Book Description
"The one, only, and by far the best book synthesizing psychology and investing. In addition to providing modern, scientific knowledge about psychology, this book provides a mirror into the mind and wide breadth of knowledge of one of the leading practitioners of brief and effectual cures. Will help to cure your trading and your life."
-Victor Niederhoffer, Chief Speculator, Manchester Investments
Author, The Education of a Speculator and Practical Speculation
"How refreshing! A book that rises above the old NLP model of the 80's and provides insights on how our relationship with the market is indeed a very personal one. Not only has Steenbarger provided some fantastic tools for the trader to transform his mindset, but he has contributed unique trading ideas as well. Brilliant!"
-Linda Raschke, President, LBRGroup, Inc.
"`Investigate, before you invest' was for many years the slogan of the New York Stock Exchange. I always thought a better one would be, `Investigate YOURSELF, before you invest.' The Psychology of Trading should help you increase your annual investment rate of return. Mandatory reading for anyone intending to earn a livelihood through trading. "
-Yale Hirsch, The Hirsch Organization Inc., Editor, The Stock Trader's Almanac
"This highly readable, highly educational, and highly entertaining book will teach you as much about yourself as about trading. It's Oliver Sacks meets Mr. Market-extraordinary tales of ordinary professionals and individuals with investment disorders, and how they successfully overcame them. It is a must-read both for private investors who have been shell-shocked in the bear market and want to learn how to start again, as well as for pros who seek an extra edge from extra inner knowledge. Steenbarger's personal voyage into the mind of the market is destined to become a classic."
-Jon Markman, Managing Editor, CNBC on MSN Money
Author, Online Investing and Swing Trading
"Dr. Steenbarger's fascinating, highly readable blend of practical insights from his dual careers as a brilliant psychologist and trader will benefit every investor; knowing oneself is as important as knowing the market."
-Laurel Kenner, CNBC.com Columnist, Author, Practical Speculation
Download Description
Essential information for mastering the psychology of trading
Success in the markets, as in life, depends on a healthy and clear strategy for emotional risk management in addition to market knowledge. In The Psychology of Trading, Brett Steenbarger, a leading practitioner of brief therapy, presents readers with cutting-edge ideas in the psychology of trading by combining his research and experiences in psychology with his knowledge of trading. Steenbarger walks readers through the most common "issues" the market will force him/her to face and provides practical solutions to these trading problems. From breaking destructive patterns and managing uncertainty to developing the capacity for focus and discipline to manage crises, The Psychology of Trading offers readers a practical way to identify their patterns of success and failure, and provides them with the knowledge to exert greater control over these issues. The case studies, research, and ideas presented in this book will help transform any trader's approach to risk and reward.
Brett Steenbarger, PhD, is Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at SUNY Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, NY. Dr. Steenbarger has published over fifty peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters on topics related to brief therapy. An active trader who conducts his own statistical modeling research into markets, Dr. Steenbarger writes occasional feature columns for MSN's MoneyCentral.com.
Customer Reviews:
great book.......2007-06-05
all of the above positive reviews are applicable.
You can not start day/swing/option trading without understanding yourself, fear and greed.
Dr Brett will move you into action to become move familiar with yourself
Not an Easy Study .......2006-12-02
I have found the book difficult to apply to my real life. The case histories shared seem promising and interesting, but when I ask,"How does this mirror my own life, and how do I apply the information?" I can't come up with the answers. I am pragmatic, very "bottom line," and this book isn't.
After reading through page 100 and still finding no clear directives, I became bored with it and turned to a more consice, and more interactive book on trading psychology (an ebook titled, "Emotion Free Trading" by Larry Levine, available through [...]: much easier to interpret and utilize).
I gave the book two stars because it is professionally written, and may be suitable to other personality types.
Psychology of Trading.......2006-08-27
I am a relatively new currency trader, and started reading this book after loosing some money. It perfectly parallels some of my behaviour and gave me insight on how to change my trading (and my life) in order to avoid repating past errors. I highly recommend this book for any trader.
It's all about Psychology.......2006-04-13
I believe that this book will be of interest to everyone who is interested in Psychology.
Whether or not interested in trading.
The author was able throughout the whole book to capture my interest and attention. I continuously found myself immersed in the book.
His approach is funny and interesting; the real life stories are highly educational where anyone could relate to or knows about someone who could fit the picture. This makes it easy to use and to take the advice and turn ones own life around.
I strongly recommend this book to any person who is considering taking up trading or is trading already. This is a must read before any technical or fundamental book.
It is absolute great value for money.
Don't trade without it.......2006-03-17
I have been recommending this book to all my trader friends.
Book Description
Written in a straightforward and accessible style, Trend Trading teaches you how to trade equity trends with sound money management discipline, from the individual stock level to the whole portfolio level. Tailored to investors who want to use elements of trend following strategies in their equity portfolios, Trend Trading presents unique investment tools and advanced technical analysis methods in simple, commonsense terms.
Customer Reviews:
Nothing new. Basic knowledge for long term trading.......2007-08-12
This book shows methods for trend following long term trading.
There is nothing new in it. If you have already read for example "Trade your way to financial freedom" (a much better read by the way), you will learn about nothing in this book.
The style of the book is quite academic but all presented things are extremely simple. Everything is very much detailed with obvious formulas or repeating the same stuff for the short side (exactly symmetric) after having been explained for the long side, perhaps in order to reach the critical number of 200 pages for the book.
