Profitable Candlestick Trading: Pinpointing Market Opportunities to Maximize Profits [Hardcover]

Stephen W. Bigalow (Author)

Book Description

Series: Wiley Trading | Publication Date: December 21, 2001

Unlock the secrets of an ancient charting tool
The most ancient form of charting, the Japanese candlestick method has become an extremely popular analytical tool among the new generation of traders. However, because of the aura of mysticism surrounding candlesticks and the arcane terminology typically used to describe them, many traders in the West never really learn how to use them properly and exploit their full potential. Profitable Candlestick Trading demystifies candlesticks for today's traders. With the help of numerous real-world examples, Bigalow clearly explains how candlesticks work, how to read them, and how to maximize profits with them. Bigalow shares some of his original candlestick-based trading programs, the same programs which have yielded impressive results for his clients at leading financial firms in the United States and abroad.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...this book is unquestionably destined to become a classic technical analysis reference book for years to come..." (erivativesreview.com, 16 July 2002)

From the Inside Flap

Tested, proven, and successful, Japanese Candlestick charting and analysis is one of the most profitable-yet underutilized-ways to trade the market. In Profitable Candlestick Trading: Pinpointing Market Opportunities to Maximize Profits, Candlestick trading expert Stephen Bigalow shows you how to recognize and harness the power of Candlestick signals as well as implement them into a profitable trading system. Signals created by this unique technical analysis method-represented in the form of graphic "Candlestick" formations-identify the immediate direction and effects of investor sentiment through price movements, and allow you to trade profitably by realizing trend reversals before other investors do.

This step-by-step guide makes learning the Candlestick method a fast and easy process by introducing specific patterns as well as the "psychology" behind each pattern that develops in a chart. Incorporating the common sense and logical disciplines that most investors are aware of, but ignore, Profitable Candlestick Trading opens with a detailed look at the most valuable aspect of technical analysis-reversal patterns-while explaining major reversal signals such as the Doji, the Hammer, the Hanging Man, Engulfing Patterns, and Dark Cloud Cover. Although most Candlestick signals are reversal patterns, this comprehensive guide also addresses continuation patterns and explores how they can help with the decision-making process during certain trading periods. Mastering the Candlestick method will revolutionize your investment-thinking process.

Profitable Candlestick Trading dispels the notion that Candlestick techniques are too labor-intensive. Using software search programs allowing you to visually evaluate hundreds of charts in a matter of minutes, you'll quickly learn how to search and view Candlestick formations. Moving from theory to practice, this guide shows you how to find trading situations that have the maximum potential for profitability; the highest probability of succeeding; and the least amount of downside risk. By exposing you to the profitable combinations of signals, price moves, and stochastic positions apparent in a number of common patterns-such as the Jay Hook pattern-this book will speed up your recognition of the process and increase your profits with each trade whether for a one minute, one day, or one year hold.

With tools in hand, you'll begin to learn about the built-in advantages of the Japanese Candlestick methodology. Bigalow shows you how to coordinate Candlestick analysis with simple but disciplined trading rules to form an extremely profitable investment program that utilizes these advantages to their fullest. Whether you're dealing in stocks, commodities, or futures, Profitable Candlestick Trading gives you the advice, knowledge, and techniques necessary to enter the markets with confidence and exit with profits.

