlo method, so the book is self-contained.

Marrison's "Measuring Market Risk" describes VaR in the context of bank risk management. More sophisticated than Butler, this is a practical, "real world" book for people starting in bank risk management. Marrison ties VaR together with topics such as capital allocation, credit risk modeling and asset-liability management.

Holton is written for practicing risk mangers or researchers. Before it even publishes, it has made a splash on trading floors where dog-eared preprint copies have become a coveted item. Holton explains in detail things like delta-gamma VaR and variance reduction for Monte Carlo VaR -- topics other books only mention. Also, Holton is the only book that offers exercises.

For use of VaR in investment management, see Pearson's "Risk Budgeting." It introduces VaR and then explains how it can be used to allocate assets between investment categories or among managers -- this is known as risk budgeting. The focus of the book is a technique from calculus that allows you to decompose risks so that the parts sum to the whole. There isn't much else written on this topic, and Pearson offers the best treatment that I know of.

Finally, there is Dowd's "Beyond Value-at-Risk." This provides an excellent survey of the literature on VaR. It also covers related risk management topics, including credit risk management and risk-adjusted performance measurement. ... Read more

Book Description

An eminent futures trader explores crucial factors in the markets that most experts overlook—time, volume and open interest—and describes little-known indicators to profitably track them. Covers all the popular technical approaches to futures, options and stock markets including Elliott Wave, oscillators, moving averages, Market Logic, point-and-figure charting. Explains why most traders sabotage themselves and how to avoid doing the same. ... Read more

Reviews (8)

It could help some people
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.

Great follow up!
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.

Don't bother..
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.

Will not work without "Trading for a Living..."
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. ...

Made all the difference
In one series, no other author has outlined a system to go from missing opportunities to the rewards of profits. It made all the difference in mine and my friends' investing and paid for itself many times over. A bargain. ... Read more

Book Description

Kaeppel beams a very bright light on 4 of the most common yet most difficult to overcome trading ‘dont’s’. In easy-to-understand terms he breaks down the problems and offers solutions. Keep this concise little gem near you at all times while trading.

You can earn big profits in options trading by avoiding the 4 most common and most costly mistakes the majority of traders make. System and software developer Jay Kaeppel shows you how to avoid common pitfalls option traders encounter that cause them to lose money in the long run.

In Kaeppel’s quick reading style you’ll . . .

> Learn to isolate the 4 most common mistakes

> See why they are so common and easy to make

> And discover a simple strategy to avoid these mistakes altogether

Concise and to-the-point here’s an action plan you can read and put into place immediately to become a more profitable trader in no time. ... Read more

Reviews (10)

Short and sweet but too theoretical
This book is useful in directing novice options traders to the four biggest mistakes usually made in this area. The book does what is says with describing the theory behind the authors arguments but unfortunaly does not provide market examples on how that should be implemented in real life. Having read other books by this author, I am sure he is capable of supplementing his theory with examples . One of the mistakes he mentions is buying only out of the money options and he recommends buying in the money options. Unfortunately he does not address the fact that this approach could still result in a total loss if the option ends out of the money by expiration day. In addition to be successful in trading in the money options your timing needs to be accurate enough to be certain you do not face a total loss. Timing is never addressed in this book and you would need to supplement this by other books that focus more on this area.
Why 5 stars? Even with these shotcomings it is important that beginners know where they can go wrong and then focus on what to do right.

A worthwhile read for any option trader
I have just finished reading Jay Kaeppel's 1998 publication "The Four Biggest Mistakes in Option Trading". I found the book to be the most down to earth common sense approach to options trading that I have read to date.

Excellent book that delivers exactly what its title says
There are four basic mistakes all beginning option traders make, these are:
1) Relying solely on market timing;
2) Buying only out-of-the-money options;
3) Using strategies that are too complex; and
4) Casting too wide a net on option choices

Relying solely on market timing.
It causes failure because it ignores implied volatility. It can lead to paying far too much to purchase an option. It would be like buying a stock without knowing its P/E, or buying a car without knowing its blue book value. The way to avoid this mistake is by carefully analyzing which options are best suited to achieve your objective. Also, measure what is the current implied volatility of these options and compare it vs. the historical volatility of this option. This will give you an idea of the current valuation of this option, and whether it appears overpriced or underpriced.

Buying only out-of-the-money options.
By doing so, you ignore the probability that the option will eventually be in-the-money. It leads to buying options with little likelihood of profiting. You can get lucky once. But, such a blind strategy is a sure way to get wiped out in option trading. Instead, you should know exactly what is the probability of you making money on each option trades. This entails knowing the "Delta" of a specific option. If an option has a Delta of 20. It has a 20% chance of being in-the-money.