I wonder what is the motivation for this book since there is nothing new. A result of the Wiley Trading frenzy to publish?
Disappointing-save your money.......2007-02-20
Too academic and nothing new to add to material that is already out there.Not that practical from a swing trader's point of view.
This is a hard read........2007-01-29
I found this book to be difficult to read. I didn't think the book was well organized or well written. I often found myself rereading sections and starting the book over. It was hard to understand some of the information not because it was complicated, but because it just wasn't written clearly.
I would not recommend this for the novice investor. There are better books out there.
Worthwhile.......2007-01-03
I read this book over Christmas break, initially thinking that I had picked up yet another tome that amateur traders would find entertaining, but which would contain little useful information about the actual details of trading.
I quickly realized that Trend Trading was no ordinary book. It is literally packed with trading details, from its in-depth explanation of trend trading and money management tactics to its exposition on the psychological experience during different stages of trading.
What a privilege for us that Kedrick took the time to write this book after 8 years in the markets. A truly worthwhile read
Specific ideas for beginners and serious traders.......2006-11-24
Systems traders have long been known to employ profitable trend following strategies in the futures markets. Applying those concepts to stock trading has proven to be difficult, although the idea of trend following in stock markets dates back at least the days of Charles Dow. In a new
book, Kedrick Brown, a former vice president at Knight Equity Markets, LP, redefines trend trading and offers readers a lot to think about, and readers of this book will find a large number of testable ideas.
Brown reviews the basic tenets of Dow Theory, and summarizes the underlying idea as, "Dow Theory thus assumes that it is only worth
owning stocks during confirmed bull markets in the major indices, and that one should be out of stocks otherwise." He also offers a straightforward definition of a trend following trading strategy as, "Any preplanned, rule-based strategy for managing open position P&L in which open profits could hypothetically grow indefi nitely under a limited
set of circumstances, while open losses are limited under all circumstances."
After developing a common base of understanding, Brown develops a relatively simple trend following strategy applying what he calls three dimensional technical analysis. In three dimensional technical analysis, traders need to consider not only price and time in a single stock, but they should expand their focus to similar information in multiple stocks simultaneously. In his book, Brown fully develops a sample strategy to trade any NASDAQ stock, such as MSFT.
This strategy, one of many in the book, relies on an objective method of defi ning a market's trend - the binary trend identification method using
Donchian bands:
1. Filter condition: Take long positions in MSFT only if the NASDAQ Composite is in an uptrend, defined as price having made a new 32-day high more recently than it made a new 32-day low.
2. Buy MSFT if it makes a new 24-day high while the NASDAQ Composite is in an uptrend.
3. Limit your losses by setting an initial fixed stop at the 24-day low at the time of trade entry.
4. If the initial stop is hit, reenter on a new 24-day high if the NASDAQ Composite is still in an uptrend.
5. Exit if the NASDAQ Composite enters a downtrend, defined by the price reaching a new 32-day low.
Buy and sell decisions in this example follow the trend of the general market. The strategy manages open position P&L by limiting losses and allowing profits to run in bull markets.
Interestingly, specific reentry points are precisely defined. This is often challenging for traders to do, and Brown points out that it is important to get back into positions after being stopped out if trend following in equities is going to be rewarding to traders.
Other trading strategies are comprehensively developed in the book, and the reader is always given a complete understanding of the underlying principles. Brown also devotes a large portion of the book to a detailed discussion on position sizing, and provides worksheets that traders can use or adapt for their personal use to develop trading plans. Overall, the book can serve as a complete "how to" manual for the beginning trader, but offers a great deal for more experienced traders.
In an interesting, but brief section, Brown addresses the institutional money manager's need to add alpha by outperforming, on a relative basis, a benchmark. Assuming the benchmark is the S&P 500, Brown notes, "If you hold a proxy for the S&P 500 at all times when not trading, you need only to outperform the proxy during the holding periods of your trades to beat its long term performance (before commissions and taxes)." The discussion and test results of this point are worth considering for all those attempting to outperform a benchmark.
Book Description
Sometimes the biggest risk of all is taking one, and the need to be sure you are making the right choice actually increases the risk. The market is not efficient and hedging doesn't work. To rely on charts to understand the market is Mamis' way. The author is an excellent market technician who offers sound financial guidance and insights into the prepared mind. He gets your thinking going with a comfortable investment philosphy that will often go against convention. There are enough anecdotes, war stories, and charts to make for sound advise. The path to market freedom is technique, and you don't have to be one of the best traders to succeed with experience. It seems to me that the entire 1990s have confirmed the ambiguities of market language and how to operate in such a world. You will know how to keep risk at bay which most of us find not to be an easy task. 241 pages.
Customer Reviews:
The Nature of Risk.......2007-05-06
One of only a handful of must read, must own books for any trader.
Still near the top of the list.......2004-01-11
It's been four years since I first reviewed this book (see the next to the last, below), and I still consider it to be absolutely essential for anyone considering any sort of involvement in the financial markets. In fact, it's probably essential for anyone who is considering anything at all that entails more than minimum risk.
The amateurs miss the point. This is not about the best stochastic settings or how to massage the bid and the ask. This is about facing up to the very real risks inherent in the financial markets, including the very real risk of financial ruin. Amateurs don't see the risk; therefore, they don't bother to grapple with it. Instead, they would rather blow up and disappear. If one wants to last, he must come to terms with the nature of risk, his own tolerance for risk, an understanding of how to manage risk. Without that, he's doomed.
