5 comments about What Works in Online Day Trading.

1. This is an eclectic book. It doesn't focus on a major theme and is a collection of different people's views plus the author's.

   I would not recommend this book for beginners who want to learn the basics because I don't feel the foundation is thorough.

   It is a good book for those who want to see how others trade, their diverse techniques, and their opinions on trading. Also of value are the risk management techniques.

   A more appropriate title would be: Different techniques by various traders and other trading tips.




2. I have read many "trading" books, and find this one a pleasant suprise. Section Two includes a good source of trading strategies that work, each one written by people who actually trade. Strategies covered include 1) pure price action by Gary Smith, 2) breakouts by Mark Seleznov, 3) seasonals by Steve Moore, et.al., 4) patterns by Mark Etzkorn, 4) springs and upthrusts by Hank Pruden, 5) Bow Tie patterns by Dave Landry, and a few others.

   The strategies include a good summary of setups, entries, stops, and exits. These summaries are general enought that you can program them in most any backtest software you use, not just Tradestation or C++. I use them to backtest with TC2000 and TC Companion.

   The book also has very good information on risk mangement, the mechanics of trading and the mindset of different trading styles.

   The great thing about this book, is that it is a well integrated compilation of tools and techniques from a variety of well known and/or highly successful traders. The editor did a wonderful job of taking this diverse group and integrating the book into a very logical and usable flow.

   While it may be too much for the pure beginner, this book will be most appreciated by the intermediate to advanced trader.




3. This is not your ordinary trading book, but one that teaches some real "usable" techniques. The book is broken up into chapters written by different people, so the tone of voice will change frequently. The prize of this book is the Seleznov breakout method, which anyone can use to trade profitably for life. That alone is worth thousands of times the price of this book. I'd recommend this for any serious amateur/semi-pro level short term trader who may be lacking a consistent trading system.



4. I decided to give this book a chance in providing me essential elements of a typical intraday technical trading system. Sure I wasn't expecting a copy-paste daytrade system that suits everyone.. if there ever was one...
   It's just, if you're starting out in daytrading (asuming you've been doing numerous of position & swing trades) looking for honest information, this book does the job. Eclectic but essential and honest. The actual job of creating a profitable system, simple or complex, still is yours.. .



5. This book has strong and weak chapters and average usability. It consist of a mixture of good advice: "Nervous money tends to become some elses money", long and tideous explanations on online technology, lame explanations about charts: "The vertical (Y) axis shows the price level, and the horisontal (X) axis shows time"...if you did not know this or could not figure it out yourself, you should nok trade at all. Stronger chapters looked at risk control & money management and some interesting interviws with for example Linda Bradford Raschke. The money management section helped me a lot and if you have not figured out that theme yet I would buy this book only to read those 42 pages.

3 comments about Investing Without Fear: Options.

1. THIS EASY TO READ BOOK IS WRITTEN BY A SEC REGISTERED INVESTMENT ADVISOR. THE BEST PART IS THAT IT TEACHES THAT WHEN YOU INVEST YOU DO NOT WISH, HOPE OR PRAY. THESE DO NOT WORK AT ALL.
   YOU WILL LEARN THAT THE PRICE OF A STOCK DOES NOT MATTER AS THE PRICE WILL ALWAYS VARY.

   THE CHAPTER ON TAXS IS WORTH THE PRICE OF THE BOOK.

   DR ALEXANDER ELDER AUTHOR OF COME INTO MY TRADING ROOM HAS SAID, "THIS IS A GEM OF A BOOK FOR SERIOUS OPTION WRITERS. MOST OPTION BOOKS DEAL WITH BUYING OPTIONS BECAUSE MOST BOOKS ARE WRITTEN FOR GAMBLERS."
   OUR CLUB HAS MADE BIG MONEY IN THE MARKET DCOWNTURN AND WITH TAX-ADVANTAGED INVESTING. MEMBERS OF THE CONTRARIAN INVETMENT CLUB, DENVER COLORADO.




2. THIS BOOK IS AN EASY READ, WRITTEN BY AN INVESTMENT ADVISOR THAT KNOWS WHAT HE IS DOING. I NO LONGER HAVE FEAR TRADING STOCKS AS I ALWAYS HAVE OTHER INVESTORS MONEY TO HEDGE MY POSITIONS. THE CHAPTER ON MARGIN IS WORTH THE PRICE OF THE BOOK. YOU CAN GET IT ON AMAZON.COM. THE BOOK HAS BEEN UPDATED IN APRIL 2003.



