Dave Landry has delivered the definitive text on profiting in the financial markets. In this book, he debunks market myths, reveals market truths, and teaches you to think and act like a trader. Mr. Landry also identifies what it takes to level the playing field, and shows you how you can regularly earn money from the markets like a professional. This book offers a refreshing perspective and a new approach to Wall Street, whether you are entirely new to investing and trading or have been around the markets all your life. Everything you need to know to consistently profit in the market is covered in this comprehensive work. Learn how Wall Street really works and what it takes to succeed in one of the most savage market environments we have ever known.
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From the Author
I think the essence of the book can best be summed up with an excerpt from the Preface:
In early 2008, I was inspired to write this book after seeing a good friend needlessly lose a lot of money. Initially, it was only intended to change the way the average Joe thought about Wall Street. My goal was to help investors avoid the common pitfalls of following conventional wisdom and to protect them from counterproductive urges of human nature itself.
As the year progressed, I watched other friends and acquaintances buy "good companies," claim to be "in it for the long haul," increase position size because the market was "undervalued" or because a guru said that it had bottomed. What was worse, others simply followed trained professionals who assured them that "the market always goes up longer term."
As I watched more and more people lose money in one of the greatest bear markets in history, I felt compelled to add more and more information. The basic book that I had envisioned soon ballooned into much more. It dawned on me that in order for the average person to survive the markets they must learn to think more and more like a trader. What started out as a very basic beginner's book developed over two years into a complete guide for trading. If that makes you wonder whether this is an overly complicated text, you can put your concerns aside. My approach is a very simple one.
Even if you consider yourself a longer-term "investor," as you will soon see, it pays to think more like a trader. Doing this isn't difficult provided that you are willing to let go of your ego and let the market, and only the market, tell you what to do.
Dave Landry
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More About the Author
Dave Landry has been have been actively trading the markets since the early 90s. In 1995 he founded Sentive Trading, LLC, (d/b/a www.davelandry.com)--a trading and consulting firm. He is author of Dave Landry on Swing Trading (2000), Dave Landry's 10 Best Swing Trading Patterns & Strategies (2003), and The Layman's Guide to Trading Stocks (2010). His books have been translated into many languages including Russian, Italian, French, and Chinese (pending 2010). He has made several television appearances, has written articles for several publications including Technical Analysis of Stocks & Commodities, Active Trader, and Traders Journal-Singapore. He has been publishing daily web based commentary on technical trading since 1997. He has spoken at trading conferences both nationally and internationally. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and has an MBA. He was registered Commodity Trading Advisor (CTA) from 1995 to 2009. He is a member of the American Association of Professional Technical Analysts.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
44 of 48 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
There is an expression, 'I'm sorry that this letter is so long. I didn't have time to shorten it'. In other words, good writing takes time to simplify. Good (or better yet, successful) trading also takes time to simplify. It is a familiar story; we spend years trying different systems, methods and structures. We accumulate dozens of different indicators and continually fiddle with their parameters. We keep searching for yet another way to trader's nirvana, only to find that the simplest and most direct route is the real path to follow.
Dave Landry uses only an occasional straight line and a simple moving average to find winning stocks, together with a straightforward money management approach. He trades only equities because he believes that these trend best. He happily describes himself as a `trend following moron' because his approach is self-regulating. If the market is trending up (or down), prospects present themselves. If it is ranging, he waits until it trends again.
Dave looks for a strongly trending stock with reasonably high volatility and an acceptable increase in price relative to the trending period. The trend should have been in place for about twenty days and be fairly persistent i.e. a straight line drawn through the trend should intersect all or most of the daily bars. The stock should have completed a pullback of two to seven bars and be resuming the trend. And that's the gist of it. There are a few wrinkles and some variations on this theme but they are all related to taking advantage of a strong trend, its pullbacks and entering on the trend resumption.
This is Dave's third book and each book provides this same basic message. His system works, it is simple and it gets results. His first book was one of the many that I read when I started trading some years ago. But like most traders, simplicity wasn't enough for me and I moved through the `more complexity is better' routine. I can recommend this book to those just starting out, as well as to the many that have been scratching unsuccessfully in the trading henhouse for some time.
Dave Landry uses only an occasional straight line and a simple moving average to find winning stocks, together with a straightforward money management approach. He trades only equities because he believes that these trend best. He happily describes himself as a `trend following moron' because his approach is self-regulating. If the market is trending up (or down), prospects present themselves. If it is ranging, he waits until it trends again.
Dave looks for a strongly trending stock with reasonably high volatility and an acceptable increase in price relative to the trending period. The trend should have been in place for about twenty days and be fairly persistent i.e. a straight line drawn through the trend should intersect all or most of the daily bars. The stock should have completed a pullback of two to seven bars and be resuming the trend. And that's the gist of it. There are a few wrinkles and some variations on this theme but they are all related to taking advantage of a strong trend, its pullbacks and entering on the trend resumption.
