The book is a good introduction to options trading and various strategies using options and ETFs. It by no means identifies a way to earn big profits with no risk or even low risk as the title claims.

If you are reading this book for options trading ideas, it can not be recommended. I was certainly interested in a "no risk" options trade which Mr Kraft presents as the collar using LEAPS. A collar is buying stock and puts while selling calls and with LEAPS it would be looking to use options with at least one year to expiration. I believe it is possible to find collars with time frames of one year or longer that have no risk however -- there is a cost - which Mr Kraft does not discuss and the cost may be greater than the risk!!! For example, consider a stock trading at 52, 730 days to expiration, 35% voltility, 5% risk free interest, no dividend. The Black scholes formula values the 50 strike put at $7.04; the 60 strike call at $9.32. It appears that one can make an easy $2.28 (=9.32-7.04) if the stock does nothing and ends exactly at 52; that would represent a 2.28/52=4.4% return. But 1) the cost of holding that stock and buying the put (theres no margin required for selling the calls against long stock) is 52+7.04=59.04*.05*(risk free)*2years = $5.90. The true net return is MINUS 3.62 =2.28-5.90. That does not consider the opportunity cost of tying up your money for two years. There may be some good ideas in the book on the trading plan and generating tax free or low taxed income but there do not seem to be any really good ideas on trading options...

Very educational, the importance of a game plan is largely overlooked in the popular literature on the subject. The examples given were easy to follow, without getting bogged down in theory. The Straregy Comparison gives quick comparisons of the popular strateg's. After reading the book, and reading the other book rewiews I will be looking for other article's by Mr. Kraft.

Lets first see some good points in the book:

The book is not over priced and is well worth the money paid for it

It is written in a clear and concise manner.

Author is to the point on his subject matter.

There are some points in the book that are well worth more than the price of the book. For example: on Page 49 the author says that: Selling Naked puts is less risky than buying a stock. Then he explains how it is less risky and it makes perfect sense to me. That point was so powerful in itself that I might sell a naked put almost every time I want to buy a stock. BEAUTIFUL.

The book has MORE MEAT than FLUFF. Normally books on trading will start filling the pages with techinical analysis details and a very little space is given to the subject matter at hand. Author has tried to attack his subject through out the book and has tried not to indulge in unnessary details about terminology and basics of technical analysis which only increases the size and price of the book.

Author has focused on a few strategies that he uses and has not tried to go into each and every possible strategy. This has kept the things simple and easy to understand. A specialist is WHO KNOWS MORE ABOUT LITTLE. Mastering one strategy is all you need to make money.

Now lets get to some ways in which this book could have been better.

As anybody who has been in this business for a while knows that Pyschology is a very important aspect of trading. In fact I completely agree with Van K Tharp's Analysis in his book "Trade your way to Financial Freedom". Trading is 10% system, 30% Money Management and 60% Psychology. I dont consider any book complete which has not touched in one way or the other this very important aspect of trading. Author in this book has not considered this aspect of trading to be important enough that a complete chapter should be dedicated to this. This does not mean he does not consider it is important. In the last part of book he has tried to talk about it but it should be in the first part of book and deserve more attention and focus. THe Author might be among the few whose psychology was geared toward success since birth and not like me who spent 2 years, 50K and has to wipe his account 5 times before realizing that there is no holy grail anywhere and I will have to find it inside me. No one but myself can help me. That was a moment of truth, relief and freedom. I lost faith in everything else but me. I wiped all indicators from my charts and since that day trade bare charts (Naked charts). Now I can see things better. If someone tells me about a system or an indicator I just laugh hard. Now I believe that most of the times indicators do more harm than good.

The book certainly has some errors as one of the readers JEF has already mentioned in his post. This is a very sad part of the book. Although to err is human and I dont believe that aouthor has delibrately made that error but the nature of that error is so grave that it can not be ignored. I would suggest aouthor that to go through the book again and post a list of all errors found in the book here or on his website.

NOW FINAL THOUGHTS
In spite of the drawbacks in the book I will give it 5 stars for the following reasons.

Like there is no HOLY GRAIL in trading; No book in this world is perfect. As a trader any trading strategy that makes me money over time deserves a 5 start so I believe the pricipals outlined in this book will make money over time. Hence 5 stars.

Some one asked Micheal Jordon: What is the secret of your success. He said: I do not focus where the ball is but I focus on where the ball is going. I always focus on GOOD THINGS IN LIFE and the same is true for a book.

