Very good book. Alot of info to digest. I wish the featured charts were larger and in color. The writer is a bit self aggrandizing and writes in a condescending manner. If you can get pass that, you can learn from him.

I would say that this book deals with the basics of what it takes to be a successful trader. It gives the reader a realistic point of view regarding how hard it is to be successful and the most important aspects of surviving and eventually thriving as a trader. In summary:

1.Money management-Have a plan that allows you to have a string of losses and still be ok. MOST new traders destroy their account because they never thought this part through. If you are new to the game and can't afford to lose thousands of dollars within a few weeks, this should be your top priority before doing any real trades.

2. Greed and Fear-The mental part of the game must be mastered once you have a plan for not losing all your money. Losing and making money both make you crazy. Self control

3. Strategies-this book goes over mechanical system building and the importance of backtesting strategies, but does not go into any detail about specific strategies.

This book teaches you how to think about trading and gives you advice aimed at preventing you from failing, as 90% of new traders do, so says the author. Read this book to learn what concepts need to be prioritized and then get another book to learn specific strategies and charting skills, etc.

I have a small collection of books on stock trading. For the most part they tell me what other people did to be on the payday side of the market. Some are specific to a set of methods (How To Make Money In Stocks: A Winning System in Good Times or Bad, 3rd Edition), others are good read on what a trader should know, practice, do or not do (Invest Like a Shark: How a Deaf Guy with No Job and Limited Capital Made a Fortune Investing in the Stock Market).

Marcel Link takes a practical approach to high probability trades. The basic idea:
You are a good ping pong player who beats all the neighbors in your basement. Do you think you would do well at the US Open?
Last weekend you managed not to drown while crossing the 25 yards of your local pool. Do you think you can beat Michael Phelps?

What is the probability of a positive outcome of one of the above? Yet that's exactly what we do when we jump into the stock market and lay our hard earned cash on the line in a bid against professionals with Harvard degrees, years of experience and deep pockets. With such a lineup, what is the probability of us winning?

This book explains in a good level of detail that actually yes, there is a probability of winning. However, one needs to do a bit of learning, training and planning beforehand. It remains unlikely that you'll beat the seasoned table tennis pro (my opinion), but with knowledge, training, patience and discipline, you'll be able to pocket a few points instead of getting blown off the table.

The book goes to great lengths to explain that trading the market is a serious business decision that requires knowledge, preparation, planning and above all, discipline.

Marcel Link explains how several technical indicators work, how traders use them, when to use them and when to stay away from them. He tells you "look, here is a pattern that seems to have worked in the past" but he also points out that a single pattern alone doesn't make for a good trade and it is up to you to find, interpret and evaluate such pattern and get it confirmed (or not) by other indicators.

This book is an eye opener. One of the very first things I did after cracking it open was to look back and evaluate my past trades. It is horrifying to realize how easily I could have lost a lot of money due to my "buying strategies". I would have never made those trades if I knew then what I know today.

Summary:
- very well written book, concise style with a touch of humor, very well organized
- very readable, written in simple and effectively used plain English, no typos
- sticks to the point of making trades that have higher probability of payoff
- describes the toolbox needed to find, evaluate and execute great trades
- leans a bit towards short term trading and has commodity trading examples sprinkled through quite frequently. However, both the short term and commodity trading strategies are applicable to long term trades as well
- spends quite a few pages on trader psychology, establishing a trading plan, writing a money management plan and coming up with a game strategy
- emphasizes that a well designed and thought through entry point is just the beginning of a good trade and it needs an equally well designed and thought through exit point. Otherwise a good entry point may turn into a very expensive lesson
- discipline, discipline, discipline

Conclusion:
This is not one evening read. You need to study it, consult the market, study your past trades, play with charts, learn various analysis techniques.
Above all, you need to come up with your plan, test it and come up with your trading identity before you lay a single red cent on the line.


Other (my opinion) useful, complementary books:
How To Make Money In Stocks: A Winning System in Good Times or Bad, 3rd Edition
Invest Like a Shark: How a Deaf Guy with No Job and Limited Capital Made a Fortune Investing in the Stock Market

Classics:
Reminiscences of a Stock Operator (Wiley Investment Classics)
How I Made $2,000,000 In The Stock Market
How to Trade In Stocks

Technical analysis formulas:
Technical Analysis from A to Z, 2nd Edition

At the beginning I thougt I'd read all this before and that it was all the same.
But soon after reading some more I learned some new things, f.exmpl. to use the fibonacci retracement properly, this is mandatory because every serious trader watches these levels and trade thereafter.