3. Harvey Friedentag, a Denver-based registered investment adviser, has done all investors a favor. In writing this book, he clarifies many of the misunderstandings that surround the world of listed investment options.
   
   Too many consider the use of investment options as another form of gambling. This impression remains, despite their ability to minimize portfolio risk, diversification while maximizing capital gains, income and downside protection.
   
   This well-written book is not for beginners, the author cautions. Rather, it is for experienced investors who have been unsuccessful; those who have made either small gains or, worse, lost money. This easy-to-understand book provides grounding in investment options. It begins with definitions. Then, it proceeds to strategy and tactics. The chapter on taxes is worth the book's price.
   
   "Fear always springs from ignorance," Ralph Waldo Emerson once wrote. Those words ring true in the investment world. By penning this book, Friedentag has gone a long way to alleviate much of the misunderstanding that surrounds options strategies.

5 comments about The Complete Idiot's Guide to Daytrading Like a Pro, 2nd Edition (The Complete Idiot's Guide).

1. Sorry, but this book appears to have been written by a wanna be writer whose style---if you can call it that---is so blatantly irritating, condescending, and ridiculous that its facetiouseness distracts from any worth the book might otherwise provide which is minimal at best. Almost every paragraph contains a silly lead in to the next as if the writer is trying to hold your hand and help you 'get through' the material. Stuff like, 'ok, we're almost there now!' and 'I know you probably want to get right to the good stuff, but first, let's get a few of the harder points over with!....' Still with me? Both the writer and publisher should be pilloried for presuming the public is THAT dumb. You guessed it: don't buy this rubbish. And while we're at it, probably the only other book that's just as bad as this one for silliness is Toni Turner's.



2. If your stock market experience is limited, this book will serve as a good introduction. The material is basic and presented in an easily understood format.



3. This particular book is fine as a general reference on the stock market, but frankly beginners will need more concrete and to the point strategies to make it as online stock traders.
   
   The reality is that the stock market doesn't care if you are a beginner. It will gladly take your money away if you don't know what your doing. So the bottom line is, you better be PREPARED before you even think about making your first trade.
   
   Stock trading is a very competitive field and in order to succeed you need to FOCUS on a set of simple strategies that you can implement without hesitation.
   
   This game is all about buying and selling according to your set ups. So the clearer your set ups are, the easier for you can be to make a profitable decision.
   
   Hopefully some sites on the web do offer more relevant and updated stock trading information. One of those sites is Sharp Trades ( SharpTrades com )
   
   They focus mainly on short term momentum stock trading strategies, that in my opinion are easier to implement than many other technical systems outhere.
   
   Stock trading doesn't have to be complicated as many people perceive. But you do need to follow a well organized set of rules and tactics, that once you master them, you can aspire to replicate profitable trades with consistency.



4. New edition just out. More sensible approach, and updated. Definitely worth the money, especially for new traders.



5. Recently I decided to try short-term trading. Soon I realise that I need to learn more. What is going on behind bid/ask postings, how to read and interpret Level II quotes, what is Naqdaq TotalView, what advance platforms are available today, etc? So I went to local bookstore and browsed through the section. Didn't find anything satisfactory so bought this book as a temporary solution. After an hour of reading I decided to write my first book review on Amazon.com. This is simply the best book I could hope to find on the subject: precise, structured, brief yet informative, state-of-the-art information. Excellent book overall. I highly recommend this book for beginners and may be even more experienced traders that didn't keep up with the latest advances. My only complain is that the indexing is not detail enough.

2 comments about Writing Uncovered Put and Call Combinations.

1. I like to read Pauls books because they explain things in a simple and precise manner. I had no idea on understandind Options, but now I am very confident in what I am doing.
   I can strongly recommend Pauls books for people starting out in the deritives market.



2. Have written naked puts a number of times before and although you can loose your shirt quickly with this stratergy am comfortable with the logic behind it. Am not so comfortable with writing naked calls however. This book has got me considering it. As a read it is simple to understand and concise in it's detail of action to take in any situwation should things not turn out as planned,which I liked. I also liked the distinction between trading stocks and etf's and the possible benifits outlined from doing so. The fact it is written by an author with a banking background gives me confidence in his experience of useing the stratergies outlined to use money to make superior returns. Useful book.

5 comments about Fundamentals of the Futures Market.