Bill we Like what you shared with us and will pick up good points in your book; we will also ignore erros in your books and forgive you the mistakes.. becasue we love you... 5 Stars

As someone who is new to trading myself, I find Mr. Kraft's clear & concise, yet friendly, tone highly appealing. Mr. Kraft's insights are particularly interesting as he entered the field of trading late in life and has seemingly made a success of this endeavour. He sees it from a more mature viewpoint, thankfully omitting the annoying hype which can permeate a younger man's insights. This no-bull approach is much appreciated.

Mr. Kraft focuses on share trading and option-type instruments in particular, and as such this book has fairly limited use to me in terms of providing me with strategies I might use very specifically, as my focus is the Forex market. Nonetheless, there is much in the book that is beneficial to the trader as the author shares his philosophy of and insights into the world of trading and these are very relevant indeed. He also provides good advice for the trader just starting out, in terms of getting started correctly and putting in place the right basis for successful trading. He also does not seek to over-complicate things.

I recommend this book, particularly for the newer trader.

Mr. Kraft's book has good information for the beginner and experienced
trader. I have started reading the book for the second time and plan on reading it a third time to ensure I remember and can apply the good stuff I've learned, and continue to learn, from it.

For over twenty years my trading account has yo-yo'ed, going up and going down, basically going nowhere. After reading Mr Kraft's book I now know how to let my profits run and cut my losses by using specific criteria to exit a profitable and losing trade. I have high expectations about my future trading results

I learned some important things from the book. A few of my favorite topics are below.

> The book is insightful and easy to read and understand.
> It's the first book I've read that explains how to get into a trade
and if the trade goes wrong, how to get out of a trade while minimizing
losses. And as experienced traders know, minimizing losses are a means
of maximizing profits.
> Examples of trades that have built in risk mitigation.
> An exit strategy to reduce losses if your option is called before
expiration.
> Specific option trades and what to do if the trade moves in the wrong
direction.
> A business plan with important things to consider before starting to
trade.
> The rationale for having a money management plan and some suggestions
for setting up a money management plan that will keep you from losing
it all.
> A thought provoking section about buying and holding.
> An explanation of ETFs (exchange traded funds) and mutual funds with
the pros and cons.
> Criteria that can be used to set an exit price for profitable trades.
> Criteria that can be used to set a loss point.
> How to enter trades in automatic mode, eliminating the voice of greed
and fear who usually advise me to stay in a losing trade and wait for
the price to come back.

I could tell you many more good things about the book but you'll get more by reading it yourself.

Barbara in Raleigh, NC

Good book for option beginners as it lays out the basic strategies in a clear and concise manner.

However, one disturbing section was the example used in 'collar' strategy, which raises question of credibility. The author claims that he unwound his collar position before expiry and made a much higher return vs. waiting for expiry. At first glance, I was amazed by the outcome ... I didnt think that a collar (limited risk, limited profit) could lead to a high profit outcome (in this example, an unbelievable 58% in 2 months, with limited risk).

Here's the questionable data: the author sold $250 calls for 40.40 (short call portion of the collar), and bought the stock at $231. Then two months after, with the stock trading at $380, he unwound everything. The author bought back the $250 call option for $61.20. What?!?!? Can the market be that inefficient? A call option with intrinsic value of $130 was bought for $61.20? Too good to be true. If this were true, then maybe this is how the author made his millions...but I doubt it. After reading this section, I must say I began to question the credibility of the other examples used, which is disappointing given how good most of the book was.

This is a book that needs to be in every traders library but especially the library of a new option trader. There is so much hype in the market place telling folks that they can make ten's of thousands of dollars in the market overnight. While that is possible, the more likely outcome is the opposite for the uneducated trader. At the end of the day, week, month or bear market it is the ones that take a discipline, steady and educated thoughful path that will be around for the next bull market. Bill's book offers good advice, some of the best stratagies for a successful trading career. A missing piece for most traders is a successful business plan which Bill covers nicely. I only wish I had listen less to the hype & promises and more to folks like the author. I have the negative signs to prove it but with the Lord's help and folks like Bill Kraft, I am now turning it around. A strong house is built one brick at a time and a good and successful trader is built one trade at a time. This book will help you be successful and help you stay in the game to see the next bull market.

Refreshing,Insightful and in LAYMANS terms! Mr. Kraft has incorporated his successful skills of trading and knowledge into a complete and simple field guide. Giving YOU control over your decisions, and helping you to UNDERSTAND the different strategies needed in today's market. Mr. Kraft has the rare gift of speaking through his book as a trader and a teacher. He communicates honestly and simplistically. Not just a book to read, but a book to KEEP!!

When I read the title, and other reviews, I was very excited and little skeptical too.

