day-trading

I've heard about LW in the specialized press and because of his indicator %W.
I have been very disappointed by this book. There is something dishonest inside and outside of it. The title says "day trade futures online", in fact LW doesn't talk about day trading but about short term swing trading lasting 2 to 3 days !
He presents lots of wining systems which show quite good performances but mentions nothing about stoplosses nor exits. As we know, exiting a position is far more difficult than entering a trade. Believe it or not, the chapter about exit lays on less than 2 pages!

Disappointing...

I enjoyed parts one and three of Mr. Williams book, which is why I give it 3 stars, but found much of the material in the center section -- the real meat of this book -- of dubious value. In the hands of an enthusiastic and overly trusting beginner, this book could lead to mass wealth destruction.

I programmed and tested many of the patterns Mr. Williams promoted but could not duplicate the results he claims to have achieved, even though I used the same time periods, same timeframes and same system parameters he indicated. Also, many of the patterns that are put forth as generating > 80% profitable trades are heavily optimized and filtered for the purpose of presentation in this book. Using TradeStation for back-testing, I could not get even one of the recommended patterns to perform above 20% efficiency.

My goal in writing this review is not to criticize Mr. Williams but rather to warn budding traders that reliance on such convincing, well-told material as this can get you into a lot of trouble. With all due respect to Mr. Williams and his heavily advertised record as a trader and systems developer, let us all understand that he has built a substantial business around training others to trade. I suspect that the bulk of his income is generated from book sales, seminars and other paid programming that he delivers each year -- and not from the full-time implementation of the trading approaches put forth in this book. Again, I'm not bashing Mr. Williams but rather am sending up the warning flag to those who read this book.

To end this on a positive note, I found Mr. Williams's advice on entry and exit strategy to be useful, especially using a percentage of the current bar's range added to the next bar as a trade entry point following a verified set-up. His thoughts on money management strategy are also sound. Thanks for letting me share my thoughts here and good trading to all!

I am not a fan of day trading. I have been involved with futures for the past 11 years. In ever respect I have told my investors ... to stay away from day trading.

Now, I read Mr.Williams book and I begin to come a little more closer to understanding the idea of daytrading. Mr.Williams use personal anecdotes, clear concise language, and a very indepth analysis of what it takes to trade online.

It was a good read.

I lost money using these strategies. Buy Steve Nison book if you want a good book on TA. This one just doesn't measure up.

There is much useful material, along with a thoughtful approach to creating a daytrading discipline, in this book. I don't fully agree with (and wouldn't expect to) all of Lewis' statements, and, as you might expect, given the changes in the trading environment over the last couple of years, many of his methods and observations are arguably already out of date, but others still apply, and his overall philosophy, perspective, and attitude are probably more important, in my opinion, than the particulars of his personal approach as practiced in and around late 2000. The text includes numerous clear, concrete, and detailed examples, though you may have to look past an L2 screen with a stack of QCOM buyers at 343 13/16 (I just never get over mania-market prices) to receive the message.

SOMEONE SUCCESSFUL WITH THE SAME INTEREST AS OURS REVEALS TO US HIS SYSTEM. CLEAR, THRUTFUL AND CONCISE. THIS BOOK WAS THE ULTIMATE REVELATION FOR ME. GOT ALL MY IDEAS CLEAR ON MY OWN APPROACH AND PERMIT ME, COMBINED WITH DIFFERENT MOMENTUM CONCEPTION TO GAIN MASTERY IN TRADING. MY DREAM HAS BECOME REALITY AFTER 10 MONTHS.
THANK YOU A LOT Mr. LEWIS for your GENEROSITY AND plain english FOR TREATING SUCH COMPLEX MATTERS.

(OTHER PARALLEL READINGS TO GET TO THE ULTIMATE RESULT:
STAN WEINSTEIN/ WILLIAM O'NEIL (TRADING PHILOSOPHY!!
ALAN FARLEY (ORIGINAL SWING TRADING CONCEPTION
JOSH LUKEMAN (MARKET MAKERS MENTALITY
& ARI KIEV (PSYCHOLOGY ASPECTS FOR TRADING

This book is written by 21 authors guided by one editor. All these 22 people are certainly experienced traders, but unfortunately most of them are inexperienced writers. When I got this book in my hands I was initially excited and impressed. As a matter of fact, I thought that this book may be the best one I saw so far: it is thicker than most other books on trading (415 pages), it seems to be written in unusually professional and serious language, and the table of contents promises that all substantial aspects of trading and portfolio management are covered.

