Secrets of the Soes Bandit: Harvey Houtkin Reveals His Battle-Tested Electronic Trading Techniques (Hardcover)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The Small Order Execution System, which gives individuals direct access to the NASDAQ stock market, has spawned a fast-growing cult of electronic day traders who look to profit from price fluctuations and momentary discrepancies in the quotes offered by market makers. Wall Street views them as a pernicious band of rogues. And Harvey Houtkin, author of Secrets of the SOES Bandit, views himself as the merry band's Robin Hood.

Houtkin was one of the first SOES traders. His All-Tech order-entry firm was among the plaintiffs who won a 1993 federal appeals court case that forced the Securities and Exchange Commission to allow wider access to SOES. Much of the book chronicles Houtkin's legal struggles with the SEC and the brokerage industry on behalf of the former "gardeners, hairdressers, and even lawyers" that he says he has trained to trade successfully. While much of Houtkin's book is disorganized and repetitive, readers who stick with it will learn some of the fundamentals of day trading and how to read the "wiggles," "jiggles," and "head fakes" of NASDAQ prices. For anyone curious about day trading, Secrets of the SOES Bandit is not a bad place to begin, though it is only a beginning. --Barry Mitzman

Product Description

Soes (Small Order Execution System) has been a catalyst for change in the financial markets. SOES, increasingly called direct access electronic trading, allows individuals to bypass their broker and profit from intraday price movements on NASDAQ. As Time noted, "Savvy little guys use Wall Street's own computers to outsmart marketing pros." In Secrets of the SOES Bandit, average investors can learn how to utilize direct access electronic trading, think like successful tradersm and make trading an integral part of their lives. The book provides detailed analysis of the various NASDAQ participants and their impact on the market. Investors will also explore the inner workings of the NASDAQ market both before and after the regulatory revolution.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 229 pages
• Publisher: Mcgraw-Hill (August 27, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0070305773
• ISBN-13: 978-0070305779
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (75 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,119,790 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A History Lesson and not much more, December 13, 1999

By	A stock trader "caplock" (Massachusetts) - See all my reviews

If your interested in a history lesson this book is for you. Harvey Houtkin does a good job telling the of the origins of modern day trading and promoting his ego. If your interested in learning how to trade to make money pass this one it's not for you. The title is very deceiving. He doesn't really teach much other than history. He should have been honest with people and not implied that people would learn anything about trading.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars HARVEY-Please stop having people post fake reviews!, February 18, 1999

By A Customer

Nobody cares about the person. This book is about business, not about what great things Mrs. Houtkin has done for the SOES business. Thus, when it comes to "SECRETS" none are revealed. This book is horrible and I am tired of seeing "shills" come in here and try to boost the already inflated rating on this piece of garbage book. DO NOT BE DECEIVED PEOPLE! There are much better books on this subject matter...This is just an expensive coaster or floor mat. Don't buy it!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Houtkin only want us to know what we owe him !, January 31, 2001

By	Otilio Gonzalez "[e-mail]" (Santiago, Dominican Republic) - See all my reviews

If you are a novice trader looking for trading strategies, systems or any other educational information this is the last book you should consider to buy, this book only tells the history of Direct Access Electronic Trader (DAET) and what Houtkin did for the DAET revolution to succeed. Bottom Line: this book won't make you any better trader. I have read about 15 day trading books and this is the first I should not bought it cause is really a waste of time.