http://www.amazon.com/Encyclopedia-Commodity-Financial-Spreads-Trading/dp/0471716006/ref=pd_sim_b_1\ http://www.amazon.com/Futures-Spreads-Classification-Analysis-Trading/dp/1466290161/ref=pd_sim_b_2 http://www.amazon.com/Mastering-Grain-Markets-Profits-Really/dp/1477582967/ref=pd_sim_b_6 http://www.amazon.com/Advanced-Commodity-Spread-Trading-Goldberg/dp/0930233077/ref=pd_sim_b_5 some kind of spreading books in ags.. anyone read any decent ones? any kind of commodities for that matter.. just curiuos.. i see books with like "superstar seasonals" haha i feel like i'd be buying into some "income strategy" bullcrap with this kind of thing.. any direction for me?
First book in the list above: I don't know if the authors can write well, but these are the same people who run Moore Research Center. If you're interested in learning about spreads, their monthly subscription is very reasonable - about $35. Tons of historical information, trade ideas, seasonal studies, correlations, and they even post the returns of their hypothetical trades. Some of the spreads lose a lot, but I appreciate that they don't cherry pick. On a somewhat related note, are you still trading options? I joined this site a year ago and you seemed to be digging into everything options-related at the time. Just curious...
Yes I trade options... Vix options .. Fly's on index stuff... Crude oil futures spreads... But ya my love for options will never die...I just reached the point where I read almost every book and they get super repetitive... But yea I love to express myself with options
Never heard of these books but the last one seems interesting enough: "Following the Trend: Diversified Managed Futures Trading" so I will take a look.
I have the first one. It's a collection of spreads that were working pre 2008...LOL. You can't trade them anymore. However, there is for each commodity a little introduction of fundamental factors driving seasonality, and those are of interest. I often reopen it just to check what is driving seasonals on a given market. Best book about ag trading is "Merchants of grain" from Dan Morgan, but it is more an history book than a trading book.
I agree that a subscription to MRCI is good option, been using them for a few years. Of the four books you asked about, I have only read the book by Kub. It was in my "how do producers use the futures markets?" phase and it helped me understand that perspective better. Here's a couple of "intro" books to spreading that give a broad overview, similar purpose to the Perchanok book you linked. http://www.amazon.com/Futures-Sprea...363860&sr=1-1&keywords=futures+spread+trading http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Spre...363905&sr=1-4&keywords=futures+spread+trading I have the same problem with finding new interesting reads. So here's some older books that I enjoyed reading about commodities, not necessarily spreads. It's interesting to read about others' strategies although I usually don't want to copy them. Part fun and part interesting. http://www.amazon.com/Charting-Comm...e=UTF8&qid=1381364002&sr=1-1&keywords=belveal http://www.amazon.com/Profitable-Gr...64203&sr=1-1&keywords=ainsworth+grain+trading http://www.amazon.com/Professional-...id=1381364295&sr=1-3&keywords=kroll+commodity I have this one as well, it is interesting if you are trying to build a systematic approach to the markets and/or understanding CTA performance.
thanks guys.. i just got this first book in the mail.. http://www.amazon.com/Futures-Spread-Trading-Complete-Guide/dp/0934380481 i'll let you know how it goes/
Of the initial list, the book you received is probably the most useful as it covers futures spread trading from different angles. I also like the Encyclopedia (MRCI) as it offers a good understanding of HOW their signals are derived (IMO much more important than presenting some black / grey box system). Joe Ross' Trading Spreads and Seasonals is another book on the subject - It also looks at signals from the option market to include in your trade preparation. Not sure if you're only looking to trade futures, but on stocks (pairs trading) there are also a number of interesting books available.
I give a very strong rec for Mastering the Grain Markets to anyone who is looking for a really comprehensive 'Ags 101' to give colour to the fundamental drivers of grain markets price action. Elaine Kub is well-regarded in this sector. She manages to cover the whole spectrum of fundamental influences and the supply/demand chain - the different players from farmers to merchandisers, basis arbitrages, etc. - in a comprehensive, well-structured and highly readable style. However, the section specifically on futures spreads is a just a fairly brief overview. The value in the book for a futures spreader is getting a better understanding of the physical market's interplay with them. The strapline "How profits are made" is rather misleading. It certainly isn't a "get rich trading futures" book (perhaps she's referring to the players in the business). She can't be making profits either, as the book is an absolute steal at the price given the voluminous info in 200+ pages of mostly text. For those who trade exclusively using TA, don't bother with it.