Marcel also goes through exit strategies , something very few other authors do.
He uses his own hard earned wisdom to give great advices.

One of the most important things was the money management chapter, if a trader misses out on this one the it doesn't matter how good a technician he or she may be.

One of the best trading books I've read, just wish I'd read this one earlier.

Good Luck !

This is an excellent book about trading, especially for the beginner. However, the beginner is not likely to recognize why this book is excellent versus the many books written about trading by non-traders. I highly recommend this book to anyone trying to teach themselves about the markets. If you already are a successful trader, the book may not be that helpful. If I were to teach a course in trading, I would consider using this book as one of the textbooks for the class, in part because there are very few comprehensive good books about trading. I have read the negative reviews posted on Amazon, and I don't think they are, for the most part, informed or fair. I hope the author comes out with a second edition, in part because while I think the content is excellent, the writing could be improved upon. But I'd rather have a substantively excellent book, than one of the many trading books well-written by a non-trader that is unhelpful or even misleading on the substance. "High Probability Trading" is worth the read.

like I did for about 3 years. Now I that I finally picked it up I am almost a third of the way through and already has Marcel Link's clear, honest, to the point language and approach to day trading dotted my i's and crossed my t's several times over. Yes, I did read books about small cap value investing, how to read charts and how to make money using all kinds of fancy systems before this one and I recommend you do the same. But don't stop there - go ahead and finish your training with this excellent work. Marcel's straightforward message is so simple yet so deep that I hope it will, just like it is already doing for me, banish all your fears about making mistakes and still coming out a winner. I write this on purpose because if you are not making money in the market you probably have a fear of winning and/or are making too many mistakes. Right after I started reading this book I had my first winning streak in years only to face an age old stumbling block just a week later; this time, thanks to Marcel's warning, I could honestly say to myself "It's OK, keep going" and I actually was able to prevent a big loss because the market had turned against me. Thanks to Marcel's "handholding" I had the courage to read all the charts before rushing into a decision that could have cost me. This book is for everybody who is missing out on grasping the "whole" of trading. After this, I plan to read more technical books just to stay sharp in that area, but for the time being I am enjoying every page in this volume. Highy recommended.

I've bought alot of trading books, usually at 50 bucks a pop, and some of them really leave you groaning about. I rationalize that even one good idea, even it just reinforces something I already know or reminds of something I forgot or ignored then it's better that losing 50 bucks to the market. It's kind of like trading itself, you take some losses but the winners make up for it.

This was a great book. One of the best sections I've seen on stops and exits. It goes more into the proper mentality than cookbook strategies, but it goes deep into areas alot of other books overlook or just don't develop beyond a few cliche's. If you're past the introduction level and already own all the indicator catalogs then this is a great pick. Not too deep into the tools, but good in that area too. Mentality and strategy development without becoming a psychology book. Excellent. The 1 star guys missed the point.

I just started to trade a month ago with paper money. It's a good book for a beginner. The book is out of date, 2003 edition. Charts are black-and-white color that makes them difficult to read. Recommended.

Unlike most books on trading, this one isn't filled with fluff. It shows you how to trade, as promised. As a very experienced trader, while I did not learn a whole lot of new material, the author's ability to crystallize difficult material into a readable form should be commended, as this is a feat extremely difficult to achieve. Excellent book. Highly recommended.

Until last year I was satisfied to shift my investments around between Fidelity funds. Since then I've been using a brokerage account and ETFs with a small amount of experimentation with options.

A brokerage account with real-time software is a dangerous thing, and I've made some expensive mistakes. Previous investment books have been useful, but none has helped me as much as High Probability Trading in identifying my psychological weaknesses (chasing trends, ignoring timing, overconfidence ...) and giving me concrete advice on correcting them. I look back on recent trades and cringe now -- the losses would have been less and the gains more if I had been doing what I am now. Not that I expect this book to turn me into a sure winner, but based on looking back I would have lost less and made more.

The author's style is quite personal, with lots of amusing and educational anecdotes.