Best book I have read on the psychology of trading!.......2002-06-17
I was reluctant to buy this book based on the first reviews I read. However, I have been daytrading for four years now, and frequently go against the crowd. Perhaps it is this contrarian view that keeps me in this business. I manage a proprietary firm in Denver (Bright Trading) and recommend this to ALL the new traders as well as veterans of the craft. It is fresh, insightful and really gets to the meat of what makes one trader successful while another fails. A great companion to this book is Mark Douglas' book Trading In The Zone.
Not useful if you have the 2 better ones.......2002-04-16
Firstly, I have a lot of respect for Mamis, so this is NOT to run him or his writing style down.
In-fact, I have given his other books, When to Buy and How to Sell the Five Star ratings as they are very useful and well written.
However, after reading those, this book seems to repeat some of the points made in them and seems a little defensive about Technical Analysis. Avoid this one but positively buy the other two.
So-So.......2001-09-08
If you are going to buy one of his books, get "When to Sell". This one was long, wordy, and tough to read the whole thing - looking for content. Lots of fluff. Could have used a good editor.
Book Description
Expert advice in a back-to-basics handbook on how to beat the market.--the classic way. In Investment Psychology Explained Martin J. Pring, one of the most respected independent investment advisors in the world, argues that in the revisionist '90s there are no quick, magical paths to market success. Rather, he emphasizes the timeless values of hard work, patience, and self-discipline--and much more. Drawing on the wisdom of creative investors such as Jesse Livermore, Humphrey Neill, and Barnard Baruch, as well as his own experience, Pring shows how to: * Overcome emotional and psychological impediments that distort decision making. * Map out an independent investment plan--and stick to it. * Know when to buck herd opinion--and "go contrarian". * Dispense with the myths and delusions that drag down other investors. * Resist the fads and so-called experts whose siren call to success can lead to disaster. * Exploit fast-breaking news events that rock the market. * Deal skillfully with brokers and money managers. * Learn and understand the rules that separate the truly great investors and traders from the rest. Reading Investment Psychology Explained will give you a renewed appreciation of the classic trading principles that, through bull and bear markets, have worked time and again. You'll see, with the help of numerous illustrative examples, what goes into making an effective investor--and how you can work toward achieving that successful profile. MARTIN J. PRING is publisher of the highly regarded newsletter The Pring Market Review. A frequent contributor to Barron's and other leading investment periodicals, he is the author of The All-Season Investor, the bestselling Technical Analysis Explained, and a number of other books on interest rates, international investing, and commodities and futures.
Customer Reviews:
Heavy reading, but worth it........2007-04-01
This is a more advanced strategy based bible for the busy trader and the mindset involved. I bought this one along with Trading in the Zone and found the two of them compliment each other quite nicely. He covers a wide range of philosophies from the greats, and helps you see through the problems of over trading today with an overload of access to information, and a media full of pump and dump charlatans.
Knowing yourself.......2006-03-23
A serious trader or investor can never dismiss this book. It's a must read considering there are not very many investment psychology books written with a comprehensive coverage. And if you know Pring's background and have read more of his books, you will understand this work better. He has done a good work in nailing the points of Investment psychology specially by dedicating a section on "Knowing yourself". Easily one of the best books written on the subjet. One reading is not enough if you want to really get "IT".
Good read but not very useful for beginners.......2005-02-04
This book utilizes the historical events of various markets (mostly the US stock market) to explain various behaviours of market participants. The information is concise and each chapter deliver its points clearly. Part 3 of the book even list the trading rules of various well known authors/traders so that the readers can feel the importance of discipline as these well known individuals have to list a set of rules to remind themselves what not to do.
One thing I do not like are quoted results from research on trader psychology. The conclusions mentioned do not really sound very scientific nor making any sense. e.g. only "successful" traders are studied and conclusion is made without mentioning any similar study to prove such quality do not exist on "unsucessful" traders.
Overall, this is a good read for someone who already have experience in trading the market and would like to start learning something about the psychology aspect of trading. It will not be useful at all for a beginner who has not experience the emotional ups and downs related to trading, as the beginner is not likely to be able to connect with the content at all.
A book of books! Wide but sufficiently deep.......2004-08-16
I had read over a hundred trading books by far and written many reviews here on Amazon. This is the first time I used the term "book of books" to tell how far an author had tried to incorporate the trading ideas/concepts/rules of other gurus into his book. I dont mean that this book is simply a product of copy and paste. I believe the author had the good intention of covering as many "classic" strategies as possible to deliver the promise of the book title to his readers. In my opinion, most of the essential trading psychology concepts had been there.
This book is divided into three main parts. The first one tries to break popular trading misconceptions/errors with topics like no holy grail, myth of expert, marketitis (overtrading), tickeritis (too close to a quote screen), price-news drug effect (too easy access to prices, news and analyses), damage from tips or rumors, cult of guru, greener pastures effect (survival bias of industry funds), pride of opinion, specific difficulties facing successful businessmen and so on. The second part is about contrary opinion. Historical big crashes are discussed, as well as means to avoid or even profit from them. The third part is primarily rules and regulations of legends like Warren Buffet, John Templeton, Paul Tudor Jones, Bernard Baruch, W.D. Gann etc, and those developed by the author himself.