However, I was quickly disillusioned when I started reading it. The thing is that each of 21 distinguished traders got a task of writing a 15-page essay on topic suggested by the editor. They did it to the best of their abilities, but unfortunately they did not succeed in creating anything better than a collection of articles on the subject of investing, which makes the impression of a bunch of trees with no forest in sight. There is no consistency in this book: some things are repeated over and over again whereas others are mentioned but never explained, some things are unnecessary and uselessly detailed, whereas the others are too general. The chapters do not provide sufficient background and support for each other as they should. Some chapters are excessively academic; some are totally out of date as they advise to call your broker to buy or sell securities, or give detailed explanations how to write a program to build a plot of a technical indicator which now can be downloaded for free from many different web sites. Even though everyone has a good chance to find a few useful tips in this book (I, for instance,liked chapters on strategies of entering and exiting the market), the overall useful outcome is quite disappointing and way below not only of what these authors could potentially teach the readers given their experience and knowledge, but also below the average level of literature on investing. Therefore I could not give "Computerized trading" more than a 2 star rating, and I strongly recommend against buying it.

This work, ..., is very useful to those of us who are setting up trading systems based on Neural Nets or using other Cybernetic techniques. Yes the writing style may not be the best, but this does not take away from the high quality of the technical material, which is what is really important.

Mr Jurik has some very interesting Low-Lag technical indicators available on his web site....

If you are attempting to design a profitable trading system which uses technical analysis for Stock or Futures trading, this book should be on your shelf.

This book offers valuable information on a variety of critical subjects for both the beginning trader and traders with extensive experience. As an edited book, it assembles the ideas of many authors and presents the information within an overarching framework of four sections: (1) Basic Trading Skills and Methods, (2) Testing and Evaluation, (3) Assessing the Market and Yourself, and (4) Advanced Indicators and Forecasting. As with any edited book containing chapters from various authors, each with unique knowledge, perspectives, and writing style, the chapters are somewhat heterogeneous. While the reading would have been smoother if one author had written about all the subjects covered, the collective expertise offered by the various authors is far more important. Mark Jurik has made a significant contribution to the field of computerized trading by editing this very valuable resource book and making the collective experiences and wisdom of many experts available in one book.

First of all, the title of this book is PRICELESS. If I was a complete idiot (and I'm not far from it), I would want to start day trading and as a matter of fact, I did just that.

About half the information in this book describes the workings of the stock market. The other half goes into some information abou the ins and outs of day trading. I'm sorry, if you're going to start to day trade, shouldn't you already know about how the NASDAQ and NYSE work? Why spend half the book talking about it?

Anyway, I read the book and entered one of those mock stock market games. They gave me $500,000 and a margin account so that I can trade up to $1,000,000. The game was not really geared toward day trading, there were different limitations and they couldn't offer Level II quotes (for a free game) so I had to "Swing Trade". I kept some positions overnight but I used the techniques mentioned in this book. So, the result (drum roll please): I started with a half million, I ended with $365,000 (a $135,000 loss). I came in 3,700th place (ouch!).

Ah well, To All Idiot's Out There: Don't try this at home! :-)

This book is perfect for those of use who wan't to just get to know a little more about daytrading. Other books on the topic are much more advanced and assume that you already know a whole lot. This book is great for learning terms, concepts, and the basic ins and outs of the daytrading world. Beware of some typos and mistakes throughout. Otherwise, an excellent book.

I think it's an excellent starter book for a novice day-trader. It defines a lot of relevent terms and gives the reader an overview of the trading world-Both about us and the professional, liscensed trader. If you study these chapters, you will defenitely SOUND like an intelligent and sensible day-trader.

The ONLY thing I don't agree with is the unimportance of the Level II screens, as the author purports. I think that level II screens are vital to know what the marketmakers real intentions are behind a stock. Does anyone concur?

(For those in the viewing audience who don't understand the last chapter, just pick-up this book!) I haven't finished reading the book, yet, but I think it's a terrific confirmation of what to expect as you begin to daytrade.

The book is really like a chat, it doesn't bring anything deep. It almost don't bring any chart or any new technical analysis, and even their system suggestion is week. For instance, when they explain how to use volume to pick a stock, they even doesn't show a volume chart.
What makes the book more frustating is the way it's written, one may feels that it's missing something or the author is hidden something. Moreover they put some stupid dialogs to ilustrate some situations...

The book really lacks substance!

Thus, buy this book only if you want waste your money and doesn't have anything better to read.