1. If you are new to trading, or are interested in learning about the futures markets, then you will not be disappointed with this book. I was definitely impressed with the amount of market information that it covered. The History of the Futures markets, fundamental & technical analysis, mechanics of the trading floor, margins, interpretation of news, are all explained. In addition, it contains a great section on trading techniques for each specific commodity market. This would make a great reference textbook for seasoned traders and brokers as well. I would definitely recommend this book.



2. Most "investment advice" books suffer from poor editing, both of the 'grammar & syntax' variety, and, more distressingly for this genre, flat-out incorrect information. Klines's book is no exception- the grammar & syntax are fine, but her book is replete with factual errors and misstatements. For example, on page 207, she defines a synthetic long futures as "sell a call option, buy a put option." Wrong. That is a synthetic short position. Similar errors pervade the book.
   One useful feature is chapter 3, which presents futures contract specifications. However, even here, some of the information is occasionally confusing or misleading.
   This book is published by McGraw-Hill, a highly reputable house. My surmise is that McGraw-Hill has no financial experts on its editorial staff; otherwise, it wouldn't tolerate the publication of such a sloppily-edited piece. Disappointing!



3. This is a very good book if you are looking for a career in futures. Whether you will be a trader or a broker, there is a ton of helpful information inside that you can't find anywhere else. There is an entire chapter called 'Tips of the Trade' that walks you through some of the nuances and quirks of markets like soybeans and the E-mini S&P. The book explains how to determine the future expectation of interest rates by using the Fed Fund futures. There is information on how margins work and an entire section on options. The part that I found to be most unique is the discussion of order placement - where mistakes often occur and how to prevent them. I recommend this book to anyone who is getting started in the futures industry.



4. I am new to futures trading and I found this book to be very helpful and easy to understand. It is well written and covers a wide variety of trading terms and techniques. I did notice a typo or two, but they are obvious and do not detract from the message of the text.



5. Not so well written, a little manual-like and hard to read.
   Written for the beginner it tries to cover too much but misses out some important basic information.
   Have read many books on trading and had hoped to fill-in the details on the futures area fundamentals. Have to look for another book now though.

No comments about Reminiscences of a Stock Operator by Edwin Lefevre.

5 comments about Trading With The Odds: Using the Power of Statistics to Profit in the futures Market.

1. It is amazing how we humans all have our own agendas. Someone founf this book 'useless', some found it exciting...that's all fair...I found it revolutionary (read the post before this one). One fellow bloats his ego and describes how he is a great technician. I'd like to see how his finances compare to Cynthia Kase; as a trader. The proof is in the pudding....
   
   This is a revolutionary book and there are very few out there!
   
   (however, I noticed esignal's add for Kase Statware states 95% successful is predicting market turns...rubbish!)
   
   Still that's a differnet subject, isn't it!



2. Book was quite expensive. $55 for 143 pages. I found some of the graph illustrations difficult to follow since the printing was so bad. Requires many readings to get the full jist of what the author is saying. Overall, I found the book and concepts interesting.



3. Below is a review of this book by a "Ron Davis" who styles himself as "a proud member of the Market Technicians Association." Bzzzt! I am the only current or past Ron Davis in the Market Technicians Association. Interestingly enough, I also have a successful real estate practice. Quite the coincidence -- makes one wonder.
   
   The "RD" below finds the book to be without substance. Perhaps what one sees depends, in part, on what one brings to the book. I quite agree with the reviewers who say this is not a book for beginners. I had a couple of "aha" moments reading the book, one about Kase DevStops (I'd better have yet another look at those) and one about one of my own proprietary indicators. A few minutes of programming and, by golly, I was able to derive a bit more useful information from my own gadget.
   
   What's this book good for? (1)A trading methodology or (2)ideas about ideas. I'll not broach (1) -- the book does that. I have already mentioned two things that jumped out at me. I also want to take a look at her variation on Elliot Wave counting and targeting. And, on a second read, I may find other things I'd like to fiddle with a bit.
   
   Criticisms: My criticisms fall into two categories (1)purist mathematics nit-picking (I am a mathematician by training) and (2) my laziness/the book's lack of complete exposition. The mathematical nitpicking is not relevant except to a mathematician: for instance, the number of random distributions which are not Gaussian/Normal are at least an order of infinity larger than the number of Gaussian distributions. Should the person who is reading to learn of trading care? I wouldn't think so. My Laziness/the book's incomplete exposition: What? I really have to turn on my brain and think through how to implement the ideas? No cookbook approach here? Of course, if one were being rational, not lazy, one could point out the advantage to having to think: one might actually learn what it is one is doing. And, one might even think up a new idea, heaven forfend.
   