I agree with some reviewers that the author's writing is quite dry. To me, that's acceptable because it's not easy to elaborate with vivid words and stories, or the book will be far more than 265 pages. It would be eye opening for those who had read less than three trading psychology books. For serious trader readers, this book is still satisfying with the opportunities provided for the traders' own health check. Not a must, but certainly a valuable asset in one's own trading library.
Warning: Though my comment above is quite positive, please take this as a reference book only before you completely understand yourself and your best trading style. Otherwise, the third part of the book may lead you to become a Jack of all trades and thus meat for your fellow traders/investors.
Valid info, but dry.......2001-08-20
This book was required reading for a course I am taking, so maybe I remembered how I felt when I had to read "Silas Marner" in high school english. I found the book contained valid points about the psychology of trading which would be helpful to someone who was just entering the world of trading, but it seemed very dry reading to me, and repetitive. Much of it was rules for trading taken from other peoples books, and after awhile you got the feeling that you had just finished reading these rules, several times. I am currently reading "The Mind of a Trader" by Alpesh Patel, which is a similar type book (and also required reading), but somehow more readable.
Amazon.com
Buy low, sell high. Sounds simple? Hardly. As most traders will tell you, finding the right entry and exit points in a market is too often a stressful and even gut-wrenching experience. Ari Kiev, author of Trading to Win, wants to change all that. Kiev spent five years with a group of professional traders at SAC Capital Management, a $500 million hedge fund, studying the psychological and emotional aspects of what makes for a successful trader. Kiev found that what hinders many traders is ego, fear, emotion, and "false beliefs about yourself and the markets." Gaining mastery as a trader means seeing "the market as it is, not as a reference point for your own existence." Kiev advocates a disciplined, Zen-like approach to the markets that begins with articulating a specific goal then committing oneself to attaining that goal in the most objective way possible, overcoming the emotional baggage that too often leads to poor decision-making. Trading to Win is for professional and amateur traders of every stripe who are looking for insight into their own behavior and approach to the markets. --Harry C. Edwards
Book Description
A breakthrough programfor achieving new heights of trading success
The product of a five-year collaboration between Dr. Ari Kiev, a leading psychiatrist renowned for his success with Olympic athletes, and top equities trader Steve Cohen, Trading to Win gives you the essential tools to overcome outmoded, self-limiting beliefs and mindsets that may be keeping you from a higher level of success. Illustrated with real market scenarios and applications, this powerful program will help psych you into a less stressful, more self-possessed mastery of the trading game and help you reach goals you may never have thought possible.
"The strategies in this book will unleash the hidden trader in you, and can substantially increase your trading profits." —Jay G. Goldman, Hedge Fund Manager.
"Ari Kiev has written a wonderful guide for money managers, traders, brokers, and investors alike. Sharing his thoughts with us regarding our behavior patterns enables us to take a step back and look at ourselves more objectively." —Seymour W. Zises, President and CEO, Family Management Corp.
The trading arena has produced its share of select "super-traders," market practitioners who set themselves apart from the rest of the field with one distinct advantage: mental and emotional toughness. Like outstanding athletes who stay focused, remain calm, and stick to their game plan, these master traders in this highly risky, highly competitive arena possess an edge that keeps them from being distracted by fear, self-doubt, greed, and other emotional components that can cause major losses and prevent gains from soaring to new highs.
Trading to Win presents a step-by-step, goal-oriented program for building the mental and emotional stamina not only to win, but to win on an unprecedented level. Created by a leading psychiatrist for a top trading firm, this proven approach spotlights a set of philosophical and behavioral principles designed to assist you in implementing proactive trading strategies, as well as developing the mindset needed to trade effectively in the realm of uncertainty. Delving into your underlying thought processes when you trade, Trading to Win enables you to understand what is motivating you, whether it is consistent with your game plan, and whether you are in any way sabotaging yourself.
Fully supplemented with real market trading scenarios, Trading to Win shows you how to apply key concepts where it counts—in actual trading room situations. For both professional traders and sophisticated investors, this remarkable program offers a rare opportunity for both personal and financial gain.
Customer Reviews:
A waste of time and money.......2006-08-06
This and his other book, Trading in the Zone, are a complete waste of time. Instead, read the books by Mark Douglas (he is not even trained as a psychologist) and Richard McCall if you really want something that will change your mental makeup towards trading.
Read it ! A Gold Mine of Skills needed to become A Master.......2006-04-04
The Trading profession is a tough one because there is not 1 school that teaches it per say. So being only about 300 to 400 good books on trading. You need to get a bit from each and discard the rest.
There are a few but very valuable pieces of information that can be applied in this book. Just because 80% of the content of a book does not apply to you does not make it bad , you have to be objective and open in your assessments.
If you are a trader and want to be a Master Trader then this book is really for you.
I personally only trade futures at the moment so all of the Stock examples did not really apply to me.
But that does not make the book bad, there are little gems in there you will seem them sparsely around the book specially in Part 1 and Chapter 12
Chapter 12 is worth the price of the whole book on its own !!
At the beginning of the book there is some really good content on behaviour modification for traders the chapters at the start of the book are worth the price of the book in it self.
No book is ever the perfect book for you unless you wrote it yourself. You need to get bits and pieces from here and there and make your own.
If you like Mark Douglas's "Trading in the Zone" then you will love this book.
This is an absolutely excellent book, but all of the goods are in 20% of the text.
Too Repetative.......2005-08-26
This book is about developing the right attitude and relaxing. It can be applied to almost any risk taking endeavor or competative profession.