In providing an in-depth understanding of how Candlestick charting works-across a variety of investment vehicles-this comprehensive guide allows you to control your own investment future and produce profitable results that go far beyond other investment programs. Your investment abilities will be dramatically improved forever.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (December 21, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 047102466X
• ISBN-13: 978-0471024668
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 7.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (49 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #602,965 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Stephen Bigalow possesses over twenty-five years of investment experience, including eight years as a stockbroker with major Wall Street firms: Kidder, Peabody & Company; Cowen & Company; and Oppenheimer & Company. He holds a Business and Economics Degree from Cornell University.
His book, Profitable Candlestick Trading: Pinpointing Market Opportunities to Maximize Profits, published by John Wiley & Sons, hit the market in January 2002. The book is directed towards the new investor all the way up to the most sophisticated professionals. In addition to developing many educational training products, he has written articles for Stocks and Commodities, and Futures Magazines. High Profit Candlestick Patterns, his recent book, was released in December 2005. This book takes candlestick investing to the next level and illustrates how to use candlestick signals with other technical patterns for increased profitability of trades.
He is the owner of the Candlestick Forum, LLC an educational website developed to teach individual investors how to trade by utilizing the candlestick technical signals. (www.candlestickforum.com) His commitment is apparent through his continued support and instructions provided through private chat rooms, and live online web events. While other experts lecture about trading, Mr. Bigalow actively trades on a daily basis.
While consulting with Institutional Investment firms, money managers and energy trading firms, Mr. Bigalow successfully combined conventional techniques with Candlestick analysis to produce unique trading strategies. He shares his distinctive trading approach by presenting Keynote Speeches and Seminars throughout the US and abroad. Mr. Bigalow has advised professional traders, money managers, mutual funds and hedge funds, and is recognized by many in the trading community as the "professional's professional."
Candlestick Forum, LLC www.candlestickforum.com
315 West Gaywood Dr. 866-251-4015
Houston, TX 77079 713-465-4510

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

132 of 136 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Practical Candlestick Book, October 16, 2002

By 

Yannick Salgleda "Yannick" (Charlotte, NC United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Profitable Candlestick Trading: Pinpointing Market Opportunities to Maximize Profits (Hardcover)

This book is the third Candlestick book that I have read cover to cover. The previous two were Steve Nison's two Candlestick books. While Nison's books were excellent and extremely easy to understand, this book concentrates on strategy for making money and gives more trading insights. I have been making money even in this bear market using the trading signals described in the book.

The system is simple...use stochastics to confirm candle signals to ensure that you always buy oversold stocks and sell short oversold stocks. If you are a disciplined trader and wait for confirmation of the signals you can be profitable more than 75% of the time and your losses from your losing trades will be minimal if you keep tight stops - A must in these market conditions.

There is a huge amount of overlap in Nison's and this book but I would still recommend all three as there is always some different points in each.

75 of 81 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Destined to Become a Classic in the Investment Literature!, March 14, 2002

By 

J. Daryl Thompson (Houston, Texas United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Profitable Candlestick Trading: Pinpointing Market Opportunities to Maximize Profits (Hardcover)

The art of using Japanese Candlestick charts as a means to finding potential investment ideas has often been considered to be an arcane, complicated process, to be used by only the most sophisticated investors. This has now changed. Mr. Bigalow has truly revealed all the "tricks of the trade" within this book and the companion website.

This book not only illustrates and explains every Candlestick signal investors need to know, but the underlying psychology that creates the signals in the first place is also revealed to the reader. But learning and knowing the signals, and understanding how the signals are created, are not of much use unless the investor also has a quick and easy way to FIND the signals on a regular basis. Using a very popular, inexpensive charting service, Mr. Bigalow shows how to set up the software filters so that thousands of stocks can be analyzed, and only the Candlestick charts with the highest profitability potential will be displayed. This search process can be done in a matter of minutes. To my knowledge, this has never been explained in any other book.

Mr. Bigalow goes on to explain how to use Candlesticks along with your other favorite technical analysis tools to enhance your trading, why Stochastics are the best single tool to use with Candlesticks, how to identify the "false" signals, how to maximize profits and minimize losses, and "The Ultimate Investment Program", known to only a handful of sophisticated investors until now.

By reading and putting into practice the techniques explained in this book and the website, investors truly can "Revolutionize Their Investor Psychology".

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED for both novice and sophisticated investors.

30 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Candlesticks Revealed, February 18, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Profitable Candlestick Trading: Pinpointing Market Opportunities to Maximize Profits (Hardcover)

I have read several books on candlestick formations and signals. This book has to rate as the best, every candle and pattern is explained in a logical sequence but the best is the psychology of the bulls and bears is revealed to the reader. Each candle comes alive, not only is the pattern recognised but the uderlying interaction of the market forces are there for the reader, as though a cloud has been lifted from a dull scene. The Japanese signals are combined with Stochastics but in a simple manner allowing the reader to increase his knowledge and effectiveness of the signals. You will never be puzzled by the chart patterns after reading this book.