Trade Options Online (Trading for a Living) [Hardcover]

George A. Fontanills (Author)

Book Description

Series: Trading for a Living | Publication Date: March 3, 2009

In this fully updated book, 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 and software requirements and essential online resources--Fontanills cuts to the chase with step-by-step coverage of 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 the best financial resources, websites analyzed from the point of view of an online options trader, and a review of the most popular online brokerages. Trade Options Online is your complete guide to earning a living and making a killing as an online options trader.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

Since the first edition of Trade Options Online was published nearly eight years ago, much has changed in this fast-moving field. The ease of electronic trading combined with a variety of new products—including new indexes and ways to trade volatility—has spurred the ongoing growth of the options market and created profitable new opportunities in the process.

As advances in technology allow online options traders to become more independent, understanding the intricacies of this marketplace and making good trading decisions have become more important than ever. That's why options trading innovator George Fontanills has written a fully revised and updated second edition of his best-selling book.

Filled with in-depth insights and practical advice, this accessible guide provides you with a working knowledge of essential options strategies and the computer savvy to enhance your online trading endeavors. While the first few chapters outline the basics of online options trading, this book quickly moves on to address how you can integrate proven options-based trading techniques into a comprehensive plan that fits your personal preferences.

Fontanills details various managed-risk option strategies—from vertical spreads to ratio backspreads—that are designed to take advantage of everyday market opportunities, and walks you through a series of hypothetical trades that demonstrate how to compute the maximum risk, maximum profit, breakevens, and exit alternatives for each strategy. Along the way, Fontanills also takes the time to discuss other essential elements of this discipline, including trading futures options, streamlining your trading approach, and mastering the inner workings of the order process, to name a few.

In addition to this information, several appendices offer guidance that will help you maintain a competitive online edge, including a short list of options trading software; reviews of more than 200 financial resource sites broken down by specific categories; surveys of online brokerages as they compare to one another in services, commissions, and resources; and much more.

While it's rewarding to build wealth from the comfort of your computer, it takes time to learn how financial markets function as well as develop effective trading strategies to operate within them. The Second Edition of Trade Options Online will show you how to do this, and much more, whether you're looking to boost returns by using leverage or protect your investments by hedging.

From the Back Cover

Praise for Trade Options Online, 2nd Edition

"The sophistication of online options trading platforms has continued to grow and modern traders have unparalleled tools at their disposal. However, without knowing how to use these tools, they are useless. George's book is the perfect complement for anyone trading options online. All key strategies are covered in concise detail and explained with good examples. This is an excellent reference to support online options trading."—John-Paul Drysdale, CEO, Hubb, www.hubb.com

"As cofounder and President of Optionetics, as well as a seasoned options trader with a successful pedigree, George Fontanills continues his leadership in successful options trading with this new edition. George provides step-by-step coverage of proven managed risk option trading strategies against a backdrop of fundamental and technical methods. This is a must-read for anyone serious about options trading."—Laurence J. Pino, Esq., Chairman and CEO, Dynetech, Inc.

"George Fontanills has continued to do what he has done for years: educate people in the ways to use options to improve their investing performance with an eye on managing risk. He speaks of things that all traders should learn: setting up replicable systems, limiting downside risk and maximizing upside rewards, and generating consistent returns over long periods of time. Online options trading has become sophisticated enough to really narrow the gap between retail and institutional execution capabilities."—George Ruhana, CEO, OptionsHouse, LLC

"If you trade options, want to trade options, or even think you want to trade options, this is a 'must' book to have. You will read and re-read it, each time learning something new. George Fontanills is the master options teacher."—Ned W. Bennett, CEO and Cofounder, optionsXpress, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 468 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 2 edition (March 3, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0470336021
• ISBN-13: 978-0470336021
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.2 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #909,411 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

115 of 118 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Please Read This Review Carefully, September 28, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Trade Options Online (Wiley Online Trading for a Living) (Hardcover)

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!

103 of 110 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Cyber-Trading Guide I have yet read, November 30, 1999

By 

A Customer - See all my reviews

This review is from: Trade Options Online (Wiley Online Trading for a Living) (Hardcover)

Wow! A book that really delivers the goods.

Starting out with Online Investing 101. and moving on to Online Trading Resources Fontanills introduces the world of cyber trading. Then he moves to introduce the options basics strategies. In particular he concentrates on Vertical Spreads. and Covered Writes to show how to trade online.

Then he moves to his trademark of Delta Neutral Strategies. The book covers Ratio Spreads and Backspreads, Sideways Spread Strategies. Now we got to the bits that I really was thrilled by the Cybervesting from A to Z. This is a complete analysis of all the investment web sites that options traders need to know. If it is not here then forget it. This is an exhaustive review of all the players on the web for option trading.

As a frustrated option trader I was enthralled by his review of all the brokers and their rankings. He is candid and brutal in his rankings. he concentrates on their performance not their marketing. I was surprised by his choice for best broker.

He wraps up with good sections on Living Online, Appendices and of course a Glossary.

This was a great read that will live on my desk as a reference guide for my trading. It is the Fontanills trademark of being easy to understand, practical and written for the average reader not the PHD. This man can really write so others can grasp the complex strategies that he conveys.

I like the candid story of his life, cancer victim, Harvard MBA etc. and now a money manager for a living.

Great read and invaluable guide to how to trade options online.

Alison Pearlman

51 of 52 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Time value of that book is zero, March 15, 2002

By 

Mikhail Portnov (Mountain View, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Trade Options Online (Wiley Online Trading for a Living) (Hardcover)

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.