Using strategies that are too complex.
This leads to unfavorable risk\reward situations. First, you should determine your objective and make certain the trade you are going to make can achieve those objectives without more risk than you can handle.

Casting too wide a net.
You will spend too much time wasted looking for opportunities among illiquid options. By doing so, you will waste a lot of your potential returns on the wider bid and ask spreads of these less than liquid options. Instead, focus on securities that have actively traded options.

This book is a real eye opener on option trading.

To succeed you must know your enemy
This is a very good book for what it does. It introduces novices to the common mistakes option investors make. Many more experienced option investors may find this book too simple for their taste. That would be unfortunate. Often times where more experienced investors falter is by dismissing the importance of fundamental information.

Mr. Kaeppel delivers that here. I have been involved with futures for almost 12 years. In that time I have caught myself committing any one of the "four biggest mistakes". Even throughout the years, after writing three books on futures and option investing, available on amazon.com, coI have had to catch myself in my trading.

This book is an easy read and will definitely add to your knowledge base if you are a novice. The more experienced will find this a welcome refinement to their trading style.

Save Your Time and Money--This Book is Worthless...
This is a brief and shallow book. It assumes that the reader, who is an options trader, has limited intelligence and will do stupid things. The best thing about the book is that it is short; therefore, you can quickly find that it has nothing to offer. ... ... Read more

Book Description

This great "how to" book covers the various mechanics of natural gas trading, including the physical (cash) market for natural gas production, transportation, distribution, and consumption. The heart of the text is the definition and demonstration of financial trading tools and techniques. It closes with discussion of more complex structures of trading and the author's philosophy on how a risk management department should function within a natural gas trading company. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Excellent Resource for Natural Gas Traders
Was very pleased with the material contained in this book. Although I am a beginner in the natural gas trading field, I found Sturm's book both easy to understand yet challenging in its scope. A great deal of emphasis is placed upon various hedging techniques and many helpful diagrams are included to portray the trading flow. Overall a very unique and insightful book for beginners and for those with years of experience in trading natural gas. ... Read more

Book Description

Paul Wilmott Introduces Quantitative Finance is an accessible introduction to the classical side of quantitative finance specifically for university students. Adapted from the comprehensive, even epic, work Paul Wilmott on Quantitative Finance, it includes carefully selected chapters to give the student a thorough understanding of futures, options and numerical methods. New software has been added and sidebars included which explain the mathematics for those less confident in this area.

In praise of Paul Wilmott and his previous works
'It is a serious work that takes the reader all the way from the simplest of notions to the most complicated of recent models. In short it is the most comprehensive and up to date textbook on options that I have seen . . . The style is jocular, but the content heavyweight. ... Who ever heard of a mathematician who could convey the intuition of a result to those with a less complete training in the subject? Wilmott is an exception: he knows when a result is hard to understand and treats the reader in a sympathetic manner. This book is a splendid achievement' The Times Higher Educational Supplement
'..a text which will probably come to rank alongside Fabozzi's collected works of Leibowitz as a comprehensive practical reference source for financial theory. Dr Wilmott is an academic who clearly prides himself on his knowledge of the practical side of finance' Futures and OTC World
'Paul Wilmott has produced one of the most exciting and classic reference volumes on derivatives which is a must for . . . students, practitioners, risk managers' Global Trading
'The style is pedagogical and yet very lively and easygoing. As only great teachers can, Wilmott makes even the most obtuse mathematics seem easy and intuitive' Marco Avellaneda, Professor of Mathematics and Director. Division of Quantitative Finance, Courant Institute of Mathematical Science, New York University
'Paul Wilmott changed my life' David Newton, Manchester Business School
... Read more

Reviews (12)

Master Wilmott
Wilmott's sequence to "Derivatives" is 200 pages and 26 chapters shorter. Does that make it less valuable? Not at all! In fact, rather the opposite. Wilmott managed to improve Introduction to Quantitative Finance nicely. He cut out the exercises, added more graphs and more insightful and funny "Wilmott" explanations. Above all, the supplied CD is a real pleasure for Excel friends who will find loads of examples from the book.