Just finished the book and was very happy with the content. I enjoy trading books in general, but when I can pull one or two money making ideas out of a book, all the better. Ken Wolff posts for RealMoney.Com, and gives great ideas to his readers. The book elaborates on many of his methods like playing momentum both on the upside and the downside with a lot of clarity. More than that, he gives great pointers on keeping a journal of trades, measuring moves of stocks and watching the market..

A little history goes with my review, inthat Mr. Wolff also runs a trading room, (MTrader), which I traded in about a year after I began trading. After a short stay at MTrader, I left, simply because I believed that adhering to the patterned strategies of Wolff were a bit too involved and things had to be simpler and faster. That was a mistake and after about a year of alternating trading styles, different strategies, indicators, software, etc., I happened on Wolff's book and out of curiosity, ordered and read it.

Plainly stated, what moves stocks is news about what a stock has just done, is about to do or is expected to do and the relative expectations of the investors and traders focusing on that stock. Wolff has studied news related momentum for years and is what I would securely describe as a master of expectation and price movement potential. There are a number of successful traders out there who cut their teeth on his schooling...a few went on to try there own trade site.

The methods are plainly and simply explained and in themselves, not difficult. Perhaps because of this truth, others may dismiss it, however, if you read this book and think about it, you come to one glaring fact...and that is Mr. Wolff explains momentum trading methods that are based on logic of predictable reaction to news related momentum....there are no lagging indicators...complicated formulas...just logic.

The difficulty is the patience and discipline one needs to apply in adhering to and application of the information.

One more thing...I'm trading at MTrader again because with everything else I've tried and I believe I've tried about everything...I found no consistency...I was either burning-hot....or stumbling. Here, I have found consistency that anticipates what a stock will do based on it's news and the market/sector sentiment at that moment.

Highly recommend this read. I hesitate to state this, but would also suggest after reading the book, you try a week trial at the site to see what you read happening...it would be helpful. Or I suppose if you want to save some money, drop by the site for the trial, (it's free) and decide before you buy if it allmakes some sense to you...

Good Trading!

I very rarely review a book. However, in this case, I felt I should offer a forewarning to those who may consider purchasing this book. If you are like me, after receiving it, you will wonder why it cost as much as it does! There is nothing in this book that can not be obtained online and elsewhere in very little time. The bulk of the book is a listing of the companies included in various indexes (e.g., S&P 100) and companies sorted by industry sector. There's nothing wrong with the book; I just don't understand how the content supports the price. Personally, I would be embarrassed to sell this book at this price.

Mr. Carroll has put together an extremely helpful stock trading reference resource geared toward the day trader, yet useful to even casual investors. The guide is compact, easy to carry around and organized by industry which allows the user to obtain information quickly and easily. If you are a frequent trader or simply "in the market", this is an invaluable resource.

Although it was well written, it has a VERY small amount of information. Basically the author only touches on and explains some options to traditional investing, such as day trading, options trading, futures trading, real estate, commodities, coins, funds, and bonds. He really dosent go in depth on any of these topics, just defines them. It was very apparent he and the publisher were trying to spread out about 50 pages of information into an entire book. Extreme investor is filled with blank pages, example investor stories (some of which he fails to tell the outcome), and broken up text. If you have no idea WHAT the above types of investing are and want easy to understand definitions of them, buy this book.

Extreme Investor: Intelligent Information From The Edge is an invaluable compendium of daytrading advice, anecdotes, and profiles. Readers will learn what it takes to be a successful daytrade investor, how to create an effective trading strategy and game plan, what the common mistakes in daytrading are and how to avoid them; the three styles of daytrading; tips for trading on the Internet; as well as essential tools and technology for beating the market as a successful daytrader. Whether a novice investor or a seasoned daytrader, Extreme Investor will prove informative, lucrative reading.

The 'error' in the title of this book is a representative of the appalling quality of the book. To be fair, the author cites his definition of 'day trading' which is *NOT* the industry accepted definition.

A couple of problems with this book:

- the author appears to have no idea regarding the topic of trading;
- it generally has little to do with day trading;
- most subjects in the books are average people who got lucky with apparently no skills (nor common sense);
- the book is written in a style suited to magazines, particularly those for pure entertainment - although unfortunately it is not entertaining at all. The author is unable to direct subjects to the appropriate topics and fails to extract anything substantial in any area; and
- there is very little useful and educational information in it at all (eg statistics / methods / psychology / money management).

There are many other books that are significantly better than this one, particularly Schwager's Market Wizards books.

If you're looking for some possibly fun (for those who haven't read anything in this area), brainless and easy reading - this could be your answer to boredom.