This is Dave's third book and each book provides this same basic message. His system works, it is simple and it gets results. His first book was one of the many that I read when I started trading some years ago. But like most traders, simplicity wasn't enough for me and I moved through the `more complexity is better' routine. I can recommend this book to those just starting out, as well as to the many that have been scratching unsuccessfully in the trading henhouse for some time.
30 of 34 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I started investing before most people who will read this book were even born. I have made good moves, bad moves, and moves I prefer not to talk about. A good friend suggested that I read The Layman's Guide To Trading Stocks. My reply was "I am hardly a layman, I have made and lost more money than anyone who would consider himself a layman." My friend said "just read it." I sat down with the book and could not stop reading. Every mistake I have made over the years is right there. Everything I did right is there. And Dave Landry puts it together in a coherent roadmap that could have helped me avoid the mistakes and capitalize on the good ideas every year since I invested my first dollar. The book definitely accomplishes its goal and more. The Layman's guide shows every investor how to avoid the pitfall of conventional thinking and capitalize on what really moves the markets. I highly recommend this book to anyone seeking an understanding of how markets really work, and what it will take to succeed as an investor.
26 of 29 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
When Dave Landry began writing his third book, he set out to write what he thought was going to be a beginner's guide to trading, one for `the layman'. But that plan changed over time. Landry explains in the preface of the book: "As I watched more and more people lose money in one of the greatest bear markets in history, I felt compelled to add more and more information. The basic book that I had envisioned soon ballooned into much more." Indeed, Landry's finished product is a complete guide to not only his trading methodology, but to his attitude and philosophy on trading as well, suitable for the beginner and experienced trader alike.
The book is divided into two sections, labeled `First Steps' and `Taking The Next Step'. The first section is, as the name implies, geared toward the beginning or novice trader. But right from the start, the book goes beyond the initial steps of helping one to recognize good trading opportunities in Landry's trend-following/pullback style, and helps the reader to `think' like a trader, first by trying to dispel some of the well-entrenched Wall Street myths, and then later by delving into trading psychology. That psychology is, in my opinion, one of Landry's strong suits, and one that many technical traders tend to either gloss over or ignore completely.
Often, traders of all types emphasize the methods, but overlook the importance of psychology in trading. If you follow Dave Landry's work at all, you know that psychology is always part of the discussion, and that a big part of becoming a successful trader is learning how to keep your head on straight and your emotions in check -- and dealing with the fact that the market is going to smack you around now and then. You can count on Landry to help you out a great deal in that area.
In the chapters where he uses charts to demonstrate his trading methods, he keeps the number of examples to a minimum, rather than filling the pages of the book with chart after chart showing the same setup over and over again. He also wastes little time in getting to important topics like money management and position sizing, and stresses the use of protective stops, all of which should be a fundamental part of any trading method. When it comes to placing stops ("as much art as science", according to Landry), many trading books are more than willing to talk about which stocks to buy and what chart patterns to look for, but the idea of setting stops and planning an eventual exit from the position is often saved for a quick mention near the end of the book, or is neglected entirely. Landry makes it an integral part of the trading process.
In the second section of the book, called "Taking The Next Step", Landry details the `bottom up' process he uses to select the best trading opportunities for his methodology, in addition to describing a few more chart patterns, adding to the pullbacks described in the first section. The psychological aspects of trading are not ignored in this section of the book either, as he explains how one needs to avoid `micromanaging' their positions, and trust the methodology rather than sweating over every tick in the market. This section also contains a chapter on `discretionary' techniques to be applied in certain situations, e.g., trading `opening gap reversals', doing `damage control' when required, and `surviving a nick' on stops.
Landry wraps up the book in fine fashion, with a wire-to-wire example of a real-life trade. This follows a single trade from entry to exit, complete with the determination of the appropriate position size prior to entry. The trade is then followed step-by-step, showing how stops were adjusted as the stock moved, when partial profits were taken, and when it was time to finally exit the position completely. If the reader has any questions about how the method is supposed to work by the time he/she gets to this point in the book, this complete example should help clear things up!
Faithful followers of Landry's teachings (commentary, webinars, etc.) may, at first, be a tad bit disappointed that there isn't a lot of `new' material in this book, but I was quite impressed to see so much good information contained in a single volume. Having this book on your bookshelf might be the next best thing to having Dave sitting right next to you, ready to help you out with that question on trend qualifiers -- or maybe tapping you on the shoulder and telling you that you're `micromanaging' that position...
"The Layman's Guide To Trading Stocks" contains a wealth of information which should be helpful to traders of any discipline or experience level. If you told me today that I could only take one trading book with me to that desert island, this would be the one.
