The Options Course Workbook: Step-by-Step Exercises and Tests to Help You Master the Options Course

Author: George A. Fontanills Categories: Options, Beginners

Quick Summary

A companion workbook to The Options Course providing structured exercises covering options fundamentals, the Greeks, basic and advanced strategies (vertical spreads, straddles, strangles, butterflies, condors, calendar spreads), and risk management. Designed for self-study with practice problems and answer keys for each chapter.

Detailed Summary

George A. Fontanills' "The Options Course Workbook" (Second Edition) is a structured self-study companion to his bestselling "The Options Course," designed to transform theoretical options knowledge into practical trading competence through progressive exercises, comprehension questions, and media assignments. Published by Wiley, the workbook embodies the Optionetics educational approach: systematic skill building through repetition, self-assessment, and real-world application.

The workbook spans 19 chapters covering the complete options education curriculum. The opening chapter establishes foundational principles: starting small, paper trading before committing capital, defining risk before every trade entry, and developing patience and persistence. Fontanills emphasizes three critical features of options that traders must internalize: duration (time to expiration), direction (bullish, bearish, or neutral outlook), and magnitude (expected size of the move). The interrelation of these three dimensions provides the conceptual edge that distinguishes successful options traders.

The fundamentals section (Chapters 2-3) addresses market structure overview (the "Big Picture") and option basics including contract specifications, intrinsic versus extrinsic value, in-the-money/at-the-money/out-of-the-money classification, and the mechanics of opening and closing positions. Exercises test both definitional knowledge and practical application.

Basic strategy chapters (4-5) cover directional trades with calls and puts, then introduce vertical spreads (bull call spreads, bear put spreads, bull put spreads, bear call spreads) as the first step beyond simple directional trading. The workbook provides scenario-based exercises requiring readers to construct and analyze specific spread positions.

The Greeks receive dedicated treatment across two chapters (6-7), covering delta, gamma, theta, vega, and rho. Exercises require calculating position Greeks for multi-leg strategies and understanding how changes in underlying price, time decay, and volatility shifts affect position profitability. The delta chapter includes exercises on delta-neutral positioning -- a cornerstone of the Optionetics methodology.

Advanced strategy chapters (8-11) progress through straddles, strangles, and synthetics; advanced delta neutral strategies; range-bound market techniques (butterflies, condors, iron condors, ratio spreads); and trade adjustment methods. Each chapter provides multiple scenario exercises requiring profit/loss diagram construction and breakeven analysis.

The practical chapters (12-15) cover broker selection criteria, trade processing mechanics, margin requirements and risk parameters, and economic analysis fundamentals. The final chapters (16-19) address market mastery techniques, methods for identifying explosive trading opportunities, essential trading tools, and a comprehensive summary tying all concepts together.

Throughout the workbook, vocabulary lists and media assignments extend learning beyond the page, directing readers to options-specific resources and real-time market tools for hands-on practice.