What's not to like about it? The author's orientation is short-term (day or a few days) trading of futures, but he has tried to include stock traders and investors too. Perhaps addressing multiple audiences slightly dilutes the message for any single group, but most of the advice applies to several asset classes and time periods, and will make you question what you're really most comfortable with. It caught me at the right developmental stage, but if you don't feel a need to address the issues that are raised, or have already dealt with them, it wouldn't be as useful to you.

Disclaimer: I'm only about 50% through the book, but found it so useful that a review might be helpful to others now. Although I have a five star feeling from the first part, it's getting only four in this review because it's only based on the first part.

This book is excellent. All aspects of trading covered & dealt with in candid form. Marcel is open about his own shortcomings & failures. He has been there, done that. And also deals with the most important areas of money management & psychology. Bob

This is one of the great books that I read. I know many will say that the information in the book is available free on the internet, yes it is true, but not in a systematic manner in which the author does it in this book.

I think every new trader should read this book before beginning trading.

This is not really a trading systems book, although some systems are discussed. It is an overview of fundamental disciplines that traders can use for making and keeping money. Although not exciting in themselves, these disciplines will probably make or break a trader. A successful trader will already have integrated most of this information. The book is well organized and reads easily enough.

Excellent. (I never give a 100% rating as there is always room for improvement). This book is written by a person that understands what it is all about and knows what he is talking about. He is a real person. The book is very easy reading with real information. A definite read for beginners. It has turned my trading from 80% negative trades to 60% positive trades. The only reason my positive trades are so low is because I am still hanging on to bad habits. Do not miss this one.

If you want a decent overview of trading then this book is a good choice. The author covers the basics of getting started to what tools to use, such as, the news, indicators, and breakouts. I thought the best parts of the book were the discussions on money management and the last part on Self-Control. If you are an experienced trader there are a few nuggets here.

It is recommended for a trader starter like me or someone who need a reminder how to save money in trading. Before i read this book, i've made mistake and lost a lot. That's because i start real trading this week and only did virtual trading for 2 months. Lucky i read this book, to remind me and give me the big picture of way of trading. At least it works for me. Now, i still back again doing virtual trading, to mastering and practice the guidance from the book.

Different trading books cover different aspects of trading, like risk, execution, or psychology. This book covers all of that and more. It is one of the few complete books on trading I have read so far. I don't think you can read this one book and become a great trader, but I do think it starts you in the right direction and if you follow what Marcel is saying you will be a better trader.

I also think if you are already a successful trader there are many things in this book that can help you to become even more successful. I first read this book about two years ago. Learned some good things from it and then put it on my shelf of trading books. I pulled it back off the shelf about a week ago and started reading it again. I am glad I did. There are so many pearls of wisdom in this book that I had forgotten, or just stopped using over time. Sometimes we need to be reminded so we can continue to improve.

Marcel appears to be a real trader. That's a good thing because there are many trading books out there written by real authors, not real traders. The wisdom he lays down in this book are the bits and pieces he learned through his trials and errors over years of trading.

Here are some of the things I took away from this book.

-Trading is the hardest job you will ever have. If you think you are going to just walk over to your computer, turn it on, and then buy or sell your way to riches without any preparation, you are sadly mistaken. If someone tells you it is easy, ask to see their audited statements for the past few years.

-Be realistic about the time it will take you to become successful. It will probably be 2-5 years of diligent work before you can become a successful trader. Some people can do it in less time, others will need more time. A doctor, lawyer, or other professional cannot become an expert in their field in a couple of months. Why would you think you can do it in a field like trading? Something else to learn from doctors or lawyers, the really successful ones specialize. You cannot trade every market, so find the ones you are good at and specialize in those areas. That's the way to happiness and profits.

-Learning to trade is a timed race. You need to become successful before you run out of money. Its just like a new business, you need to make money before you go broke. Treat trading as a business and you will be more successful at it.

-In the beginning it is much more important to learn how to not lose money than it is to learn how to make money. If you keep from losing money you lengthen your learning time. No money means no trading. You have to preserve your precious capital. Plus once you learn how not to lose money, you start getting better at realizing how to make it.

-You need to have the proper capital to succeed, or you need to have realistic expectations for the capital you currently have. You should not be trading four e-mini futures contracts on a $10,000 account. It would put your risk level way too high and lower your chances to succeed. Proper risk levels are vitally important.