Just for reference, although I am not a full time trader, I have been trading stocks, options, and futures for the last 10 years. With that background, here is what I found in the book.

The Good:
- The chapter on considering trading as business and the need and outline for the business plan is important. It gives a nice reference. I must say that I found author's blog on the same topic, so don't go for the book just for this.
- Information about the closed funds which can earn tax free interest may be useful to some. This information may be available online, but I would not expect to "earn big profits" (as the title suggest) using them.

The bad:
The book shows a few options trading strategies such as collar (as risk free to low risk free), iron condor, spreads, etc. I found these strategies to be very basic or introduced for novice traders.
- While there is a risk free strategy (collar) may be available(which is highly improbable), you may not be able to 'make millions" as the title of the first chapter suggests. In fact, in today's technical world there are computers with algorithms to find such inconsistencies. It will be difficult to find a collar trade where you will find credit (meaning sell a higher strike call which will pay for the put and may leave some money on the table). Usually collars are debit transactions.

The ugly:
- The book title and some of the introduction in the first chapter does not live up to the expectation built.
- I found the book quite overpriced for the info. provided. Now a days, most of the information/advice can be found online (e.g. chapter on "What you need to get started") and for novice traders only.
- While the author stresses on the business plan, I was surprised that he did not include a real life example of his own business plan in any trade examples. There is no trade technique discussed in detail on "what, why, when, and how" of the trade.

Overall, I would not recommend the book for the price (or look for it in the library or in the bookstore). There are much better titles available (I am not going to list them as it will depend on the audience from novice to experienced.)

This book is a must read for anyone interested in investing in stocks. The book is packed with concise easy to understand information of stocks and options with practical examples.

This is a must read! Well written, easy to understand. Mr. Kraft provides strategies for all levels of traders to make consistent money. He also discusses different levels of risk, even no risk trades! This book provides the essentials needed to be a successful trader and makes it look easy. Mr. Kraft is honest in his writing and shares his knowledge from his heart. This is a great book. Anyone serious about trading MUST get this book!!

I orderd my copy to my place in the Middle East and i am actualy just about to finish reading it. i knew of Mr Kraft by coincidence while surfing the internet two years ago and ever since i am reading his free weekly e-letters.
i always wonder how this person knows and answers the questions that are in my mind. I also consider him a person who truly gives out of his experience- an experience which i have the honor to share and learn from.
To be honest, i sometimes wish that fewer persons as possible would read his teachings and this is because anyone of us wants to be ahead of the others.
Only when i remember that this is not a zero sum game(unless it's a pure option trading), i would wish then that as many persons would grow in knowlege under Mr Kraft's way.I know i might seem a little selfish, but at least i am honest with myself and with this review readers.
in my modest opinion i think that Mr Kraft is to trading just as Warren Buffet is to investing.
i know that seems a bit deviating from subject but i would like to mention that i just earned my BS degree in banking and finance from the Lebanese American University (one of the top ranked business schools in the Middle East).
so, see you guys on wall street, make sure we are well equiped with the "experienced knowlege" weapon that enables us to beat the market.
Wish you the best.

After many years of break even, or less success, with option trading, here is the most important guide of all. How to stay in the game, how to avoid loosing money, how to have a winning strategy for up & down markets, and told in simple manner with detail examples augmented by some of the most important guidelines on that most important aspect of trading, namely EXECUTION.How many times have you had trouble fitting a strategy to a market. What open interest do you look for, the importance of Delta, buying more time with LEAPS, option trading ETF's.It is all there backed up with the experience of that rare breed..A successful Option Trader

In my opinion this book is a must read. I have followed many of Kraft's newsletters online over the years and was hoping his new book would live up to my high expectations. I was not disappointed.

With so much hype and so many self proclaimed gurus out there, this book is like a breath of fresh air.

Here were just a few of my personal favorite chapters without giving it all away:

Chapter 2 Is the Invest and Hold Strategy Best for You?

Chapter 4 How put options can protect your money and also make you money

Chapter 5 How call options can really make you rich

Chapter 8 Getting an edge with ETF's

Chapter 10 Comparison of Strategies

In my opinion this book is a must read. I have followed many of Kraft's newsletters online over the years and was hoping his new book would live up to my high expectations. I was not disappointed.

With so much hype and so many self proclaimed gurus out there, this book is like a breath of fresh air.

Here were just a few of my personal favorite chapters without giving it all away:

Chapter 2 Is the Invest and Hold Strategy Best for You?

Chapter 4 How put options can protect your money and also make you money

Chapter 5 How call options can really make you rich

Chapter 8 Getting an edge with ETF's

Chapter 10 Comparison of Strategies