Customer Reviews

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Options and Futures

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I personally prefer stock, bonds, and mutual funds, but you can make a ton of money trading futures and options. As the author says "People can reap huge profits, or lose their shirts".

The book gives a very good overview of all the major markets, including history of futures trading as well as how large an order should be, the typical margin put up, and how volitle of and investment a particular futures market can be, like advising corn as a good starting point and staying away from metals. I also agree with that philosophy. Another thing the author does in explaing the markets that i like is that he informs the reader of all the factors that can influence price fluctuations and how to try to time your movements into and out of the markets based on these trends. I also like that he does admit that there is a time to sell a winner and to sell a loser to cut your loses instead of going deeper in debt. sometimes it is best to get out after your first margin call.

The thing that I think makes the book most valuable are the options strategies. These also work very well with stocks and some index funds. As the author states these are very limited profit potential, but there is also very little risk. If you guess the market pretty well then there is almost no risk. My favorite of these is also the most basic the straddle option. Here you can make money if prices go up on down, but not if they remain fairly consistent. You typically purchase and at the money call ( right to buy) option and an at the money put option ( right to sell)the only risk involved is the money that is initially paid for the option. Both are purchase at roughly the same strike price so if a price swing up or down will net the option holder some money. Their are other strategies such as the bear put spread, and bull call spread as well as married options were you are actually buying futures. I personally do not like the three becasue all involve selling an options contract which theoretically can have unlimited loss potential. Unless you are very experienced and have a good track record stay away from them.

In conclusion options and futures are very risky intruments. I would advise simply playing the stocks and funds, but if you like this market i would advise buying optiosn, the most you risk there is the amount you paid for the options, and there are no margin calls, I persoanlly know someone who was almost driven to bankruptcy becasue he did not know what he was doing and got into the futures market. I must admit though that the futures market intrests me more than and other area of finance and investing.

I have read a few books on futures and find many gaps in basic information. As I struggle to put the pieces together, this book was a breath of fresh air. Comprehensive, including interesting history of the beginnings of these markets. Thorough, including pricing, quote info, basic info on each commodity, financial, index, etc. You need other readings about options, but the BEST basic book on commodities and futures

If you are interested in futures and read this book you will be far from an idiot. This is the most thorough treatment of the topic I am aware of on the market and should be every trader's first book. I am doing my Ph.D. dissertation in finance in the area of futures trading and strongly recommend this book; it is a homerun!

Ps. AFTER you read this book I recommend that you study "Trade Your Way to Financial Freedom" -- by Van K. Tharp

This is an excellent book, not just for beginners, I've been trading the futures market for over eight years, and this book clarified a lot of things I was fuzzy on. "Excellent in every way, a great read, easy to understand and very clear in its examples."

Nice job Scott!

If you have to start somewhere it might as well be here. This book is one of a kind. It opens up the world of futures and options perfectly. The author, Mr.Barrie, doesn't hesitate to tell you about your risks potential. He emphasizes it over and over in fact. The only thing he doesn't develop fully is why futures and options are so risky.

In my 11 years as a futures investor, broker, and author, I have come to discover that leverage is the criminal that makes futures so risky. If Mr.Barrie had spent more time developing that along with some solidly proven money management techniques I would have given him a 5 star rating.

As a CTA, I'm always on the lookout for books that will help people learn to be better traders. Even though I'm a big believer in using the technicals, incorporating these seasonal strategies can only help one to have more winning trades and fewer losses.

This book was a real eye-opener for me and I recommend it to anyone who trades for a living or wants to learn to trade...

Scott Barrie is absolutely incredible. This book is precise, complete, and can help anyone thoroughly understand the commodity and options markets. This is, by far, the most "user friendly" futures book I've ever read. Great information. Also, I had the fortunate experience to see Scott speak at a seminar and I discovered some highly profitable trading information that has made me quite a bit of money. Scott is highly recommended.

Let me start by stating that Scott Barrie does a great job converting the subject matter in this book to something that a casual, perhaps even disinterested party, can understand. I have never read any of the other Complete Idiot's Guides, but if this is how they deal with the incredibly complex subject of Commodities Trading, I wont be buying any of them again for other subjects. This was the third book in my commodities trading education. After book's one and two, this book taught me nothing. Not one thing. It does not provide enough depth on any of the multitude of subject matters that are required knowledge of the trader. However, it does touch on nearly every matter that a trader should be deeply knowledgeable about. This book was so short on details that if you were to read this book and then attempt to trade even a single transaction, it is my opinion that you would have NO IDEA what you were doing. If you are interested in Trading, a better first book is Futures 101. That will give you a better understanding if you know nothing. This book really is for people who know nothing about trading. And dont have an interest in trading either, but are interested in the subject as hobby of sorts.