-Never take a trade that you cannot explain. You need to understand why you are getting into a trade. There are tons of trades every single day. This book is about taking the high probability trades. Why take a low probability trade when all you need to do is be patient and a higher probability trade is right around the corner.

-Trading against the trend is a low probability trade. Why not place the odds in your favor by trading with the trend?

-Trade the market, not your P/L. Trade what the market is showing you. Do not trade because you need to make a mortgage payment or car payment. The market is very generous and gives you many opportunities each and every day to transfer some of its money to your account. Wait patiently and be prepared to act when those opportunities arise.

-Always have a stop-loss. That means a hard stop you place the second after you put on the trade, or a mental stop that you will execute without fail if the market hits that number. A stop-loss just lets you know the trade is not what you are expecting. A small loss is part of the game. Do not let it turn into a large loss. Some of the best traders are only right about 30-40% of the time. And they make millions by only taking a small loss when they are wrong and letting their profits run when they are right.

-Risk. You need to set proper risk levels and always follow them. You will never know ahead of time which trades will make money or which trades will lose money, so you need to have proper risk levels at all times. Improper risk levels are one of the most critical reasons that new traders fail. By risking too much they never give themselves a fighting chance to be successful in the markets. New traders have not figured out their edge, they have not dealt with their own psychology, they have a dozen reasons why the trade is wrong, but with improper risk levels they get too few chances at learning the correct way to trade.

-Psychology. Whole books have been written on this subject. Marcel hits many of the important ones in his life, they will probably help you out too. This is a very important subject that you must conquer to be successful. For some it is easy, others will work on it until the day they die. I once read somewhere that "The market is an expensive place to learn about yourself". It's very true.

I can easily say that this book is in my list of the five best trading books. It deserves to be read more than once. Maybe once a year if you are actively trading. I would like to be able to give a brief description of the highlights of this book, but this is an all-encompassing book on trading. It covers everything that the majority of traders need to know and understand. If you follow what Marcel talks about in this book, you will have a high probability of succeeding in your trading career.

I just went through this book and it has some good information a stock trader can use to improve his approach trading stocks.

I read so many trading books in my trading career and many you can through out the window. This one you can find a spot on your book shelf after you read through it and you won't need to throw it out of the window.

If you are having a hard time getting on the right track trading this is another book you can find a place on your bookshelf.
The Subtle Trap of Trading: Why So Many Smart People Don't Make Money Trading, And How To Get On The Right Track In Less Than Two Hours
by Brian McAboy

I just went through this book and it has some good information a stock trader can use to improve his approach trading stocks.

I read so many trading books in my trading career and many you can through out the window. This one you can find a spot on your book shelf after you read through it and you won't need to throw it out of the window.

This book is one of my favorite trading books. It was right after I hit a pretty huge drawdown that I started reading this book, and it gave me a clear vision of high probability trading. I took back all my losses and became consistently profitable though I still do lose, but losing is part of trading anyway...
One thing, some of the strategies might be a little difficult to program for those who trade based on systems, but lots of useful ideas!! recommended!!

I have been trading profitably for about three years. I have been at this for about five years. I trade anything from fx spot market to mini-futures. Once a month I go back over all of my trades, read Elder's, Come Into My Trading Room, and this book is the first book I grab to re-hash strategies. I estimate that only about ten actual books on trading these days will make you profitable in todays markets. This book is one of the top three. The other two are Murphy's technical trading book and Tading in the Zone for the psychological aspect of this game.
For the person who said that indicators are not profitable- How have I been making money, consistently, for several years now with indicators all over my charts? Granted, I do not use indicators like the typical "Default" hogs that get slaughtered when they use indicators without any testing etc.. I use indicators exactly like Link shows in this book. I guess it works for some traders and not for other traders?

The title of this book speaks volumes about what you will find inside. What the author discusses through out this book is how to make every trade give you high probable odds to make money. Trade unemotionally, don't get greedy, and don't try to make the market pay you back for past losses. Do not become arrogant and stop using a proven system. Wait for a pullback to buy a hot stock instead of buying at an all time high. Do not over trade, wait and watch for a great set up. Give trades room to develop do not set to tight of stops. Give winning trades room to run before taking profits. This book is an all in one book for successfully trading covering all the bases, technical trades, money management, risk management, and the psychological aspects of trading. No trade is a sure thing, we deal in probabilities, increase your odds by practicing what this book teaches. I highly recommend. Also read ALL of Dr. Alexander Elder's books for more specific trading principles involving your mind, method, and money management.