   In conclusion, not only do I resent the attempted identity theft by the person below, but I especially resent being represented as such an empty-headed fool that I cannot see the considerable value in this book.
   
   The REAL Ron Davis, CMT, MAI, MA



4. I sensed that she has tremendous amount of trading experience. Simply put, she knows what she is talking about. Along with, not in particular order, Constance Brown, Linda Bradford Raschke, and Robin Mesch, Cynthia Kase once again proves that lady traders are as good as,if not better than, gentlemen traders. Job well done, Ms. Kase.
   
   Keith J. Chung



5. The book might contain many good ideas. But there is no way to verify these ideas with back testing without the formulas of the Kase specific indicators. Kase lists the calculation of the traditional stochastic indicator, which is implemented in almost every charting package. But she doesn't say how the kase peak oscillator is calculated!!
   2 stars for the good ideas including the Elliott forcasting rules

5 comments about Stock Options: An Authoritative Guide to Incentive and Nonqualified Stock Options (2nd edition).

1. I have a friend of mine, who was granted some stock options from his company. He was totally lost as to the consequences of the granting of the options. I did some research on the subject and my research pointed me into the direction of this book.

   Both my friend and myself, were very impressed with the illustrations and ease of reading. Mr. Pastore gave several highly informative illustrations that were well thought out and easily explained.

   I would recommend this book without reservation.




2. I have a friend of mine, who was granted some stock options from his company. He was totally lost as to the consequences of the granting of the options. I did some research on the subject and my research pointed me into the direction of this book.

   Both my friend and myself, were very impressed with the illustrations and ease of reading. Mr. Pastore gave several highly informative illustrations that were well thought out and easily explained.

   I would recommend this book without reservation.




3. This book is the most efficient piece of writing on the taxation of stock options that I have read. I can extract more useful information with less effort than from any other source. The book explains the taxation of stock options in plain English. Anyone who has been granted stock options or who is an advisor to people with stock options should consider adding this book to his or her library.



4. Just the book I was looking for in 1999. I applaud Pastore's contribution of clear explanations regarding the types of stock options, tax implications, etc. I used the knowledge gained to weed out prospective financial advisors during interviews. You'd be surprised how many of them don't understand tax law when it comes to employee stock options.



5. This book helped me greatly with some stock options I got from my work. I had NSO stock and had not idea how the taxes worked out on it and when the best time was to exercise.
   Well this book, I made a good decision and made $80,000 on my stock options.

2 comments about Making 36%: Duffer's Guide to Breaking Par in the Market Every Year, in Good Years and Bad.

1. I have been trading options for years with success and failures. I have just begun with Terry's method and expect to be up considerably more than 36% on an annual basis come ten more trading days until expiration. I will add another review in several months.
   Dr. Dan D



2. First off, the fact that this book is linked with golf is nothing more than a marketing gimmick. Worse yet, since virtually every other page has a pithy golf-related quote or two taking up an entire page unto itself, it turns out that the golf theme simply enables the author to double the amount of pages without adding anything of substance. Substance is where this booklet really fails to deliver. The actual 36% Solution comprises less than 20% of the text while the rest of it is totally generic beginners investment advice. The booklet is little more than an ad for the author's website in which he offers various options related pay subscription services. There is no long term (by that I mean ten year or more) track record for the Solution and for a good reason. Like many option strategies that involve selling puts and calls, they work well when there is little movement in the underlying stock or index, but will likely suffer huge drawdowns or total wipeouts when there is a massive short term "black swan" type of move in the market. The book is not totally worthless and there may be a place for investing in calendar spreads as a small piece of a diversified investment portfolio. If you expect this booklet to provide you with a reliable fail-safe method of earning 36% a year in all types of market, forget it.
   
   Update July, 2008: As suggested above, the large moves of the past 8 months or so have now totally devastated the 36% portfolios outlined in this booklet with massive losses to the point where the author has now discontinued offering them in his trading program. In addition, the commissions involved were an additional huge headwind. In short, an investment disaster. Avoid at all costs for your financial health!

5 comments about The Compleat Day Trader: Trading Systems, Strategies, Timing Indicators and Analytical Methods.