Well done, Dave.
The book is divided into two sections, labeled `First Steps' and `Taking The Next Step'. The first section is, as the name implies, geared toward the beginning or novice trader. But right from the start, the book goes beyond the initial steps of helping one to recognize good trading opportunities in Landry's trend-following/pullback style, and helps the reader to `think' like a trader, first by trying to dispel some of the well-entrenched Wall Street myths, and then later by delving into trading psychology. That psychology is, in my opinion, one of Landry's strong suits, and one that many technical traders tend to either gloss over or ignore completely.
Often, traders of all types emphasize the methods, but overlook the importance of psychology in trading. If you follow Dave Landry's work at all, you know that psychology is always part of the discussion, and that a big part of becoming a successful trader is learning how to keep your head on straight and your emotions in check -- and dealing with the fact that the market is going to smack you around now and then. You can count on Landry to help you out a great deal in that area.
In the chapters where he uses charts to demonstrate his trading methods, he keeps the number of examples to a minimum, rather than filling the pages of the book with chart after chart showing the same setup over and over again. He also wastes little time in getting to important topics like money management and position sizing, and stresses the use of protective stops, all of which should be a fundamental part of any trading method. When it comes to placing stops ("as much art as science", according to Landry), many trading books are more than willing to talk about which stocks to buy and what chart patterns to look for, but the idea of setting stops and planning an eventual exit from the position is often saved for a quick mention near the end of the book, or is neglected entirely. Landry makes it an integral part of the trading process.
In the second section of the book, called "Taking The Next Step", Landry details the `bottom up' process he uses to select the best trading opportunities for his methodology, in addition to describing a few more chart patterns, adding to the pullbacks described in the first section. The psychological aspects of trading are not ignored in this section of the book either, as he explains how one needs to avoid `micromanaging' their positions, and trust the methodology rather than sweating over every tick in the market. This section also contains a chapter on `discretionary' techniques to be applied in certain situations, e.g., trading `opening gap reversals', doing `damage control' when required, and `surviving a nick' on stops.
Landry wraps up the book in fine fashion, with a wire-to-wire example of a real-life trade. This follows a single trade from entry to exit, complete with the determination of the appropriate position size prior to entry. The trade is then followed step-by-step, showing how stops were adjusted as the stock moved, when partial profits were taken, and when it was time to finally exit the position completely. If the reader has any questions about how the method is supposed to work by the time he/she gets to this point in the book, this complete example should help clear things up!
Faithful followers of Landry's teachings (commentary, webinars, etc.) may, at first, be a tad bit disappointed that there isn't a lot of `new' material in this book, but I was quite impressed to see so much good information contained in a single volume. Having this book on your bookshelf might be the next best thing to having Dave sitting right next to you, ready to help you out with that question on trend qualifiers -- or maybe tapping you on the shoulder and telling you that you're `micromanaging' that position...
"The Layman's Guide To Trading Stocks" contains a wealth of information which should be helpful to traders of any discipline or experience level. If you told me today that I could only take one trading book with me to that desert island, this would be the one.
Well done, Dave.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Recommendable
Clean, straight forward, honest - enjoyable and helpful for the very beginner as well as for the more experienced trader. Read more
Published 8 days ago by Ron
Great Book, lots of information for the beginner
This is my first review on Amazon and I've bought a lot of stuff on this website. The reason I'm writing this review is that I feel strongly about how well this book is written. Read more
Published 29 days ago by GES
A complete system for trading stocks
The Layman's Guide to Trading Stocks allows you to enter stocks on short term patterns with longer term potential. Read more
Published 1 month ago by A. Gift For You
best book yet
i have been reading many books and i have yet to find one that is so well written. everything in this book is explained well and makes sense. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Meghan Brennen
Simply the BEST Guide for a Layman like me
Like many other reviewers, I have read a lot of books on investing/trading. But making the jump from reading to actually understanding how to apply what you've read is a... Read more
Published 2 months ago by John A Kreuser
The read that I was looking for
So, prior to reading Dave's book, I had read 4 others that pertained to "how to trade stocks." I also did extensive research online, and yes, even made the mistake of clicking on... Read more
Published 3 months ago by ajmon14
Great read on trend following
Great book on trend following and what to watch out for. It is an easy to read and to understand book. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Kay Beewen
Excellent and Concise
This book is concise but thorough. It covers fundamentals of stock identification, money management, and trading psychology. Looking for a worthy investment of your time and money? Read more
Published 3 months ago by Packsander
The generic idea of the book
I have bought this book a month ago, with the objective of learning a little bit more about stock trading. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Pedro Miguel Costa
Simple Methodology
Finally, something I can follow that's not so confusing. I like the simplicity of this method. I don't want to spend all day at a computer trading. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Kenneth L Bivens
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