Customer Reviews

Financial Freedom Through Electronic Day Trading

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Van Tharp's earlier book, Trade Your Way to Financial Freedom, ranks with Market Wizards as a trading classic. Like Market Wizards, Tharp showed how the true "Holy Grail" of trading is to develop your *own* system, one which is perfectly suited to your own goals and needs. (I know it sounds wishy-washy... but believe me it's anything but.) Not only that but, unlike Market Wizards, Tharp showed you step-by-step how to actually do this! The result was, while far from perfect, one of the most amazing and probably the single most useful book on how to become a successful trader. I was hugely excited when I (a day trader) found out that Tharp's next book would be about day trading. Alas, it turns out to be a disappointment. It's not bad as such, only nowhere near the same level. Specifically, this book consists of: (1) material by Tharp that covers the same ground as before, only in less detail; (2) an overview of the basics of day trading, such as how to read Level II screens; (3) occasional insights and ideas which you might not find elsewhere. So here's what I would recommend. If you don't already know (1), run (don't walk!) to get Tharp's earlier book; don't even think about buying this one instead. If you don't already know (2), this book is a pretty good introduction to day trading, better than most that are out there. Lastly, is the book worth buying for (3)? It sort of depends. If, like me, you love to devour books about the markets, and believe that they more than pay for themselves if you get even one new tradeable idea -- then sure, buy it, just don't expect too much. If, on the other hand, you only want to spend your time and money on the very best books, well, this is no must-have. I like both authors, and they do know what they are talking about, but this book is far from the best that either is capable of. It shows all the signs of having been put together hastily.

I get suspicious when I read five-star reviews about books that don't offer much content. Of the 200 or so books that I have read to date on trading, this would easily be one of the poorest in terms of substance - there is no 'brain-feeding' content whatsoever. In my opinion, it offers nothing to the beginner or advanced trader and I am surprised that some people have found positive comments for it (I note thay don't really say why it is good). There is nothing new covered or any depth in what is covered (at least nothing a decent website couldn't offer). Furthermore, the authors style of writing tends to be quite condescending which makes it very frustrating to read. For example, I had to put the book aside for a few hours at the section where the author suggests making regular donations to street beggars will improve your trading. While I do sympathise with the less privaleged in society, I thought this suggestion was just grabbing for something to write about. If you are just starting, save your money and buy Elder. Likewise as an advanced trader, get maybe Connors or Racshke and try to skip this by a million miles.

This book contains a wealth of information - I strongly recommend it! The content is excellent, and the writing style is understandable and candid. Brian June not only discusses the nuts-and-bolts of day-trading (Level II screens, time-and-sales data, "ax" market makers, direct-access systems, trading strategies) but covers in detail how one should prepare prior to the market opening and how one needs to debrief trading after the close. Dr. Van Tharp covers two of the most important concepts of trading: risk management (i.e., capital preservation) and money management (i.e., position sizing). If you have not internalized these concepts into your belief system already read these chapters, memorize them. They are key disciplines as they will keep you in the game. Four days ago I recommended the book to another full-time trader, and he just wrote back saying, "I wanted to thank you for recommending the Tharp/June book. It is full of mandatory knowledge one needs, but also they make it clear what the requirements are to be successful. I am finding the book extremely enlightening - thanks again." I have been a student of the markets for over ten years having proceeded through the study of fundamental analysis, technical analysis, and trading psychology (in that order). I wish I had this information at the start of my journey.

Van Tharp's first book, Trade Your Way to Financial Freedom, is outstanding, and highly recommended. This follow-up book, however, is not. The author spends the first portion of it reintroducing the topics of his first work. He then goes in to a discussion of day trading in Level II stocks (and the like). This was clearly an effort to take advantage of the market environment at the time. In doing that, however, Van Tharp made the fatal mistake of creating a limited lifespan for this work. Don't waste your money here. If you haven't already read Trade Your Way to Financial Freedom, do so. If you have, read it again. This follow-up book won't tell you anything new and the first has much more substance.

The most important chapter in the book that I found was chapter 3, that of developing a business plan. Of course every chapter had great information, however, without a plan you can't expect to get anywhere, or make any money for that matter. His first book was excellent, his second book is equal. Start with the first and only after you fully understand it read, I mean, DO this book. Only if you do the exercises with a notebook will you gain anything!

