Section 1: Preparing to Play
1 The Secret Advantages of Option Trading 3
2 Education, Education, Education 7
3 Play It on Paper 9
4 Stick a Toe in the Water 13
5 Do Your Homework 15
Section 2: The Prediction Game
6 Those Who Use Crystal Balls Eat Chipped Glass 19
7 Beware of Lady Luck 23
8 Regression Back to the Mean 27
9 Beware of Gurus 31
10 Secret Prediction Methods 33
11 Maverick Investing 35
12 Tracks in the Charts 39
13 Use the Laws of Supply and Demand 43
14 Sell in May and Go Away 47
15 The 60% Rule 51
16 Predicting Stock Tops and Market Bottoms 53
Section 3: Option Buying
17 Get the Biggest Bang for Your Buck 57
18 Beware of Inertia 59
19 Cheap Is Not Always Cheap! 61
20 Swing for the Fences 65
21 Let It Ride! 67
22 Don’t Let Profits Slip Away 69
23 Beat the Clock 71
24 Avoid an Option’s Last Month 73
25 The Secret of Scaling 75
26 Beware of Delusions of Grandeur 77
27 Don’t Plunge! 79
28 Analyze Your Option Position 83
29 The Secret of Profit Boxes 85
30 The Straddle Secret 87
31 Be Patient 91
32 The Option Buyer’s Secret Weapon—
Shock and Awe 93
33 The Stock Advantage 97
34 The Put Advantage 99
35 Diversify 101
36 The Quick and the Dead 105
37 The Secret of Portfolio Insurance 107
38 The Second Secret to Portfolio Insurance 111
39 A Long Shot Secret 115
Section 4: Option Writing
40 Take the Bet Instead of Making the Bet 119
41 The Secret Advantage of Option Writing 121
42 The Secret of Quick Profits 123
43 Play It Naked 125
44 Probability—the First Secret for Option Writers 127
45 Time—the Second Secret for Option Writers 131
CONTENTS
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46 Get Out of the Hot Seat! 133
47 Expiration Writing 135
48 Defense, Defense, Defense 137
49 When to Use Covered Call Writing 139
50 The Hidden Risk of Covered Call Writing 143
51 Covered Call Writing Strategies 145
52 Use Naked Put Writing to Buy Stock 147
53 Naked Put Writing Can Create a Win-Win Strategy 149
Section 5: Option Analysis
54 Know the True Value Advantage 155
55 Option Analysis Can Be Easy 159
56 The Key to Options Analysis 163
57 Implied Volatility—An Option Analysis Shortcut 165
58 Keep Your Eyes on the Delta 169
59 Use Probability Analysis 171
60 The Secret Weapon of Option Analysis 173
61 A Tool for Your Arsenal 175
62 Searching for the Best Plays 177
63 Situational Analysis 179
64 Unraveling the Mysteries of Baysian Analysis 181
65 Gone in 60 Minutes 187
66 Your Crystal Ball to the Future or
Risk-Reward Analysis Using AI 189
Section 6: Spreading
67 The Spread Advantage 195
68 The Secret Costs of Option Spreads—
Beware of Slippage 197
CONTENTS
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69 Beware of Alligator Spreads 201
70 Avoid Delta Neutral Strategies 203
71 Avoid Repair Strategies 205
72 How to Reduce the Cost of Option Buying 207
73 Rules of the Road 209
Section 7: Trading Tactics
74 Go Online! 213
75 The Hidden Cost of Trading 217
76 Act Like a Market-Maker 221
77 Test the Waters—How to Get the Best Price 223
78 You Can Buy the World for 1/8 225
79 How to Enter Spread Positions 227
80 Secret Spreading Tactics 229
81 Don’t Tip Your Hand—Beware of Size 231
Section 8: Trading Tips
82 The Top Secret War Room 235
83 Don’t Try to Catch a Falling Knife! 239
84 Only Play with Fun Money 241
85 Know When to Fold Them 243
86 The Secret of Sunk Cost 245
87 Always Use Stop-Losses, and Don’t Look Back 247
88 Check Your Track Record 251
89 The Dragon That You See Is Not the Dragon
That Will Burn You 253
CONTENTS
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Section 9: Trading Resources
90 Treasures on the Information Highway 257
91 Avoid Analysis Paralysis 259
92 How to Use Option Advisory Services 261
93 The 5 P’s 263
94 The Magic Pyramid 267
Section 10: Power Plays
95 “Thar Is Gold in Them Thar HIlls” 271
96 Rules of the Road for Option Buying 273
97 Aggressive Writing with Limited Risk 275
98 Rules of the Road for Index Credit Spreads 279
99 The Ratio Hedge 281
100 The Diagonal Spread 283
101 The Ultimate Power Play: The Secret Surrogate 287
Conclusion 291
Section 11: Tutorial
The Listed Option 295
The Listed Call and Put 296
Parts of the Whole, the Listed Option 296
The Option Exchange 298
The Price of an Option 299
Intrinsic Value 299
Time Value 300
Volatility 301 |