Customer Reviews

The Secret Science of Price and Volume: Techniques for Spotting Market Trends, Hot Sectors, and the Best Stocks (Wiley Trading)

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I have purchased numerous books on Stock Trading and for the first time felt compelled to write a book review because this book is simply that good. I first read about Tim Ord in Fari Hamzei's highly acclaimed book "Master Traders." Tim Ord is nationally rated as a top Market Timer and to be one of the Traders featured in " Master Traders" tells you something about his credentials.

Tim Ord's book, "The Secret Science of Price and Volume," analyzes what really drives equity prices, which is Supply and Demand. His unique methodology of Price and Volume analysis: " Ord Volume", evaluates what is moving equity prices at all junctures of their Price Swings, Legs and Price Points. He also uses these methods to evaluate Tops and Bottoms of Price structure and applies them to the major indices as well. Price and volume relationships have been in existence for over a hundred years and will continue to do so. The author presents disciplined trading and investing strategies based on time tested principles that will continue to work because fear, greed and human behavior will always be present in the marketplace.

Trading legends such as Richard Wyckoff, Jesse Livermore, Nicolas Darvas and William O'Neil to name a few all have utilized Price and Volume techniques to help amass their fortunes. Livermore's and O'Neil's "Price pivots points," Wyckoff's "Jumping the Creek," and "Falling through Ice" methodologies are Price and Volume based. William O'Neil's, "Follow Through Day," in the General Market Averages which show when Institutions are coming in to buy stock at long term or intermediate term lows is also related to these principles. The author explains the physics of this science and will teach you exactly how to interpret price and volume action in a manner which nobody else has shown before. In fact Ord Volume will help reveal when Institutions are either piling into stock or whether they are gradually accumulating it as well as when they are dumping or slowly supplying stock to the general public. Knowing this information is invaluable to both trader and investor.

These methods by no means are limited only to the technically oriented investor or trader. Fundamental and Value investors will also benefit by interpreting whether or not the forces of supply and demand are working in or out of favor with the particular group of stocks they follow.

The author also brilliantly covers topics such as Stock selection, Market Timing, Sector Analysis, Sector Rotation, Breadth analysis, Market Sentiment and much more. An informative chapter on the Gold sector is also included. This book is a Treasure chest. Whether you are a Long Term Investor, Intermediate-term Trader, Swing Trader or have a preference to sell stock short, "The Secret Science of Price and Volume," will provide you with a road map to profitability.

Timothy Ord recommends a top-down approach to market analysis.

The author, president, editor, and publisher of The Ord Oracle an electronic advisory newsletter that recommends S&P, NASDAQ, and gold stock trades, argues that every trade begins with:

1. Determining the market direction.
2. Selecting the best sectors.
3. Isolating the strongest stocks in the best sectors.

There is nothing there that justifies this book's price. What follows, however, is rare insight focusing on the role of volume. Following it focuses the trader's attention on what the market is saying.

Ord illustrates his points with recent charts. He describes the trade set up and resolution in language that is clear and simple. The result is a truly useful market approach.

By the time I finished the book my head was red from slaps as I thought "Why didn't I think of that?" Many of the insights are easy to implement. Yet, the one I find is the most useful, is one of the first lessons I was taught.

"Have patience; wait for the trade to be aligned with the market." I hear it. I know it. I know it to be true. Every time I ignore it, I usually lose money.

This book is worth every penny. Its lessons promise to shorten your learning curve on your way to becoming a trader provided you conquer the practice of patience.

Tim Ord's book is an easy read and his trading methodologies are very easy to use. Own both the book and software. Software is $599. I have worked on Wall Street for the past 18 years and Tim's methodologies get right down to the basics of looking at just price and volume (that is all you need). I know of a couple of big hedge funds who wrote all of these sophisticated quantitative formulas for beating the market and they ended up getting slaughtered like sheep. Most of these quant guys have Phd's in mathematics and engineering. Tim's software showed and most every mortgage company over the past year (example: Fannie Mae; FNM) to either sell the stock or short the stock right before these stocks collapsed. Great software, great book, highly recommend.

Although Mr. Ord does have a couple of good points to make, the great bulk of the book is a sales pitch for his Ord Volume, a black box concept he markets through his web site. In seems inappropriate to charge so much for a sales pitch for a product he offers for sale separately. Beyond that, the product itself is open to great question; as he describes Ord Volume, it is undefined until AFTER the market move he uses it to predict, suggesting it is likely an after the fact rationalization of events, and that the product itself has quite limited value. Beyond this, the application rules are vaguely set out and the balance of the book is composed primarily of well known market maxims. One can only conclude that Mr. Ord has utilized his talent poorly with this effort.

The Secret Science of Price ad Volume. The title is deceiving. There is no SECRET and no SCIENCE. It is merely a
re-phrasing of standard technical indicators and making a complicated issue out of it.
"Spotting Market trends,hot sectors and best stocks" is no more than a simple momentum investing.
Don't waste your time and money.

I've read a number of books on technical analysis, including the classic "Technical Analysis of Stock Trends" by Edwards & Magee (which I highly recommend). I also read Technical Analysis of Stocks and Commodities magazine. Although it isn't difficult to find basic explanations of volume, such as the principle that as price increases, so should volume, I've always found these standard explanations to be lacking.

