Way of the Turtle: The Secret Methods that Turned Ordinary People into Legendary Traders [Hardcover]

Curtis Faith (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 9, 2007

“We're going to raise traders just like they raise turtles in Singapore.”

So trading guru Richard Dennis reportedly said to his long-time friend William Eckhardt nearly 25 years ago. What started as a bet about whether great traders were born or made became a legendary trading experiment that, until now, has never been told in its entirety.

Way of the Turtle reveals, for the first time, the reasons for the success of the secretive trading system used by the group known as the “Turtles.” Top-earning Turtle Curtis Faith lays bare the entire experiment, explaining how it was possible for Dennis and Eckhardt to recruit 23 ordinary people from all walks of life and train them to be extraordinary traders in just two weeks.

Only nineteen years old at the time-the youngest Turtle by far-Faith traded the largest account, making more than $30 million in just over four years. He takes you behind the scenes of the Turtle selection process and behind closed doors where the Turtles learned the lucrative trading strategies that enabled them to earn an average return of over 80 percent per year and profits of more than $100 million. You'll discover

• How the Turtles made money-the principles that guided their trading and the step-by-step methods they followed
• Why, even though they used the same approach, some Turtles were more successful than others
• How to look beyond the rules as the Turtles implemented them to find core strategies that work for any tradable market
• How to apply the Turtle Way to your own trades-and in your own life
• Ways to diversify your trading and limit your exposure to risk

Offering his unique perspective on the experience, Faith explains why the Turtle Way works in modern markets, and shares hard-earned wisdom on taking risks, choosing your own path, and learning from your mistakes.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

After nearly 25 years, the turtles come out of their shells.

Way of the Turtle takes a never-before-seen look at the legendary Turtle Traders and the famous experiment that made them millions. Curtis Faith, the most successful member of this elite group, breaks the silence to reveal the rules, timing, risks, rewards, and secrets to his biggest trades and 100 percent annual returns. Sharing behind-the-scenes insights and step-by-step techniques, Faith shows how you can use the Turtle Way to achieve enormous profits-whatever your skill level.

“The most successful turtle was apparently Curtis Faith. Trading records show that Mr. Faith, who was only 19 when he started the program, made about $31.5 million in profits for Mr. Dennis.”-Stanley W. Angrist, The Wall Street Journal

About the Author

Curtis M. Faith was the most successful of the Turtles, earning more than $30 million for Richard Dennis while trading as a Turtle. He is one of the industry's leading pioneers of mechanical trading systems and software. Faith is currently head of research and development for Trading Blox, LLC, a company that specializes in software for trading system analysis and development. He also runs an Internet forum for mechanical system traders at tradingblox.com/forum.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill; 1 edition (March 9, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 007148664X
• ISBN-13: 978-0071486644
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 1.2 x 8.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (100 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #22,975 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Curtis Faith is author of the bestselling book Way of the Turtle, which has sold 70,000 copies and has been translated into nine languages. In his early twenties, Faith earned more than $30 million as a member of the legendary Chicago trading group, the Turtles. He founded several software and high-tech startups, including a public company and an Inc. 500 firm, and is also the author of Inside the Mind of the Turtles and Trading From Your Gut.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

255 of 279 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Lessons From An Original Turtle March 31, 2007

By Brett Steenbarger

Format:Hardcover

Curtis Faith's Way of the Turtle is a significant contribution to the trading literature. As other reviewers have noted, it works on several levels: It is an engagingly written first-person narrative of one of the most interesting experiments in trading, but it is also a thoughtful presentation of the various ingredients of trading success.

Faith spells out the Turtle trading method in detail, providing a template for a more general approach known as trend following. Most helpful is the way he breaks down the method into components: entry criteria, criteria for adding to positions, position sizing, stops, and exits. A particularly interesting chapter draws upon his Trading Blox software to update trend following research and illustrate the results of several systems in recent markets.

If I had to identify a single theme for the book, it might be this: Relatively simple trading systems can provide a tradable edge, but it is psychologically difficult for traders to follow these systems and exploit that edge. Faith illustrates this with the variability in the results among the Turtle trainees (despite the fact that all of them were given the same system rules). He also provides a detailed accounting of the psychological biases that make it difficult to follow systems that ride relatively few big winning trades for an overall positive expectancy.

Among the gems provided by Way of the Trader is a discussion of stop loss criteria and surprising research about what works and doesn't; a concluding chapter that lays out the Turtle rules in manual form, along with execution tactics; and an insightful presentation of the reasons most traders do not succeed in trading. Faith questions both discretionary trading--trading without systematically testing one's trading ideas--and the notion that trading systems eliminate emotions from trading. He makes it very clear that traders need an objective edge in the marketplace *and* the psychological fortitude to ride out inevitable drawdowns on route to exploiting that edge.