The parts that profess to teach about trading per se are not useful. This book will not teach anybody anything about buying or selling financial products.
It repeats a lot of the same stuff over but the real message is to chill out and get serious about performance. Be a winner, examine your losers and why you went wrong and vow to change for the better. Again, have the right attitude and approach and learn to control stress with breathing exercises and muscle relaxation. To be a good trader, one must learn to endure stress and not react to it just to releive it but focus on the trade and do what is right based only on the objective analysis. This is hard to do because it is pleasurable to close out a trade and avoid the stress of being in it.
The book is useful in order to help one focus and work through stress. I imagine there are a number of self-help books that are similar in this regard. Nothing special.
The Softer Side of Trading.......2003-06-04
Ari Kiev's book Trading to Win might seem like just psycho-babble to some traders. That is odd, given that some of these same critics are devout followers of technical analysis, which premises that psychology factors firmly into market movements. Why then is it such heresy to believe that you can improve the performance of a trader by working on his psychology?
It is not a strange concept to Steve Cohen, who hired Ari Kiev as a "trading coach" for his hedge fund S.A.C. Kiev, who was profiled in Jack Schwager's Stock Market Wizards , teaches that traders need to stretch themselves in the goals they set. They also need to eliminate the negative thinking that prevents them from reaching those goals. Much of Trading to Win is thus actually "common sense" (as is most psychology, it seems), but sometimes it is useful to hear someone reiterate sound principles.
One principle for which critics have taken Kiev to task is his suggestion that traders should set or raise their profit goals, which seems like a veritable "no no" from a risk management perspective. The criticism misses the fact, however, that Kiev is really saying that raising your performance goals means raising your work ethic. What are you going to do to raise your game? Squeezing out extra percentage points of return requires getting onto the trading floor hours earlier (or hours later) than you normally would-and researching companies more assiduously on paper or by working the phones harder. Moreover, Kiev actually recommends stricter risk management through such time-tested techniques as understanding your reasons for each trade, as well as the setting of target entry and exit prices. He also wants you to figure out if fears and doubts are keeping you from cutting your losses and riding your winners.
This book is clearly not for everyone; it is easily too "touchy feely" for traders concerned solely with the quantitative or more tangible aspects of trading. Kiev also tends to float heavily from topic to topic, often without a clear path. But for those traders who wonder how "fixing their heads" might result in greater success, Trading to Win is definitely worth a read.
A So-So Book.......2001-08-05
I am a professional day and swing trader. I didn't find this book to be particularly helpful because of the disorganized way in which it was written. Also it offers so many rules and guidelines that it is confusing to one as to which is more importnant. The author also tries to impress one with the profit size of his "students", throwing around figures like $20,000 to $30,000 in profits a day that his students or clients generate. I agree with another reviewer that these for the most part is meaningless as one needs to figure return on assets to really judge how well one is doing. I have read a much better book on trading psychology and this one really analyses why we make the mistakes so common in trading. Getting to the root of the problem has helped me to improve my trading. I am now in my third year in this business and hope to be in it for a lifetime.
Book Description
Called a "classic" by Forbes Magazine, this revolutionary study of Mass Psychology of the financial markets shows how investors can make money using it. Understand the spontaneous "group electricity" bordering on mass telepathy, of Wall Street. Studies Mass Psychology in the investing arenas, and shows how to protect against being caught up by it and how to control it. Investigates neurotic relationships to money and gambling. The only modern book to address the Mass Psychology phenomenon in financial markets, updating the 1841 classic, Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds.
Customer Reviews:
Reading once isn't enough................2005-11-12
Must be read at least twice, for the effects of this book to take effect, maybe even thrice.
Outstanding way for one learn to get the upper hand, not only in investing, but in other areas of life as well. I've stopped panicking my way into foolish trades; let the other guys make the mistakes from now on.
Worth the $$$$$ I paid for it; $5.00, used, at Strand Books in Greenwich Village; Ha! However, the chart on page #2 alone is worth TEN TIMES the cover price! Compare your trading & emotions, & see if you don't recognize yourself at least five steps anong the way. For page #2 alone, I'd say BUY the book at ANY price.......
I also subscribed to Dines' Newletter, after seeing him at the NY Gold show; How about them broads?
I just recently purchased Dines' new book, "Secrets of High States" for $100.00. Big mistake! It's basically a coffee table book, with page after page of photographs, taken by Dines himself; nice, but that's not what I spent 100 beans for. He has about eighty different pictures of animals, nature, and about twenty different broads, and only ONE is naked, can you believe it? In between, are pearls of wisdom which remind me of the advice you get in fortune cookies. Ouch!
On the other hand, if you DO want a coffee table book, and if you do appreciate photography, and if you do want snippets of wisdom here and there, and if you are amused by pictures of trees, deserts, water, leaves, etc, and if you have $100.00 you can't seem to otherwise get rid of, then this book's for you; but let's see, one, two, three, four, five, that sure is a lot of "ifs", isn't it?
Joe Loser, Brooklyn, NY
Interesting.......2001-09-06
Although this book is full of cool stuff about mass psychology, with lots of examples to prove the points, it got a little dry and repetitive after awhile. Also, the price makes me want to puke. The cartoons added all over the place helped put a bit of life into the reading though.
The Power to Change Your Life.......2000-12-01
This book is not really about investing. Although it's teachings about human herd mentally can help you in the stock market this book is about much more. It is more a philosphical journey. The chapters on Paradox and Low and High states can allow you to look at the own occurances in your life to see why you maybe or may not be struggling.