If you want anymore, I'd almost guarantee your disappointment.

This book is billed as a Market Wizards of Day Trading. Well it tries to be but it isn't. It's a fairly shallow knock off.

The main problem that is that author is not a day trader himself which while not necessairly a bad thing in itself means that half the time he doesn't know where to focus. That's what makes the Schwager books so good. His book is written for traders by a trader.

The second problem is that no strict documentation of trading success was required.

The third is that the interview is all rehashed by the author and so you don't get the real dialogue which makes you wonder what's getting lost in the translation.

Having said all that, every book has some value so if you have the money go ahead and get it. At the very least you can take a look at some traders and their style. You may glean something.

But get Market Wizards or Reminiscences of a Stock Operator if you really want an introduction to trading.

This book is a far cry from those.

Ever since completing the Guts and the Glory of Day Trading: True Stories of Day Traders Who Made (or Lost) $1,000,000 by Mark Ingebretsen, I've been pondering the question, "How is it that after reading the following, I've been thinking about becoming a day trader?" "I danced through a minefield for a whole year." "I became obsessed with watching the market." "This was truly an example of addiction..." I got hooked by this book and found myself eyeing my computer and visualized myself trading aggressively in flannels while my daughter packed her school lunch. This represents the perfect read for an aging member of Bowie's coffee generation. Despite our collective caffeine rush, we'd generally rather watch other individuals take risks. Simply put, it was exciting living vicariously through the stories of these twelve day traders. Voyeuristically inclined anyway, I turned the pages as if plowing through a best selling thriller. It's a testimony to the author's interviewing that he was able to get such diverse individuals to openly share the "guts and glory" of their experiences both personal and financial. With an even-handed style, he serves as a steady, dependable and trustworthy guide regarding the effective trading strategies gleaned from the biographical vignettes. Perhaps the question best asked of Ingebretsen is "Why is it that addiction appears to be so much fun?" For now, I'll stick with drinking coffee and clipping coupons at the kitchen table.

Of the two dozen or so books about trading and technical analysis I have purchased over the last 15 years this book offers by far the least bang for the buck. This book is brief and does not offer anything particularly impressive. In fact, most of the material in it is readily available elsewhere. It is 42 pages and approximately half of those are charts. The charts are not very useful. This book is definitely not worth $1 per page. You will be very disappointed if you purchase this book expecting anything of substance.

I have followed Larry Connors, Linda Raschke, and Jeff Cooper, and now Kevin Haggerty for a couple of years and consider the sum total of their experiences to be invaluable. Connors' give a mere glimpse of his day trading mastery in this book with a few simple strategies. I own this book and use one of the strategies (Torpedoes, actually from Jeff Cooper) from it regularly to scalp a point or two. Their columns on TradingMarkets.com are helpful also. It's like I am working right out of their trading room.

I just received my copy and think the book is great! Connors shares his trade secrets that have made him successful in trading.

His style is simple and easy to apply to your daytrading, but what's even more important is that the systems are profitable.

A pamphlet would have accomplished what this guy said in the entire book! I wanted to strangle him! Repetitive, condescending, overly simplified and so BOOOoorrring!!! Here is the nuts of it all: Pick a stable stock with a narrow spread between bid and ask. Buy 2000 shares and then sell it 1/16 higher right away. Everything else is simply preamble... over and over and over. Hope I saved you 20 bucks.

I was surprised at the information. It was an eye opener. But..I can't seem to find A broker that will accept Limit Trades at $10. This is crusial as Mr. Farrell explains. It seems that the industry is going to take us for a ride on commisions. I can only find firms that charge $25 for transactions + another .005 per share for listed stocks. Now I'm no genius but 2*$25 + 2*1000*.005 (for Super dot routing) = $60 for a buy and sell ( not even a limit order) UMMMMMM.... If I make 1/16 on 1000 shares thats only $62.5 - $60 = $2.5 profit!!! not to mention their software charges etc. My feeling is that the small guy is not wanted in this market, also many are geared towards Nasdaq market. I wish Mr. Farrell could have left his email somewhere in the book so that we can ask him these questions. But I did like the flow and content in his book. If anyone can recommend a good online trading firm that allows us to make a reasonable profit with Farrell's strategy, please email me. For now I'm going to stay on the sidelines until price competition allows the small guy to make some money as well.

Even though this book might be dated(1999) it contains excellent ideas on day trading and tells about the author strategies on pecking away at the Specialist & Market Makers. It's very simple read,It tell's you to stick to a game plan to keep your profits ahead.

Good Read