The Options Edge

Capture the fortune you're losing with every trade by learning to exploit options The Options Edge + Free Trial shows you how to capture the fortune you lose out on every day. Buying and selling traditional investments often entails instruments with optionality. Sometimes this optionality is explicit, while other times it is hidden. If you're not leveraging these embedded options to their fullest advantage, you're losing money. Most retail investors don't truly understand the nuances involved in successful options trading and instead rely on more comfortable instruments with fewer complex mechanics. If you're interested in optimizing your portfolio, it's time to step out of your comfort zone and learn what you've been missing. This book gives you the background you need to take full advantage of options in this booming market. The companion website features easy to use analytical tools that help investors find the best opportunities so you can start applying these methods right away. Whether or not you ultimately decide to start actively trading options, the concepts discussed will make you a better all-around trader with greater security in your financial affairs. Most investors buy and sell options every day without ever knowing it. This book relates stories of those who have leveraged options to make fortunes and those who have lost by not understanding the optionality of their financial endeavors. You must know the fundamentals of options, and then learn to recognize hidden options, in order to improve success in all of your investment activities. After taking these steps, you can go on to: Create hidden options at little or no cost Structure your finances to reduce risk and increase wealth Utilize a practical pricing model for smarter investing The listed options are currently the only growing exchange traded financial product in the developed markets, with a current average volume of 20 million contracts—equivalent to 2 billion shares—per day. Now is the perfect opportunity to fortify your finances, and The Options Edge + Free Trial gives you the understanding and practical tools you need to optimize your portfolio today.

If you have experience in option trading, or a strong understanding of the options markets, but want to better understand how to trade given certain market conditions, this is the book for you. Many people have some knowledge of trading strategies, but have no idea how to pull it all together. Mark Sebastian’s latest book will teach trade evaluation, using Greeks, trading various spreads under different market conditions, portfolio-building, and risk management. Sebastian’s approach will help traders understand how to find edge, what kind of trade under what conditions will capture edge, and how to create and successfully hedge to help you build your own personal Goldman Sachs or Merrill Lynch. The book demonstrates how to structure a portfolio of trades that makes more money with less risk. Click here to watch the author's interviews with Fox Business and Nasdaq: http://video.foxbusiness.com/v/5759956686001/ https://youtu.be/dOEJ118vMnA

TRADE OPTIONS LIKE A SEASONED PRO! A Trading-Floor Veteran Shares his Secrets "What I like about Dan's book is that it's obvious he isn't just telling you how to trade, he's telling you how he trades. There's always a big difference between those who teach trading from an academic standpoint and those who have traded and have the ability to walk investors step by step through the trade. For my money, I always seek advice and counsel from those that walk the walk and Dan Passarelli has walked the walk." Jon Najarian, cofounder Trademonster.com On Dan Passarelli’s first day as a clerk on the exchange floor, he spent the morning observing, practicing his hand signals, and running errands. Around midday, the veteran clerk he worked with said to him, “You’re up. I’m going to lunch.” Dan survived his trial by fire and went on to spend many years on the trading fl oor. He credits his success as a trader and educator to the hands-on experience he gained throughout his career. With The Market Taker’s Edge, Passarelli shares the knowledge and insights other floor traders keep tight to their chests—the knowledge you need to beat the market on a regular basis. This market maker turned market taker delivers a focused commentary on key concepts for operating in the options exchange like a pro. He offers a candid look at the ups and downs of his trading career and conveys the lessons he learned along the way in an informative and often entertaining way. After spending time on the floor in his shoes, you’ll understand: How professional traders attempt to make money—and why it’s different from the way you make money Why market makers are not the enemy How both market takers and market makers can profit while taking opposite sides of the same trade How to focus on what is important in a trade and avoid the noise Dan Passarelli has already taught thousands of people how to make a living as traders, and now with The Market Taker’s Edge, he can help you do it, too.

“Jeff’s analysis is unique, at least among academic derivatives textbooks. I would definitely use this material in my derivatives class, as I believe students would benefit from analyzing the many dimensions of Jeff’s trading strategies. I especially found the material on trading the earnings cycle and discussion of how to insure against price jumps at known events very worthwhile.” —DR. ROBERT JENNINGS, Professor of Finance, Indiana University Kelley School of Business “This is not just another book about options trading. The author shares a plethora of knowledge based on 20 years of trading experience and study of the financial markets. Jeff explains the myriad of complexities about options in a manner that is insightful and easy to understand. Given the growth in the options and derivatives markets over the past five years, this book is required reading for any serious investor or anyone in the financial service industries.” —MICHAEL P. O’HARE, Head of Mergers & Acquisitions, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. “Those in the know will find this book to be an excellent resource and practical guide with exciting new insights into investing and hedging with options.” —JIM MEYER, Managing Director, Sasqua Field Capital Partners LLC “Jeff has focused everything I knew about options pricing and more through a hyper-insightful lens! This book provides a unique and practical perspective about options trading that should be required reading for professional and individual investors.” —ARTHUR TISI, Founder and CEO, EXA Infosystems; private investor and options trader In The Volatility Edge in Options Trading, leading options trader Jeff Augen introduces breakthrough strategies for identifying subtle price distortions that arise from changes in market volatility. Drawing on more than a decade of never-before-published research, Augen provides new analytical techniques that every experienced options trader can use to study historical price changes, mitigate risk, limit market exposure, and structure mathematically sound high-return options positions. Augen bridges the gap between pricing theory mathematics and market realities, covering topics addressed in no other options trading book. He introduces new ways to exploit the rising volatility that precedes earnings releases; trade the monthly options expiration cycle; leverage put:call price parity disruptions; understand weekend and month-end effects on bid-ask spreads; and use options on the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) as a portfolio hedge. Unlike conventional guides, The Volatility Edge in Options Trading doesn’t rely on oversimplified positional analyses: it fully reflects ongoing changes in the prices of underlying securities, market volatility, and time decay. What’s more, Augen shows how to build your own customized analytical toolset using low-cost desktop software and data sources: tools that can transform his state-of-the-art strategies into practical buy/sell guidance. An options investment strategy that reflects the markets’ fundamental mathematical properties Presents strategies for achieving superior returns in widely diverse market conditions Adaptive trading: how to dynamically manage option positions, and why you must Includes precise, proven metrics and rules for adjusting complex positions Effectively trading the earnings and expiration cycles Leverage price distortions related to earnings and impending options expirations Building a state-of-the-art analytical infrastructure Use standard desktop software and data sources to build world-class decision-making tools

