Option Strategies: Profit-Making Techniques for Stock, Stock Index, and Commodity Options (Wiley Trading) [Hardcover]

Courtney Smith (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 4, 2008 | Series: Wiley Trading (Book 362)

Updated and revised to include a decade of growth in the scope and complexity of options, Options Strategies: Profit-Making Techniques for Stock, Stock Index, and Commodity Options, 3rd Edition is a comprehensive guide to options trading strategies written in clear, non-technical language. In addition to insight into options issues like carrying changes, strike prices, commissions, interest rates, and break-even points, new chapters show how to predict the direction of implied volatility. Accessible examples, charts, and graphs will help you obtain the information you need to succeed in the high-risk, high-profit world of options.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Praise for Option Strategies, Third Edition

"Finally, a book on option strategies even guys like me can understand. Whether you're an options veteran or not, Courtney's years of experience will be of value to you."
—Larry Williams, author of Trade Stocks & Commodities with the Insiders: Secrets of the COT Report, and Long-Term Secrets to Short-Term Trading

"A comprehensive, well-organized, and highly accessible treatment of the arcane and intricate world of successful options trading. Well done."
—Bob Pardo, Pardo Capital Limited

A comprehensive guide to key options trading strategies

Written in clear, nontechnical language, this comprehensive guide demystifies the complex world of options. In this revised and expanded Third Edition, options expert Courtney Smith details the ins and outs of this lucrative financial instrument. New chapters provide thorough coverage on predicting the direction of implied volatility, with emphasis on reversion, skew, and kurtosis, and include option valuation models with Web links to access models digitally.

Filled with accessible examples, charts, and graphs, this book is the only guide traders and investors need to make the most of their time in today's dynamic options market.

It's been more than a decade since the last edition of Option Strategies was published, and many would agree that the world of finance has seen significant changes along the way. During this time, options have grown in both scope and complexity, leaving traders with the tough task of trying to keep up with this important investment vehicle. That's why options expert Courtney Smith has created Option Strategies, Third Edition.

Written in a straightforward and accessible style, this comprehensive guide makes the complex world of options easier to grasp. In the fully revised and expanded Third Edition, Smith details the ins and outs of this lucrative financial instrument, covering everything from the fundamentals of options to the intricacies of options valuation and trading. Throughout these pages, you'll find essential insights on important options issues, such as carrying charges, strike prices, commissions, interest rates, and break-even points. Beyond the basics, you'll also learn about the bull and bear strategies needed to buy and sell calls, puts, spreads, straddles and combinations, synthetic positions, arbitrage, and much more. New chapters provide thorough coverage on predicting the direction of implied volatility and include option valuation models with Web links for digital access. They also address one of the most overlooked aspects of trading—psychology—and examine how it can affect your ultimate success in this field.

Throughout the book, major strategies are highlighted and accompanied by a unique "Decision Structure" that gives you a clear picture of how each strategy works, and advice on how to better plan your investments. Consisting of a series of questions and answers, these decision structures will assist you in analyzing potential trades, determining your objectives and the amount of risk you're prepared to take on, and deciding what follow-up action to take once you've entered a trade.

While there are many ways to make money trading options, most people tend to lose money when undertaking this endeavor. Filled with accessible examples, charts, and graphs—as well as updated material in almost every chapter—Option Strategies, Third Edition contains all the information you need to excel in the high-risk, high-profit world of options.

About the Author

Courtney D. Smith is Chairman of the Investment Mentoring Institute, an organization devoted to building great investors. He is also President and CIO of Courtney Smith & Co., Inc., which manages money for institutions, family offices, and high-net-worth individuals, and is CEO and Chairman of Greater China Technology, Inc., a company that outsources software development to China. Mr. Smith is the author of six books, including the two previous editions of Option Strategies. He has made over 1,000 TV appearances on shows such as Wall Street Journal Report, Moneyline, and other programs on CNBC, Fox News, Bloomberg, and CNN.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 308 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 3 edition (August 4, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0470247797
• ISBN-13: 978-0470247792
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,429,489 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The fundamentals of Option Strategy, March 28, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Option Strategies: Profit-Making Techniques for Stock, Stock Index, and Commodity Options, 2nd Edition (Hardcover)

Option Strategies is an excellent intermediate treatise on option trading. While it doesn't go deeply into option pricing and implied volatility, its focus on strategy and decision structure serves the reader well. Almost every major position type, from the basic buys and writes to the more complex, such as ratio spreads and butterflies are covered. Each position is dissected in detail, with emphasis on how to deal with adverse and positive price impacts.

In the pantheon of trading tomes, Courtney Smith's work should appeal to those looking for a sound foundation in option strategy. It is one place where a trader can look at any idea and figure out which type of play offers the best risk/reward alternatives. A solid non-technical book.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Independent Trader, March 16, 2009

By 

Petra Schoening (USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Option Strategies: Profit-Making Techniques for Stock, Stock Index, and Commodity Options (Wiley Trading) (Hardcover)

As a person who has always found option strategies to be quite confusing, this book is a god-send! Mr. Smith's book is the only options strategy book that I've ever read that gives a concise and clear decision tree on what strategy to use in what market conditions. Anyone who is a serious options trader and wants to be profitable needs this book in their library!

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Poorly edited mess, April 23, 2002

By 

JZ (Chicago , IL USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Option Strategies: Profit-Making Techniques for Stock, Stock Index, and Commodity Options, 2nd Edition (Hardcover)

This book contains absolutely no information on how to judge whether a particular option is over- or under-priced, or how to arrive at either a bullish or bearish outlook. The idea is that you have already come to some conclusion and then you consult the book to determine how you should play the option. That would be fine if the book did not contain numerous errors, all due to the fact that this book apparently was not proof-read. For example, if your outlook is bullish, you find the strategy for putting on a call spread, and select the type of spread you want to do. The author then copied the same instructions into the section on bear spreads, and then tried to change all the "calls" to "puts" or the "buys" to "sells." Of course, he missed many such changes, and there are multiple instances where the word "call" appears where it should read "put," and where "buy" appears when it should be "sell." If you buy this book, you will have to make your own corrections in it, or you may follow the instructions right into the poorhouse. I consider the money I spent on this book to be wasted.