Author leaves gaps in his mathematical derivations
I have been reading this book to try to get a better understanding of Hull's book on Options. Wilmott says he is going to keep the math simple but he often leaves out steps in his reasoning. It may be obvious to him but frequently it has not been obvious to me. In fact, I find Hull's book actually more explanatory and easy to follow on topics like stochastic processes and the creation of Ito's lemma than Wilmott's. This is disappointing as Hull gets pretty detailed in his explanations and could use more examples ( not uncommon for academics). I am not an Einstein so I will and do take out pencil and paper to derive results to make sure I understand. I have not been successful in several instances with this book.

Great Introduction to the subject
Book provides a good foundation in the quantitative finance field.

Excellent as in an introduction to the technical analysis
This book is an excellent starting point for those with no training in the technical aspect of the equities market, although the prime focus is on Derivatives.

Although Derivatives are, as of late, a maligned form of investment, this book delineates a common-sensical approach to evaluating them.

There is a gentle and concise introduction to the mathematics of investments which will please many, but no doubt upset the few purists, especially those who love mathematical rigour and others who would like to retain the mystery and mastery of their universe.

This is an introduction. For those who feel the need to delve deeper, Paul Wilmott has written other books which go into greater depth.

Not close to the best in its class
This book is not close to the best in class. It's collecting dust on my bookshelf. There isn't enough practical information to make it a reason to take it off the bookshelf after purchase and a read through. "Derivatives Markets" by Robert McDonald is a much better written and more satisfying book. Even the paper quality, cover, and layout are better. The chapters have practical and excellent problem sets. McDonald is also a clearer writer with a better command of the subject. ... Read more

Book Description

STUDY GUIDE FOR Come Into My Trading Room
A Complete Guide to Trading

You can read Come Into My Trading Room: A Complete Guide to Trading in a few days, but you cannot expect to master every aspect of that invaluable book until you work through it. Study Guide for Come Into My Trading Room: A Complete Guide to Trading will help you learn the profitable methods and techniques of Come Into My Trading Room before risking a dollar in the markets.

Study Guide for Come Into My Trading Room: A Complete Guide to Trading parallels the actual book, challenging you at every step with questions that make you focus on all the important areas of trading. Some tests are pencil-and-paper, others have you work with charts, but all prepare you to make crucial decisions.

This Study Guide will:

• Quiz you on the essentials of trading–choosing the markets to trade, finding holes in the Efficient Market Theory, and overcoming common obstacles to success
• Make you aware of psychological blind spots that lead to losing
• Test your knowledge of charting and computerized indicators
• Explore trading systems, day-trading, and advanced concepts, such as Impulse trading and SafeZone stops
• Ask questions about money management, record-keeping, and managing time
• Challenge you with eight case studies where you choose entry and exit points and get graded for your performance

The best trading strategies, techniques, and tools are only as good as your understanding of them. Pick up this Study Guide for Come Into My Trading Room: A Complete Guide to Trading and convert Dr. Elder’s methods into your own powerful and profitable tools. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

May help some people
Like Elder's first study guide, whether this will help you or not depends on 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.

Camp Training to Win the Battle
"Study Guide" parallels the book "Come Into My Trading Room: A Complete Guide to Trading" by Dr Elder. This second book challenging you at every step with questions that make you focus on all the important areas of trading. The best trading strategies, techniques, and tools are only as good as you understand them and use them. So this study book is very practical. Buy this book together with "Come Into My Trading Room" and take your time as you go through the questions and exercises. Only camp-trained soldier may survive the battle and come back alive and victorious.

I highly recommend the book to those who wants to improve the quality of their trading.

Alexander Petrochenkov ... Read more

Book Description

Praise for A complete guide to Technical Trading Tactics

"John Person does an excellent job of explaining how to apply technical analysis to the futures markets. Since futures trading is short-term in nature, it demands precision timing tools. A lot of those tools can be found in this new book."
––John Murphy
author of Technical Analysis of the Financial Markets and Intermarket Analysis

"Easy to read and easy to follow, A Complete Guide to Technical Trading Tactics is a book traders will love."
––Larry Williams
Legendary trader and author of Day Trade Futures Online and Long-Term Secrets to Short-Term Trading

"A Complete Guide to Technical Trading Tactics is replete with useful trading tips in a logical format, presented by a seasoned trader with a flair for telling it like it is . . .sure to enrich your pocketbook."
––Larry Pesavento
40-year veteran trader and former member of the CME

"There is a Japanese proverb: ‘He whose ranks are united in purpose will be victorious.’ This book skillfully reveals how to join the most important aspects of technical analysis including my favorite (of course) candlesticks. Covers the spectrum from market mechanics to chart analysis, pivot points (John’s specialty), order placement, and much more. Use this book! It will help you along the road to victory in your trading battles."
––Steve Nison, CMT
President, Candlecharts.com and author of Japanese Candlestick Charting Techniques and The Candlestick Course

"Brilliantly provides succinct descriptions and applications of technical trading techniques, gives a solid overview of the derivatives market, shows how to identify and work with a broker, and presents issues that a trader must face to be successful. A must-read for traders at all experience levels."
––Daniel M. Gramza
President, Gramza Capital Management, Inc.