Then I read Tim Ord's book, The Secret Science of Price and Volume. After reading this straight-to-the-point, easy-to-understand book, I now have a much better understanding of how to analyze the relationship between price and volume in a way that's more meaningful, and gives me more confidence in my trades.

Ord begins this book by explaining how he got involved in the financial markets, and why he adopted technical analysis as a primary means of analyzing the markets. From there, he explains his top-down approach to analyzing the market: determine where the market as a whole is going, find the strongest (weakest) sectors in a bull (bear) market, then find the strongest or weakest stocks in those sectors.

After covering these basics comes the fun part: how to analyze volume patterns. Ord explains what he calls Ord Volume, which is simply the average daily (or whatever timeframe you're analyzing) volume for each leg in the trend. He also explains how to analyze volume at various swing lows and highs.

Next, Ord discusses how to analyze the breadth and sentiment of the market to determine intermediate and long-term highs and lows. He also briefly covers the basics of momentum oscillators, and how divergences work. This is really the only part of the book that is standard boiler plate technical analysis that one can find anywhere, although to a newcomer this is still very useful. What I appreciated is that this section doesn't overpower the book's more important topics, which are price and volume analysis, the top-down approach to trading, and breadth and sentiment analysis.

After determining prime turning points in the market, Ord then goes on to the science of finding the best sectors to be in, and from there, the best stocks. He backs up his claims by examining, on the charts, recent market moves, and shows how the sectors that performed the best during a downturn generally perform the best when the market turns around and heads north.

Then there's the chapter on gold. Personally, I found this to be an odd addition to the book, as I didn't really find it relevant (except for those who trade gold). But still, he uses this chapter to further demonstrate the techniques of this book to that particular market.

Finally, Ord closes the book with a step-by-step explanation of how to apply the principles in the book, using the 2002-2007 bull market as an example. This is a great wrap-up that reinforces everything that was previously discussed.

I've generally found that when it comes to educational materials, you get what you pay for, and this book is no exception. Although I finished reading this book only a week ago, and haven't really given it the test of time, it does appear, as I examine charts of the market, sectors, and stocks, that the principles and techniques taught in this book are right on the money. I'm excited and looking forward to applying what I've learned in this book to my own trading. There's plenty of information out there about RSI, MACD, momentum divergences, moving average crossovers, breakouts, etc. But those studies apply to price only. Volume is the other half of the equation. With plenty of charts, and his easy-to-understand writing style, Tim Ord does a great job of filling that void.

For those who have read the works of Richard D Wyckoff, the book of Mr. Ord is simply delightful. Mr. Ord diggs into the Wyckoff teachings and offers a new way to look at the markets in which volume is the most important piece. Clear, and concise this book is really good.

I have read multiple books on trading, always with the hope that I will pull one really useful concept from the body of work. One useful concept can save thousands of dollars or better yet make thousands of $$$ if used correctly. We all know stochastics, MACD, and Bollinger Bands, though I pause to ask do we know them as well as we think?

You may not use volume in your trading decisions and if you don't my guess is you never really understood how to use it (I did not). Volume is the energy in the market, it is a snapshot of supply and demand. Tim Ord's book gives you that understanding. I especially liked his analysis of volume at support and resistance areas. That alone was worth the price of the book plus some. He also gives an excellent way to see if the market is overbought or sold, also worth the price of the book. You will find a lot of detail about his Ord Volume tool which is available for a fee on his website, and personally I found this both educational and interesting. One of the best books I have read. I highly recommend this book be purchased and read several times. I would also suggest Nisons work on Candles and Bollinger on Bollinger Bands. God Bless to All and Good Trading!

Overall, I found this to be a very good book. As a trader, I've found Tim's approach to using volume as a way to measure the strength of a trend and the probability of its reversal or continuation, to be both innovative and well-explained. This approach really breaks down many of the mysteries behind how and why volume is indicative of a market's strength or weakness and offers objective and simple ways of applying this approach.

Specifically, his creation of Ord-Volume, a measurement of the average volume of a swing, is something I've never seen before. And his methods of comparing volume on the retests of previous highs or lows is so clear and simple that, yes, a caveman can actually do it. But more importantly, it makes sense and has provided me with more insight into the market as well as a better structure for my trading.

Contrary to what a reviewer posted previously, you don't need to buy his software to use his methods. The techniques are very simple, and it's not difficult to do it yourself with any basic charting program. You may need to crank out a couple of numbers by hand, but all the better, since it will give you a better feel for the markets you trade.

Finally, I have to say that Tim, himself, couldn't be more accommodating. I've peppered him with a few questions, and he's always responded quickly and thoroughly. A trader's trader...

I'm a new trader. I've been studying technical analysis for a little more than a year now. I've read about fifteen books in all, about all the moving averages and oscillators. What I like about Tim Ord's book is that he explains how price and volume tells you a whole lot about the psychology and what is happening in the market, ETF, or individual stock at the time. As he mentions in his book, he uses price and volume as his #1 indicator. All the others are secondary which may be in vogue at the time or may not. He creates a picture that makes a lot of sense in a market that is very confusing. I just belong to Tim's on line subscription service at this time. As far as the Ord Volume Software, you can use the methods presented in his book without the software, it just takes more time. I had a good year last year, account up 275%. Also, about these $3,500 and up seminars, I figured I could get the same thing out of a book and have the added benefit of being able to refer back to it.
Mic Davis