1. One of the most difficult things involving the markets, regardless of what you trade is timing.With this book, Jake not only gives you suggestions for timing indicators, but he also gives you some strategies to follow and shows real time examples which are clear and very detailed. In this book, Jake share his extensive knowledge about systems, strategies, technical indicators, and trading systems. I have purchased many trading books and this one is CRITICAL for your success as a trader. One more point that I wish for potential traders to consider is the source. Jake Bernstein has been involved in commodities and futures trading for 25 years. He brings real trading experience to the table. He does not promise you guaranteed results are a "pot of gold" under the rainbow. What he does give you is the information that you will need to be successful, REGARDLESS of the time frame you are trading. Also, he is available for you. I recently e-mailed him with a question from the book and I received a detailed explanation from him the very next day! I challenge you to find any author who will do that! Good luck and good trading!



2. Most books for "day traders" are so general that their techniques and advice can be successfully used by swing-traders (those who keep stocks for several days), and even by longer-term investors. This one is different. The author, Jake Bernstein, strongly advocates real day trading, when no securities ever kept overnight. Therefore, his techniques are usable for very short term trading only.

   The advantage of this book is that it has very little general rhetoric and comes straight to the point, that is to the techniques which the author finds profitable. Basically, 90% of the book is about the use of technical indicators (such as various moving averages and oscillators) to determine potentially profitable entry and exit points. The topics discussed in particular detailed manner are the use of moving averages, stochastic indicator, moving average channel (MAC), relative strength index (RSI), momentum, and techniques for trading of opening gaps. The author also suggests several oscillators of his own. However, despite the simplicity of these indicators, one has to own software such as Omega Research Trade Station to calculate and plot these home-made oscillators in real time, or write a program yourself. There are also several chapters applicable to futures only (actually, the whole book is about trading in the futures market, but 95% of techniques are equally applicable to stocks).

   The great advantage of the book is that it is very specific, clearly illustrated, and gives plenty of detailed technical advice and a number of potentially profitable trading techniques. Be advised, however, that those who are interested in trading but do not have enough capital to take profits from half-a-tick changes (and I, too, belong to this group) cannot really take advantage of this book. No trend and no trade longer than a few hours is discussed there! Therefore, this book is for the serious day traders, and only for them. If you are a day trader, this book is a must; if you are not, do not bother buying it but rather consider other options, e.g., the excellent book "How to get started in electronic day trading" by D.S.Nassar which is good for traders on any time frame.




3. Trading especially short term trading need great concentration and a full-time commitment. Professional traders write few or no book.

   Mr. Bernstein's books and articles are everywhere. Sometimes I came across his publications, I scanned through a few pages to see what he had to say about trading. Mr. Bernstein makes statements which are generally safe and easy to say. For example, I read his article the other day. He tells the readers "Do your homework.", "The trend is your friend." etc. Of course, these are the common rules for traders. But what are the concrete steps to implement these rules in the real-life situation? Well, I could hardly find any. On the other hand, he stated in that article: "...I maintain that a good trader can make any system works." I found this statement unprofessional and phony. The reasons:

   1. Many systems on the market are just trash and can not be used at all.

   2. Good traders wouldn't pick up any system and risk their money with it. Good traders are very selective and only trade a few systems that have proven record and are suitable for their individual styles.

   I found similar problems in other works by Mr. Bernstein. Should I bother to buy this book? No, thanks.

   I have read books from many different writers and have more than 10 year active trading experience. So I know something.

   A few tips(IMO) for choosing good books on trading:

   1. Only a small percentage of books on the market are good or great.

   2. Popular books are not necessary good books. If you automatically think so, you've probably fallen into "Herd mentality" thinking.

   3. Trading is a bottom line business. Find books written by traders who had proven long-term(5 year or more) successful trading records. They are the ones "know how".

   4. Be wary of the authors who write many trading books.

   Good luck.




4. Take my word for it and save your money, the techniques in this book simply do not work!



5. The book is good if you want to depend on technical strategies to make money day trading.
   
   The stock market is always presenting us with trading opportunities that don't neccesarily have to do anything with technical analisys.
   
   As a day trader your homework is all about studying and testing different market strategies that will help you take advantage of stocks and at the same time protect your investments. Just always keep in mind that a good strategy is simple and practical. Complicated technical systems will always make you slow in your decision making process or confuse you right from the start.
   
   There are very good sites on the web where you can access practical trading strategies that are easy to implement. One of those sites is Stress Free Traders ( StressFreeTraders com)
   
   They focus on short term day trading strategies that can help you pick and approach momentum stocks while reducing your trading risk.
   
   All in all, day trading is all about picking the best stock opportunities and deciding when to buy and when to sell with ease and simplicity. Once you learn to master your trading decisions, you can aspire to obtain consistent profitable results.