Customer Reviews

Profit With Options: Essential Methods for Investing Success

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

 

 

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.

This book could probably be considered the Chevy in McMillan's fleet, with McMillan on Options and Options as a Strategic Investment standing as the Cadillac and Corvette, respectively. It's a worthwhile addition, but if you're new to McMillan, you'd probably be better-served by one of his more well-known works.

This is a relatively short book that provides some tools for using options as direct or contrary indicators, and actual strategies for employing options to profit off expected movement in price or volatility. The book also provides some good guidelines for evaluating indicators like the put/call ratio (index and equity-only), VIX (old VIX, now VXO), and how to interpret volume in an options chain for possible signs of predictive insider trading. Later chapters get a little more complicated, covering some strategies for volatility buying and selling, etc.

The "workbook" end of this volume is rather thin, basically comprised of 12-20 questions at the end of every chapter covering what you've learned, with an answer index in back.

If you're a McMillan fan or new to options, you'll probably like this book. Otherwise, check into his better-known volumes first.

I have read McMillan's other books and found them interesting and educational. But this book does not have any eyeopening material. If you are a beginner in options then this is not for you; if you are not a beginner then this book is not for you also. You probably know how volatility affects option prices etc., The author has just filled the pages with many historical charts of stocks. Instead he could have just illustrated his points with a couple of charts for each topic. Instead of a book this just deserves to be a booklet.

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.

The book is for a reader with some degree of investment and trading experience. Unlike the previous books by the author (Options as a Strategic Investment and McMillan on Options), this one covers each phase of the options trading process step-by-step, reinforces individual concepts, and thus allows you to hone and refine skills--in essence, a workbook or study guide. In other words, the aim of this book is study in repetition. You will revive in memory what you already new, and will probably pay attention to some minor new tips.

The unique characteristic of this book is that each chapter ends with a set of review questions and answers that will assist you in absorbing and implementing the material covered.

Chapter 1 moves right into the components of option price, using historical and implied volatility
to formulate your option trading strategy, and understanding the advantages an option model can provide. Plus, LEAPS, futures, and trading technology are each treated in detail.
Chapters 2 and 3 explain how to use options as both direct and contrary indicators, with examples showing how each can predict market direction and help you decide which options to buy under both scenarios.
Chapter 4 teaches you how to incorporate system trading into an overall options game plan and illustrates the value of taking the system approach. A variety of systems types are outlined that are applicable for both short-term and long-term investors.
Chapter 5 presents powerful methods for using options as "insurance" and portfolio protection, which is one of their key strengths.
Chapters 6 and 7 conclude with various strategies for profiting from trading volatility. I start by viewing volatility as a strategic indicator, and then move into both forward and reverse "skew" and spreading strategies. I then provide a more in-depth look at volatility analysis, the reasons behind volatility changes, and highlight the author's favorite strategy plus personal criteria for buying straddles, "follow-up" action, and selling naked options.
Each chapter of the workbook can stand on its own, but taken together, they form the basis of a well-rounded options trading program. With the end-of-chapter questions provided, you can test your knowledge of the concepts, techniques, and systems featured in Profit with Options before you need to put them into action in the real trading world. And this learn-by-example workbook should prepare you for making the right moves at the right time, while reacting swiftly to opportunities that arise in the fast-paced options arena.

As a conclusion, this hands-on guide will complement the previous two works by the author. If you didn't complete these two works, I don't recommend to start with this one.

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

I am jsut wondering why many people take this book as another 'Bible' leveled book. It sounds exactly like an insult to all those real 'Bible' books.

Some other reviewers are right: the editting is lousy, the graphs are irresponsible,...., and some other over a thousand flaws. One can expect to learn more by simply browsing Optionetics forum.