In addition, the Dines Girls are total babes.
How investors can MAKE MONEY using...MASS PSYCHOLOGY.......2000-05-04
I found Mr. Dines book to be big on price and small on continuity and meaning. The text moves in and out of ideas so quickly that it is difficult to decipher any point to his many colorful stories. His personal philosophies don't really teach you much in the end. I would not recommend the book to anyone hoping to learn more about investing.
Opaque and Turgid; Self Congratulatory w/out Saying anything.......1998-12-17
Mr. Dines, while probably an excellent investor, uses his pulpit to extoll political views, and trumpet the wisdom of his investment suggestions from 35 years ago, some of which have yet to be realized. The gap between Theoria and Praxis in this book is yawning, and Mr. Dines does not seem to get the rubber to hit the pavement. If you are looking for an abstruse discussion of the subject of mass psychology in markets, this is a great book, and very unique. If you are looking for a way of trying to understand how markets react, and individuals respond to markets and their money, and MAKE MONEY FROM THIS, read another book. I am still unclear as to how Mr. Dines employs his strategies on a practical level, and what his notions of risk/reward are, etc.
Book Description
Using Investor's Business Daily as his major source of investment information, Dhun Sethna tripled his portfolio in five years. In Investing Smart, Sethna shares what he's learned about picking stocks with the nation's fastest growing newspaper, unlocking the powerful money=making information in every edition.
You'll discover where to look for winning stocks every day. . .which indicators to watch to avoid losses. . .the psychology of market behavior. . .and much more. The book delivers straightforward explanations of the complex and powerful forces which drive stock prices. All in all, it gives you the tools you need to invest wisely.
Download Description
Written by a man who tripled his market holdings in five years through careful application of information in "Investor's Business Daily", this guide shows investors how to maximize the value of the paper's many features to reach their market objectives.
Customer Reviews:
Bad presentation.......2007-09-21
I was very excited to find a book that was going to give me more ideas on how to pick stocks using IBD. While this book did give information on IBD, it never got into anything I found helpful in really using to pick stocks. All the author did was present information I already knew by reading IBD myself. Also this was not a pure IBD product the author attempted to mix in several authors advice and techniques into this work by quoting them verbatim. The book was very dry and hard to read and I do not think beginners or veteran traders will find it helpful. It was written by a doctor, who may be a great trader, but I did not like his writing style. I would advise reading all of William O'Neal's book and stick with IBD alone to teach you. Find your stock picks in the IBD 100, you do not need this book.
This book sucks.........2004-03-07
I bought this book a year and a half or so ago and I think it was a bad investment. I figured this book would be a great addition to How to make money in stocks but I was wrong.
This book is basically scanned in pages of parts of the paper telling you about all the economic indicators and other items in Investor's Business Daily.
I feel this book could have been a lot better if Dhun Sethna hadn't spent most of his time talking about such a boring subject... I mean who really wants to interpret economics graphs... I know I don't. He could have discuss how to find the winners (like the title suggests) but from what I remember about this book it is just about what the paper is and all the economic indicators you can find in it. I can clearly see why William O'Neil doesn't recommend this book.
Reed Floren
Its not completely worthless............2001-12-30
I did not read the book but I did look it over carefully. I was hoping it would be a clear step by step guide to using IBD to apply the CANSLIM method. There is so much information in the paper that it is not easy to apply all the techniques in an efficient manner. There are almost too many choices and directions possible. This book is not a step by step guide nor is it all that clear. I did find it to be unnecessarily wordy and vague. It just seems to go over the whole paper in a long winded fashion but does not get down to the nuts and bolts of "Smart Investing" as I was hoping it would. Refer to William O'Neil's books for better guidance about how to invest. Also, if you are a subscriber, there is a large amount of useful information on the IBD website at Investors.com.
Long Winded-But Necessary.......2001-04-22
If you are totally new to investing then you should start with "24 Essential Lessons to Investment Success" & "How to make Money in stocks", both by William O'Neil. If after reading those books part of the Investment Business Daily newspaper makes no sense, I recommend this book. Once you feel successful and comfortable in the stocks you pick, you would want to understand the whole picture. Though this book will confuse you in the beginning and I agree with many of the reviews, remember it is a brake down of the newpaper and how you can use each part of it to understand everything of the market and how Investment Business Daily feeds you that information. I strongly recommend it. Puts together the Big Market picture from the pages of the Investors Business Daily paper. It should glue together some loose ends.
Miguel-Bronx New York
Too Many Words, Too Little Information.......2001-04-18
Being a student of William O'Neil's CANSLIM method of stock selection I found this book tiresome to read mainly because I know the subject matter so well. Dr. Sethna was certainly long winded and rambling in his writing style and could have said what he did in a third of the space he used. If you desire to learn about William O'Neil's methods purchase his book, "How to Make Money In Stocks." Lastly, Investor's Business Daily has added many new features since Dr. Sethna wrote this book so some of the information he shares about the paper is dated.
Book Description
Designed and written for active traders who are interested in practical information that can improve their results, Trading Index Options offers tried-and-true techniques without a lot of theory and math. Bittman provides traders with the know-how to evaluate practical situations and manage positions. Among the key features: the basics of index options, including various spreads; how to match strategies with forecasts; alternatives for losing positions; the importance of price behavior and volatility. A windows-based software program that provides multiple option pricing and graphing is included in the package.
