JOHN F. SUMMA is registered as a commodity trading advisor (CTA) with the National Futures Association, and is cofounder of OptionsNerd.com, a Web site devoted to providing market commentary, trading advisories, and educational support to options traders. He has published numerous articles on options trading in a variety of publications, including Technical Analysis of Stocks & Commodities magazine. Mr. Summa, a former professional skier, holds a master's degree in economics from the New School for Social Research and currently operates Summa Capital Partners, LP, a commodity pool hedge fund based in Connecticut.JONATHAN W. LUBOW is cofounder and Vice President of Trader's Edge (www.atradersedge.com), a futures and options brokerage based in Madison, New Jersey. He has worked on the floor of the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) and has had uninterrupted registration with the National Futures Association since 1990. Prior to forming Trader's Edge, he was the top performing broker at Carr Investments for five straight years. Lubow holds a degree in history from Dartmouth College.

• Introduction 1 QuestionsTrading Options the "Write" Way 5Why Trade Options on Futures? 14SandP 500 Futures Basics 20The Option Pricing Story 26Understanding SandP 500 Options 32The Long and the Short of an SandP Credit Spread 39Simulating Margin Requirements for an SandP Credit Spread 47Parameters of Profitability of SandP Credit Spreads 55Commodity Futures and Options Characteristics 63Selling Strategies for Commodity Options 70Putting Theory into Practice 77Synthetic Call Strategies for Commodities 82Using Put-Call Ratio Analysis to Find Timely Entries 87AnswersTrading Options the "Write" Way 97Why Trade Options on Futures? 103SandP 500 Futures Basics 107The Option Pricing Story 113Understanding SandP 500 Options 120The Long and the Short of an SandP Credit Spread 126Simulating Margin Requirements for an SandP Credit Spread 138Parameters of Profitability of SandP Credit Spreads 144Commodity Futures and Options Characteristics 150Selling Strategies for Commodity Options 156Putting Theory into Practice 163Synthetic Call Strategies for Commodities 168Using Put-Call Ratio Analysis to Find Timely Entries 173

JOHN F. SUMMA is registered as a commodity trading advisor (CTA) with the National Futures Association, and is cofounder of OptionsNerd.com, a Web site devoted to providing market commentary, trading advisories, and educational support to options traders. He has published numerous articles on options trading in a variety of publications, including Technical Analysis of Stocks & Commodities magazine. Mr. Summa, a former professional skier, holds a master's degree in economics from the New School for Social Research and currently operates Summa Capital Partners, LP, a commodity pool hedge fund based in Connecticut.JONATHAN W. LUBOW is cofounder and Vice President of Trader's Edge (www.atradersedge.com), a futures and options brokerage based in Madison, New Jersey. He has worked on the floor of the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) and has had uninterrupted registration with the National Futures Association since 1990. Prior to forming Trader's Edge, he was the top performing broker at Carr Investments for five straight years. Lubow holds a degree in history from Dartmouth College.

• Introduction 1 QuestionsTrading Options the "Write" Way 5Why Trade Options on Futures? 14SandP 500 Futures Basics 20The Option Pricing Story 26Understanding SandP 500 Options 32The Long and the Short of an SandP Credit Spread 39Simulating Margin Requirements for an SandP Credit Spread 47Parameters of Profitability of SandP Credit Spreads 55Commodity Futures and Options Characteristics 63Selling Strategies for Commodity Options 70Putting Theory into Practice 77Synthetic Call Strategies for Commodities 82Using Put-Call Ratio Analysis to Find Timely Entries 87AnswersTrading Options the "Write" Way 97Why Trade Options on Futures? 103SandP 500 Futures Basics 107The Option Pricing Story 113Understanding SandP 500 Options 120The Long and the Short of an SandP Credit Spread 126Simulating Margin Requirements for an SandP Credit Spread 138Parameters of Profitability of SandP Credit Spreads 144Commodity Futures and Options Characteristics 150Selling Strategies for Commodity Options 156Putting Theory into Practice 163Synthetic Call Strategies for Commodities 168Using Put-Call Ratio Analysis to Find Timely Entries 173