The Market Taker's Edge ─ Insider Strategies from the Options Trading Floor

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.

Dan Passarelli is the author of the book Trading Option Greeks and founder of Market Taker Mentoring LLC?. Market Taker Mentoring provides options education, including personalized, one-on-one mentoring for option traders. The company website is http://www.markettaker.com.

Dan started his trading career on the floor of the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) as an equity options market maker. He also traded agricultural options and futures on the floor of the Chicago Board of Trade. In 2005, Dan joined CBOE’s Options Institute and began teaching both basic and advanced trading concepts to retail traders, brokers, institutional traders, financial planners and advisors, money managers, and market makers. In addition to his work with the CBOE, he taught options strategies at the Options Industry Council.

Dan can be reached at dan@markettaker.com. He can be followed on Twitter at twitter.com/Dan_Passarelli.

Foreword
Acknowledgments
Disclaimer and Disclosure
Introduction
Chapter 1. My First Year in the Options Business: What I Learned and How I Learned It
Chapter 2. The Difference Between Me and You
Chapter 3. Spreading the Risk
Chapter 4. An Option By Any Other Name
Chapter 5. The Zen of Trading and Hoping to Never Get a Real Job
Chapter 6. Know Your Enemy: Market Makers and the Market
Chapter 7. Using What You Know About Market Makers to Your Advantage--Part 1
Chapter 8. Using What You Know About Market Makers to Your Advantage--Part 2
Chapter 9. Using What You Know About Market Makers to Your Advantage--Part 3
Chapter 10. The Shift of Power: How Decimalization, Multiple Listing, and Technology Changed the Rules of the Game
Chapter 11. Synthetics and the Professional Traders' Indifference Between Puts and Calls
Chapter 12. Expiration Trading: Cranking Up the Gain
Chapter 13. Living on the Edge: Volatility on Every Trade
Chapter 14. Volatility and Straddles: The Market Maker Trade
Chapter 15. Arbitrage and Niche Trading: How Small Profits Add Up to Big Money
Chapter 16. Monitoring Options Portfolio Risk
Chapter 17. The Symbiotic Relationship Between the Makers and the Takers
Chapter 18. Playing the Numbers: Interpreting Options Data
Chapter 19. Stories, Sayings, and Adventures From the Epicenter of the Options Universe