Download Description
Trading Index Options offers tried-and-true techniques so traders get the know-how to evaluate practical situations and manage positions -- without a lot of theory and math.
Customer Reviews:
updated software is available from the author..........2006-07-16
The book is very good from a professional options trader and teacher.
A lot of the comments from people who recently bought this old (but good) book for the software, were not diligent enough to think about contacting the author. I contacted the author and he mailed me an updated version of the software that comes with the book. He was very kind and cordial.
Good Book with Outdated Software.......2003-10-18
The good news is that this book is very nicely done, providing a useful foundation to beginner and intermediate options traders. I found that I learned quite a lot about the interactions between option pricing and the various factors influencing pricing. The author provides numerous case study examples utilizing the OP-EVAL(TM) software included with the book. A majority of the book contains detailed examples describing how to use the software and interpret the output. The bad news is that the software will not run on current Windows operating systems (Windows 98 or newer). So don't buy the book if you want to try the software on your own. Efforts to contact the author, through the publisher McGraw-Hill, about the possibility of updating the software, have been unsuccessful. Otherwise a good book.
5 Stars is not enough.......2002-04-05
From the beginning pages, the explanations are flowing and account for all levels of competency in options. When you finish the very readable book, you will have a solid understanding of index options. The graphs are excellent while the mathematical concepts are carefully explained. I have traded stock options successfully for the past ten years and I now have enough confidence in my knowledge of index options to not panic when hitting the enter button.
Software Will Not Install on Windows 98.......2002-01-21
I was eager to use the software that came with this book, but since my PC runs on Windows 98, it will not install. They should update the software so it will run on later versions of Windows before they sell the book again, or least ask you what version of Windows you are using before you place the order.
SAVE YOUR MONEY!.......2000-02-07
The software is defective and the author and publisher, in the unlikely event you can get either to respond, only cloud the issue with disingenuous assurances.
Book Description
LET THE SOUND OF THE CROWD HELP YOU CREATE A SUCCESSFUL TRADING PLAN
Praise for Carl Gyllenram and Trading with Crowd Psychology
"Investing is first and foremost a psychological process and good market technicians are really psychologists. Mr. Gyllenram understands this and his book offers deep insight into the psychology of the trading range, the area from which big moves-up and down-emerge."
--John Bollinger CFA, CMT, President, www.EquityTrader.com
"Every trader and investor will recognize themselves and their habits (good and bad) among the characters whose trading decisions are so vividly described in this book, and all should discover ways of improving those trading decisions. A very timely publication."
--Michael Smyrk Global Coordinator, International Federation of Technical Analysts
"Carl Gyllenram takes a new approach to looking at the workings and importance of crowd psychology in the financial markets ... [he] shows a clear understanding of the subject, providing a thoroughly useful addition to the writings on crowd psychology."
--Anne WhitbyFSTA, Vice Chairman, Society of Technical Analysts UK
"We are an emotional species and seldom more so than when dealing with money. It is this raw human factor that creates most of the volatility in all financial and commodity markets, not economics ... With this book Carl Gyllenram has made an important contribution to the subject of Behavioral Technical Analysis."
--David FullerGlobal Strategist at Stockcube Research Ltd. Writer of the Fullermoney investment letter
Customer Reviews:
A Complete Insight Into Trading With Crowd Psychology.......2003-04-16
Market participants are often emotional and irrational in their decision-making -- much like any crowd. In fact, to understand crowd psychology is to better understand the financial markets.
So says Carl Gyllenram, author of "Trading With Crowd Psychology," a book that claims market analysis is more behavioral science than anything else. While allowing that economic information and fundamental changes produce major market shifts, he believes that the conformist (and predictable) behavior of market participants -- the crowd -- is what usually drives price action.
Some traders and investors react late to changes in the market because they rely solely on fundamental and economic information available to everyone else. Others may use use technical analysis -- but end up trading off of conflicting indicators and/or stereotyped chart patterns.
Chart patterns are "people patterns," says Gyllenram, reflecting the behavior of everyone buying and selling in the markets. A successful technician understands the psychological dynamic (hesitancy? panic? resignation?) at play within these patterns, most all of which, he maintains, are simply variations of a trading range. Markets most often move laterally, with little significant price movement up or down.
An intuitive feel for market psychology helps the trader or investor understand how these trading ranges are structured.
Of particular interest to me were "balance points" -- those price levels at or near the top and bottom of a trading range that serve to predict a powerful price breakout. "You can never be sure," he says, "when a range will be broken or what direction a breakout will take. But trading with an understanding of crowd psychology and the ability to identify balance points certainly increases your odds. The important message you need to be able to read in a chart is when a clear change of the psychology is taking place. You must understand that the creation of a balance point is a powerful indication that the behavior of the market majority has shifted."
Gyllenram uses a clever approach to help us understand ( and profit from) the phenomenon of crowd psychology as it relates to market analysis: He uses a number of characters, each representing a different "category" of investor who own positions above a trading range (after a long uptrend), as well as below it (after a steep decline). What all have in common are emotional patterns of crowd behavior formed after large price movements (up or down) that make people nervous, excited or otherwise irrational.