Would you like to have success in trading options much like the success of a casino that consistently grinds out profits each day? Casinos are successful because they have a definite probability edge on every gambling opportunity that they offer. They rely on the law of large numbers to guarantee that their probability edge will produce profits. When trading options, you can also do this if you have an edge. This book will show you how to get an edge in your options trading. Then, like the casinos, your edge will translate into small but consistent gains. The book will show you how to best exploit your edge, and it will guide you in the selection of the equity that you trade, selection of the strategy, selection of the strikes and expiration cycle, sizing and placing the trade, monitoring progress, and managing the trade. The book covers basic information about options including all of the common strategies, the option pricing model, and the greeks. It then discusses six sources of edge for sellers of option premium. Then it shows the reader how to select equities that take advantage of the combined edge, how to decide on the best strategy, how to determine the risk and to size the trade, how to place the order, and how to monitor and manage the trade. Each decision can be totally mechanical, based on the values of one or more metrics. And the software provided with the book computes all of the metrics that you will need. If you follow the approach described in this book, I believe you will be able to achieve profits of 1 percent to 2 percent or more each month in markets that are moving up, down, or going nowhere.

A top options trader details a practical approach for pricing and trading options in any market condition The options market is always changing, and in order to keep up with it you need the greeks—delta, gamma, theta, vega, and rho—which are the best techniques for valuing options and executing trades regardless of market conditions. In the Second Edition of Trading Options Greeks, veteran options trader Dan Pasarelli puts these tools in perspective by offering fresh insights on option trading and valuation. An essential guide for both professional and aspiring traders, this book explains the greeks in a straightforward and accessible style. It skillfully shows how they can be used to facilitate trading strategies that seek to profit from volatility, time decay, or changes in interest rates. Along the way, it makes use of new charts and examples, and discusses how the proper application of the greeks can lead to more accurate pricing and trading as well as alert you to a range of other opportunities. Completely updated with new material Information on spreads, put-call parity and synthetic options, trading volatility, and advanced option trading is also included Explores how to exploit the dynamics of option pricing to improve your trading Having a comprehensive understanding of the greeks is essential to long-term options trading success. Trading Options Greeks, Second Edition shows you how to use the greeks to find better trades, effectively manage them, and ultimately, become more profitable.

The Slight Edge is a way of thinking, a way of processing information that enables you to make the daily choices that will lead you to the success and happiness you desire. Learn why some people make dream after dream come true, while others just continue dreaming and spend their lives building dreams for someone else. It’s not just another self-help motivation tool of methods you must learn in order to travel the path to success. It shows you how to create powerful results from the simple daily activities of your life, by using tools that are already within you. In this 8th anniversary edition you’ll read not only the life-changing concepts of the original book, but also learn what author Jeff Olson discovered as he continued along the slight edge path: the Secret to Happiness and the Ripple Effect. This edition of The Slight Edge isn’t just the story, but also how the story continues to create life-altering dynamics—how a way of thinking, a way of processing information, can impact daily choices that will lead you to the success and happiness you desire. The Slight Edge is “the key” that will make all the other how-to books and self-help information that you read, watch and hear actually work.

THE TRADING EDGE How to trade Like a Winner "Rickey Cheung work is outstanding. His book is highly recommended not only for the logic of his systematic approach in developing a trading edge but primarily for the approach he presents in becoming a successful trader. His systems have been tracked for over two years now (without benefit of hindsight) and the results speak for themselves: No. 1 in the SP'S systems in current issue." - John Hill, Futures Truth magazine "Rickey Cheung lays out in plain-language a step-by-step detailed trading plan for anyone who has the thirst and discipline to become a truly successful trader. After reviewing literally hundreds of trading systems and methods each year I can say that he has succeeded in producing what seems to be his life's masterpiece. His method and style are inspiringly different, innovative and unique." - James R. Casper, Founder, Olive Tree capital "Rickey Cheung has created a masterpiece that provides a practical and comprehensive perspective of today's market trading. Without the promise of a "Get rich quick scheme." , it is truly a great way to make money. I am currently using most of the RC systems and will be happy to add more as they become available. In my 29 years in this business, I have seen virtually every indicator and trading system available. Nothing, however, compares to the exceptional work of Rickey Cheung. Bravo! - Mike Meisner, Founder & Fund Manager, Phoenix Diversified Investment Corp "In this book, Rickey Cheung demonstrates that to be a successful trader, you must hone the skills of your craft by constantly reviewing the data and your performance to find your edge... He not only explains what this edge is, and how to use it, but he also shows you how he discovered it. It is this later point that I found most interesting." - William H. Gibbs, Former President, University of Phoenix