I don't think it's necessary that one be a dedicated trend follower to greatly benefit from this book. Besides being a fun and interesting read, it is an excellent introduction to the various components of trading methods and how they impact outcomes. It is also a first-rate integration of the psychology and techniques of trading. Perhaps most important of all, Way of the Turtle is an illuminating presentation of risk management and consistency, two major contributors to market success.

There are no glaring weaknesses to the book that I can detect. Personally, I would have enjoyed a discussion of the pros and cons of trend following at shorter time frames. I also would have liked a discussion of the capital required to properly implement the Turtle approach, given that success derives from holding a diversified portfolio. Those, however, are small quibbles when compared to the book's strengths. The author's chapter elaborating the Turtle method as a life philosophy is, by itself, worth the price of the text.

In short, Curtis Faith has written the definitive book on the Turtle experience and way of trading. It's hard to imagine anyone reading this book and not coming away from the experience impressed with the blend of research and psychological strength that goes into trading success.

176 of 206 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars One of the Five Worst Trading Books Ever Written August 5, 2007

By M. Dooner

Format:Hardcover

Here are some of the key reasons why this book is simply a poorly written/edited and ineffective trading book:

1. Chapters do not build on one another. The story goes back and forth, between hazy descriptions of technical trading tools, bizarre charts poorly explained, then back to the Turtles story, including amazement about how not every turtle could follow the rules except the author. Back and forth. Back and forth.

2. Anecdotal wisdom. Stuff you see in every book, from every investor/trader. Don't follow the herd. Know yourself. Forget about the past. You can't predict the future. Don't let past losses upset you. Is the author getting paid by the cliche?

3. Author references his own websites and company, and also heavily references the author with the 'big' blurb on the front cover. That would be Van K. Tharp who calls this "One of the five best trading books ever written". There is no corelation between this quote and the author citing Van Tharp throughout the entire book. I would like to see a chart on those probabilities in this book.

4. Misleading and contradictory title. Throughout the book, the author presses on the point that there is no secret method, that people want to believe a secret method exists because then they wouldn't have to admit to themselves that they psychologically do not have the capacity to trade effectively. Then the book is titled "The Secret Methods..." I guess that kind of title sells better.

Also on contraditions - there are no methods in this book. Just general descriptions of basic technical trading tools that one can find by googling the subject. The worst part is that the descriptions aren't even fully developed. The examples are weak, and the 'gestalt' of using multiple technical trading techniques collaboratively, as a system, is not covered adequately.

5. Book is not practical. The examples and the methods used by the author to trade do not fit 99.99% of all investor profiles. In fact, they only fit the profile of someone who can afford to lose a rich person's money as part of a social experiment.

In conclusion, I would say that the main problem with this book is its focus. If the book was biographical in nature, and covered the interactions and emotions on the floor with the other Turtles, and covered specifically the psychological aspects and nothing else, it could be a somewhat interesting read. As an investment book, it does not work, and is aggravating.

131 of 153 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing May 29, 2007

By TateJR

Format:Hardcover

I bought this book and couldn't wait until it

arrived. I tore into it to find out the "Way of

the Turtle" or the religion of Turtle Trading. I

expected the author to uncover how he used the

Turtle Way in his trading and personal life.

Perhaps talk about the lessons learned from his

tech-company going belly up, and his failings in

trading, and business in general. Certainly the

discipline taught by Dennis and Eckhardt should

have better prepared him mentally to avoid the

large scale failures he has endured in his life?

What I found instead was a boring assembly of

trading descriptions that really had nothing to

do with the "Way of the Turtle" or Curtis Faith

in general. It was a poor attempt to be

everything to everyone. He very rarely stayed on

one topic, and scattered around trading ideas

while providing little tangible insight. Oddly,

he did not mention any of the other traders in

his Turtle class. A "reveal all book" would

certainly mention the other students in his class

- seeing that some of them have become Wall

Street's greatest traders!

Recently Faith revealed (on YouTube) that he lost

all of his trading capital. So I am confused. I

bought this book to see in depth about who the

"most successful" Turtle was only later to hear

him confess that he lost all of his trading

capital. Which is it? Are you the great trader

that you claim to be or did you lose all of your

money? After reading this book I am convinced

that the author has probably not traded in years.

This is a bargain basket book inside of 2 years -

don't waste your time or money.