The Volatility Edge in Options Trading: New Technical Strategies for Investing in Unstable Markets

I was looking for something more in-depth than the introductory text on options. Augen covers the basics of options and shares some of thoughts. None of those insights are anything you could easily incorporate into a model. His last chapter on data mining and infrastructure is useless. For instance, he offers that you should make sure you clean your data. Thanks! He says data mining is important but hardly gives any advice on what to be on the look out for nor particular data mining techniques. He doesn’t even give any recommendations based on the software he uses.

Overall I would say that the book is very good, taking a quantitative approach to trading volatility and moreover a data driven approach. On this front, I would say the book excelled. Where I found the book to be very vague was in the data and infrastructure section. I felt the topic was covered very superficially while omitting the detail I was looking for. Having said that, I completely enjoyed the book and feel that it has enhanced my understanding of the this style of trading options.

An ok book. I should mention one of the strategies doesn’t work. Capturing profit from the rise in options volatility as a stock comes close to earnings announcements is not a workable strategy. I tracked option prices on 20 stocks that demonstrated significant increases in volatility historically when nearing earnings announcements. Not one increased in price as implied volatility predictably rose. Capturing the collapse of options after the announcement by writing strangles does work more times than not, however as the author correctly pointed out…a loss can be catastrophic.

very very technical, have traded options for years but was still difficult for me to clearly understand. I think only the advanced option trader should tread here

this book should be priced by it’s weight In diamonds, the author is pretty much showing you how to make 100% a month or more, he is mouth feeding you, I read it like 5 times and every time I find another hidden gem, but you need to have a solid basic understanding of options trading, I wonder if I would ever have the pleasure of talking to Mr. AUGEN. This man is putting in your hands years of trial and error for the price of a steak in your average restaurant.

Most stock and options books are completely useless, even the classics increasingly don’t apply to the modern algo-driven market. For options students that have moved beyond the basics, this book is packed with great information on volatility and it is definitely worth reading. Yes we all know what a straddle is, but how is it actually used by professional daytraders in the modern market? Unlike the vast majority of option books out there, Mr. Augen actually details a handful of excellent, real-life strategies for volatility trading.
Perfect example of why this book is superior. Holding long options until expiration is often a terrible plan, so why do 95% of option books just assume that’s what you’ll do? However, day/swing traders will appreciate that Mr. Augen is breaking down some complicated multi-leg trades on a day by day basis.
You don’t have to get mired in all the black-scholes discussion if you don’t want to. The book is complicated but well written, readers should have a firm grasp of options basics. All of Mr. Augen’s books make a similar argument, this one is the best, but I’d also recommend his Workbook for those looking to challenge themselves.
For ThinkOrSwim fans, googling “Jeff Augen thinkscript” will turn up code that accurately recreates the volatility studies he uses in the book, so you too can get your strangle on without a math degree.
Strongly recommended.