Price: $26.40
User Reviews about How I Trade for a Living (Wiley Online Trading for a Living)
I have traded professionally for an investment bank, and 2 HFs since 2000. I trade long/short equities with a large directional bias. I would highly recommend this book.
I actually found this book by accident c.2003 as i was searching for a different Gary Smith (he was a then a street.com chartist columnist) and i have sporadically re-read this book since then and my respect for this book each time i read it increases.
I have found this book extremely useful in interpreting price action - ie things that actually work and to monitor.
Concepts such as
- non-repeater
- divergences
- sentiment
- strong momentum thrusts
- advance/decline lines
- seasonality
are broken down and clearly covered.
He also mentions the need to be flexible (markets change, different things work in different periods) and to be distrustful of most pundits.
An example of a pattern that doesn't work that great any more is the late day reversal. He mentions that it is a trader's job to be aware of what is currently working (e.g. in bull market 2009, mondays were overwhelmingly stronger than other days) and once the pattern becomes apparent to jump on it.
So it is not a hard-coded "this pattern will make you money" but more a way of thinking about markets.
He provides a great reference list for great stock market books - reminiscences, stocks for the long run etc - which is very useful.
I also think he is right on what does NOT work
- chart hocus-pocus elliot wave, trend-lines blah,blah,blah.
- economic and fundamental attitudes to market direction are generally useless.
So all in all i would consider this to be the best book i have read on equity market directional trading.
-- The Best Book On Trading I Have Read
There are tons of trading books out there, but this is book to me is very special. The reason? It was written by a guy who tried for many years to succeed, ran up against a wall for 19 years, and finally broke into the profit zone. Even more important, it was written by someone who has a verified trading account, with a performance that shows what compounding can do over the course of years. I don't know who else has such verified results!
This book is the testimony of a real trader who trades for a living, who managed to learn the big secret to success - learning from failed trades, and setting concrete goals (in Smith's case, to be profitable every month), while eliminating the urge to get rich quick. Once those things happened, he emerged from break even land to excellent profitability. Smith managed to intra-day trade the S&P futures contract (full size) on a $2200 account over the telephone, without any computer charts (I wonder how many traders could do that today?). Once he built his account up to a respectable six figure size, he began swing trading mutual funds.
Smith has his own views of the market and method of trading. That may or may not work for you, and Smith makes no attempt, as he said, to create a "Gary Smith clone" out of you. He is just sharing his way of doing things, and you are free to borrow whatever you like.
Smith also attacks trading vendors and all the BS that they peddle. Very few, if any, books make such a bold attempt at exposing the truth about them.
Two reasons why four stars and not five: first, the book is not as well organized as it could be, especially the area where strategies are discussed. There's almost a rambling style to them, which is okay but its not something a beginning trader can comprehend. Second, come on Smith, you're so anti-technical analysis yet you use the McLellan oscillator and the advance decline line for your trading strategies? What is that if not technical analysis? Plus, if you're such an anti-chartist, why do we have price charts in your book? A review of language would be appropriate here.
Bottom line, get this book if you want evidence that you can trade for a living, and see what struggles it took a person to get there (struggles which you can avoid!) As for the strategy part, its a bit advanced talk for a beginning trader, but it might give you some interesting ideas. Overall, a highly recommended read. -- One of the few books written by a guy with a track record
Gary Smith's book shows what perseverance, deliberate practice, and a willingness to examine one's own mistakes can accomplish in his progression from a long time struggling part time investor to an indepedent trader. It would be a worthy addition to any trader's library for the inspiration, while any trading insights and strategies gleaned should be viewed as a bonus.
Some of the highlights:
* After working odd and menial jobs, trading off and on, became a commodities broker.
* Missed commodities bull market of 70s and had broke even after a decade of trading.
* In 1985, after a losing streak of 22-25 trades, and over a decade, the turning point came when he decided to review his trades over the last 4 years.
* Study showed several errors, most notably a failure to plan out trades.
* "If you get anything out of this book, I hope it's a recognition of the need to scrutinize each and every one of your trades for clues to its failure or success." - Gary Smith
* Noticed entries were often good, but he made little either due to getting out too early or otherwise mismanaging the trade
* Decided to abandon chart reading as well as all technical indicators.
* Quotes book "Success is a Choice" by Rick Pitino: Dreams as where we want to end up, while goals are how we get there.
-- A Worthy Addition to An Aspiring Trader's Library
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