Which character will remind you...of you?
misleading title.......2002-06-07
the title of this book should read: 'the mindset of shareholders in a range bound stock'; in his conclusion, the author wrote,"using an understanding of crowd psychology to enchance trading is actually the subject for a whole new book". so this book is actually for absolute biginners in the stock market who has no knowledge of technical analysis or its basis. it's a waste of time for anyone who has just a little of insight into trading. the entire book can be found in one section of a good technical analysis book, just look up 'triangles', rectangles, or range bound trading. and their breakouts. the author just describes the thinking behind various individuals in these situations, with much repetitions. it's a wonder i read til the end. the author did recommend some books in the second last page for 'better reading' though. 2 stars for his honesty and stated objectives.
This book really gave a new perspective..........2002-01-06
This book really gave me a new perspective on the stock market. I wanted to understand why prices move up and down the way they do in the market and in other books I haven't got that knowledge. In this book however I found what I have sought after for a long time ; a explanation how people act in the market place and how their emotions affect their trading and therefore prices. For somebody like me, that really wants to understand market psychology this book was very valuable reading. If you are not intrested in psychology and instead are looking for new indicators this is the wrong book. But, if you have a desire to really understand crowd psychology in the stock market this is absolutely a book to read.
This is a really good book.......2001-12-04
This is really a good book if you want to understand market psychology. The author makes a very thorough attempt to explain why and when crowd psychology arises in the market place. I would say that the work is pioneering. A lot of other books talks about psychology and that it is important, but this book really explains to you how it works. The author uses several fictious characters to describe how individuals are transformed in to a crowd and this is fascinating reading. If you want strict advice how to trade this may not be the right book for you, but if you realize that understanding crowd psychology will help you to be a better trader you should absolutely read this book.
Don't make the same mistake I did.......2001-10-27
I bought that book because of the table of contents. I thought it was exactly what I was looking for. In fact, that book is going nowhere. You read stories of people who are playing the market and who are going through different kind of emotions and you think: big deal, I have been through that. But you keep reading because you think the author will eventually summarize and draw conclusions that will benefit you. WRONG. Nothing happens. You finish a chapter and you get a feeling of emptyness. You read the following chapter and feel the same thing. Somewhere in the first few chapters, the author tells you that if you own a stock, there are only two things you can do: hold or sell. What an amazing piece of valuable information. And in case you didn't understand that, the author will repeat it three or four more times in the following chapters. On page 125, we learn that if we buy a stock and the market goes the way we anticipated, it makes us happy. But if the market goes the other way, we become sad, maybe even scared. That is the kind of information you get when you read that book. Worthless.
But I have to be honest with you. This is only a review of the first half of that book. I couldn't read the rest. I had waisted enough time.
Customer Reviews:
completely useless?.......2003-12-01
There is an old joke about a guy who wakes up in a car in the middle of a field and has no idea where he is or how he got there. He flags down the first guy he sees and asks him where he is, to which he replies, "you are sitting in a car in the middle of a field". Our lost friend replies, "you must be an accountant, because while everything you say is totally accurate, it is completely useless".
This 600-plus page book is written like a sterile academic textbook for a course devoid of any real world knowledge or experience. Ironically, the author states that the book evolved as a result of a course he teaches.
It is stated that the author was a floor trader with many years experience on a Wall Street futures exchange (been there, done that). If this is in fact true, there is not a single anecdote about his own trading experiences in the entire book, at least what I read of it. What we would be interested in is a chronicle of how the author achieved competency and his experiences on the road to trading success, if in fact he achieved this. Did he have a successful trader as a mentor? How long did he lose money as a trader before achieving success? What were some of his significant breakthroughs as a trader? Did he have a "trading epiphany"? What were the major mistakes he saw traders make who ultimately failed? What is his greatest advice for new traders?
Unfortunately, we will never know the answer to these questions, because this author completely missed the point in writing a book on trading.
3 to 4 pages to everything in trading, really everything.......2003-08-10
There are 33 chapters in this 639 page book which practically put everything you can think of about trading or investment into it. Technical Analysis, Fundamental Analysis, Trading Psychology, Options, Commodities... simply everything. The problem is: dont know whether it's the intent of the author to give so general an idea of everything to its readers or he is too agressive to encompass so much in one single book. He just used a page or two to describe very complicated items like MACD, Stochastics, Gann Fan, Fibonnaci numbers, Bonds, Computer Trading, Crude Oil, Platinum, Gamma, Theta, Rho, Delta Neutral Trading........
In case you just want to have a close to nothing idea of the highly complicated trading or investment market, it's for you. In case you read in order to earn an edge to profit in market where 90% to 95% of the participants are doomed to fail, forget about this.
Excellent book.......2002-06-19
Robert Rotella captures the essence of trading psychology. This book is a must read for all investors - regardless of timeframe, experience, or markets traded. I rank it in the top five trading books I've ever read.
Like getting a university degree in financial engineering.......1998-08-16
This book touches all aspects of investing. The author describes the different markets; the stock market, natural resources, foods, interest rates, options, etc. The author describes technical as well as fundamental analysis and helps you develop the mindset which is necessary to be a successful trader. After reading this book, you'll feel like you've earned a university degree in financial engineering. I expected the price of this book to be a lot higher.
A good book for those who want to study all market aspects.......1998-07-01
The book with information about every element of market, but there is not too much information about specific of trading. It is a common instrument for learning of trading. You must read it if you look for a complex knowlege about exchanges and markets at all.
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Enhancing Trader Performance: Proven Strategies From the Cutting Edge of Trading Psychology (Wiley Trading)
Trading in the Zone: Master the Market with Confidence, Discipline and a Winning Attitude
Way of the Turtle: The Secret Methods that Turned Ordinary People into Legendary Traders
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