"John Person provides readers the most valuable commodity they can buy on any exchange: the benefit of his vast knowledge and experience related to trading. His analysis and discussion of pivot points is an especially valuable contribution to trading literature."
––Edward D. Dobson
President, Traders Press, Inc. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

perfect
john is one of the few select people that can explain trading into one book.not only did i learn new techniques from this book but he also reminds me how i should trade.
i highly recommend this book.

Excellent in every way.
I started my career reading books from the likes of John J. Murphy, Steve Nison, McMillan, Elder, Bulkowski, etc...

This book can sit on my shelf in equal company from each of these other great analysts.

Thanks for your insight and guidance John, it is sincerely appreciated.

I especially enjoyed the section on Pivot Points.

Sincerely,
LT

Geat Hidden Jem
This book is a gem... great discussions on the lesser known areas of trading. Of course, this book does a great job of covering the standard indicators in a very well thought out fashion. But the real power J. Person's book lies on the chapters on crowd behavior, and going against the grain of the "talking heads."

I greatly enjoyed this read, and know I will be implementing many of the ideas in my own trading. Trading Tactics is a must read for all, novices as well as seasoned professionals will find something useful within its pages...SB

The great lessons to help you pull the trigger
I think the chapter on Pivots plus the candle stick patterns is one of the smartest and best visual "right side of the chart" indicators I have learned yet. What powerful signals these are. It is awesome to see a that an entire chapter is donated to solutions to the emotional hang ups in trading too! Buy this book it works! ... Read more

Book Description

Updated and revised to reflect the mostcurrent information, this introduction to futures and options markets isideal for those with a limited background in mathematics. Based on Hull's Options, Futures and Other Derivatives, one of thebest-selling books on Wall Street, this book presents an accessible overview of the topic without the use of calculus. Packed withnumerical samples and accounts of real-life situations, the Fifth Editioneffectively guides readers through the material while providing them with ahost of tangible examples.For professionals with a career infutures and options markets, financial engineering and/or risk management. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Great Book!
I needed to understand everything I could about Futures and Options in a short time and this book was perfect for that purpose. The introduction about futures and options is great and the content in general is very easy to understand and follow. I really liked the examples and the way the author explained each topic. However, I have to confess that maybe my engineering background helped me to understand the math behind, but I believe that even if you don't have much mathematical knowledge you can follow the book.

A big plus of this book is that it contains a chapter about Value at Risk and one focused more on more recent types of derivatives contracts (e.g., energy, weather, etc.).

In general, I think that with this book you could cover more ground more quickly than with other books.

Great Book!!
This book is a great introduction to options and futures, I do not have any university experience in mathematics and was able to follow nearly all that I have read so far. However, if you are not comfortable with substituting into equations and following equation derivations, maybe option/futures trading is not for you.

You better know your math
The book is a good book IF you know your math. It has been a while since I have done calculus and finance classes and needed to review other books in order to understand all the math. I laughed at the introduction when the author stated math is not needed. While this is partially true, it is because the author expects the reader to memorize his formulas and so omitts some of the steps of how the formulas come about. Do not try to do this book without help or even better yet, without the solution manual. It was a grueling class with more than 1/2 the class dropping it because the book was so hard to understand. ... Read more

Book Description

A simple, straightforward guide to the fundamentals of technical analysis
For active traders and investors who don't understand the complicated art of technical analysis, this commonsense resource covers all the bases. Explaining the basic principles of analysis and showing how to implement them, Technical Analysis For Dummies dumps the confusing jargon and unreadable charts for basic explanations and practical guidance. In no time at all, readers will see how to make better trading decisions.
Barbara Rockefeller (Stamford, CT) is one of the foremost authorities on technical analysis and founder of Rockefeller Treasury Services. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Best Overall Book On The Subject
I have read over a dozen books on the subject of Technical Analysis. By far, this is the best one because it uses plain english to introduce and reinforce topics that are important to beginners and veterans alike.
Rather than "just the facts", Barbara provides some background that helps put the various tools into context.
Had I read this book first, I would not have had to read the other 12!

technical analysis for dummies
Your book Technical An