Yea yea I thought, as this book sat on my shelf for a couple of months. Another one of those "daytrading books" I thought. Boy was I wrong! For those of you who don't know, Dr. Tharp was included in the original Market Wizards classic. He has modeled many top traders and figured out the common denominators they all shared. He says that you can't duplicate their success unless you can duplicate their thinking. In this book he and Brian June go into these concepts, step by step, to help you develop a solid game plan for success in the markets. There are methods to develop discipline, self control, money management and risk control, to name a few. These are the concepts most daytraders overlook, which probably contributes to the high failure rate(90%). Definitely technical and fundamental analysis, sentiment, etc. are important, but this stuff is equally if not more important. He also gets into helping you think of daytrading as a business, not a hobby, as well as guiding you through creating your own trading plan. Daytrading is certainly not easy, and you need all the help you can get. This is one of those books, that you should not only read, but use. Bring the concepts to life and you will undoubtly be rewarded. Hopefully this book will be just an introduction for you into Dr. Tharp's world.

Please do not let the people who do not understand the message of this book cloud your perception of it. This book along with his previous volume are revolutionary. Tharp's entire career is working with top traders and creating a model of success from the characteristics they share. It is more than a rehash of his previous material and in fact goes into even greater detail. One of June's main contributions to this book is how to create a mission statement and how to link that with your live trading. I had a little trouble wrapping my mind around this but he insisted it was so very critical so I reread the chapter until it made sense. Well, when the "light" went on a feeling washed over me that was both palpable and visceral. If you faithfully undertake to complete all of the material outlined in this book, then you will actually have a shot at becoming more than antother statistic. Something I noticed several years ago is the similarity between the failure rates of business startups and private traders. This is most likely due to a lack of adequate planning and discipline (in this I include research, sufficient capital, etc.) For this reason, I must make the strongest recommendation possible for this book as well as its predecessor, "Trade Your Way To Financial Freedom." They compliment each other very well and are both essential reading. Dr. Tharp is a psychologist and an NLP practitioner who originally assisted top-level athletes achieve peak performance. He has moved over to helping traders do the same. You will learn how to define your goals and objectives as clearly as possible and create a comprehensive business plan that will leave you no question as to what one can expect from his or her trading. Other tools that are extremely helpful include a chapter on the most commonly made mistakes and how to identify and correct them and a chapter on how to properly keep a journal. The journal will help to more quickly figure out if, when and where a trading plan has gone wrong and spot any detrimental events or patterns that may occur. It breaks down the elements of successful trading so effectively that it truly gives people a chance of succeeding who otherwise would have suffered the same fate as most day traders. This book has more to offer than the previous in terms of methodology but those methods are for equities traders only. Futures trading methods are not addressed in this book. However, if a system is all you are really looking for, then you are still missing the bigger picture and your time would be better spent on a resume. An unprepared trader has almost no chance of succeeding and would be ill advised to try. Sure you could get lucky but the chances staying lucky and surviving for any amount of time are infinitesimally small. Avail yourself all of the best tools possible. These two books are two of them. Another book to consider is "The Trading Game" by Ryan Jones. It is a book on money management that is unique in its algorithm and the logic of which is superior to any other method I have seen to date.

Another excellent work by Van Tharp. Of course, you should read "Trade Your Way to Financial Freedom" before this book. If you have not, though, it should be the next book on your list. This book provides many insights into the day-to-day electronic trading habits of good traders. This is the kind of information that could cost thousands and take months, if not years, to acquire -- it's no wonder some people ask why they were giving so much information away.

Now I have to profess I haven't read any of Dr Tharp's / Mr June's previous books so while other reviewers expressed some disappointment with this book compared to the other books, I was absolutely stunned by this one. It just kept hitting me between the eyes with its discussions on just how bad things can go for someone who doesn't have a system (70% of daytraders lose everything), how to identify and play alongside the Market Makers and how to set up the "Multiple R / position sizing" system. I used to never use stops. I always preferring to ride out the lows, and even use put options to profit from it, so that i would never, ever, take a loss. However this books puts what other authors put in terms of cutting losses and letting profits run, in different terms which have managed to convince me that has convinced me to do otherwise. This book is worth its weight in gold. I've read about 9 other books on trading / day trading but none have convinced me as much as this one. If Dr Tharp's / June's other books are better, then they must be worth their weight in "multiple R" returns.

Brian June and Dr. Van Tharp have combined and put together a "complete" book on the complex subject of Day Trading. Dr. Tharp provides the necessary psychological work and Brian June provides insights to the real world of day trading. Anyone who daytrades without reading and understanding this book would be better off going to Las Vegas. I have read a lot of books on trading, but none are complete like this one is, most books cover just one aspect of trading.