Best book on trading I've ever read. Confirmed everything I had to learn the hard way over several years. If you are new to trading, read this first. It will get you on the fast track!

Best book on trading I've ever read. Confirmed everything I had to learn the hard way over several years. If you are new to trading, read this first. It will get you on the fast track!

Delving into the emotional mindset of successful traders vs. chronicly unsuccessful traders, Link does a great job trying to bring a method to this madness called trading. If you're determined to make a go of this career, you probably already have 5 or 10 books in your arsenal. Make sure you add this one.

I found this book to be a good review of technical analysis. In this book the authors explains his style of trading using technical analysis with tricks on how to trade better using the big picture (longer trends) then details (daily trends) view on the stock and market. I found this book to be a good refresher of how to do technical analysis but would recommend other books for more detail on specific topics of analysis: candlestick, moving averages, etc. If you have not read about technical analysis and want to learn to a not so detailed perspective this would be a good start. I would recommend this book to beginners with some knowledge of technical analysis.
Enjoy the read and good luck on the trades!

I found this book to be a good review of technical analysis. In this book the authors explains his style of trading using technical analysis with tricks on how to trade better using the big picture (longer trends) then details (daily trends) view on the stock and market. I found this book to be a good refresher of how to do technical analysis but would recommend other books for more detail on specific topics of analysis: candlestick, moving averages, etc. If you have not read about technical analysis and want to learn to a not so detailed perspective this would be a good start. I would recommend this book to beginners with some knowledge of technical analysis.
Enjoy the read and good luck on the trades!

I liked this book a lot. It was clearly written. It covers a surprising array of trading aspects. The author doesn't come across as condescending. The author doesn't provide the reader with an unrealistic expectation of success or failure. The author has a lot of different experiences with trading that he uses to create a wonderful work. The book is organized well, and all the information contained in the book is relevant to traders and long-term investors alike.

The author has a lot of experience trading. He's traded in the pits of exchanges, traded other people's money, traded his own money, and has seen incredible blow-ups of his own and of his clients as a broker.

The book is organized well. The chapters are dense with information. Each chapter stays relevant and doesn't lose focus. The resulting effect is a high-quality work that hammers the nail right on the head.

The author doesn't provide the reader with unrealistic expectations. When you read this book, you'll read so many stories of people blowing their accounts up, that you'll come to understand success in this game is the exception, not the norm.

No book is perfect, so I will include a criticism of the book. It is redundant. It is redundant. It is redudant. But that might not be a bad thing if that's how you learn. But if you hate redundancy, avoid this book.

If you're looking for a book as a brief intro into financial statements, try "Rule #1 Investing" by Phil Town.

Appendix

The following works/books were mentioned by the author inside this book as recommended reading:
1) Reminiscences of a Stock Operator
2) The Inner Game of Tennis
3) Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds


I bought this book from a dealer off Amazon and it came in perfect condition. Try eBay if you're looking for best price.

Easy to read and understand but these concepts are a must known before anyone should even begin trading. Wish I had found it many $$$$ ago. This book will help you to understand why 90% of new traders loose money in the markets and what you have to do to be in the 10% that survive the first year. Especially if you think you are going to make a killing on Wall Street, you have to read this book first.

The book contains plenty of personal experiences and observations which help keep the material enjoyable as well as informative. Also, the book is aimed primaily at day traders, but all trading styles will benefit from its reading.

I'm a relative newcomer to the world of investing books and have been choosing my reading material based mainly on reviews (like Amazon's) and recommendations. I'm disappointed with "High Probability Trading."

The author clearly has experience and knowledge about the subject but the writing is poor, even by investment book standards. Rather than introduce a concept, outline it logically, and present takeaways and recommendations, the book lapses into circuitous, hit-and-miss ramblings vaguely around a concept and never seems to make a clear, actionable point. I felt like I was repeatedly battered by urgent insistence that I make high probability trades (!!) without receiving much help identifying and setting up those same critical trades.

If I were stranded on a desert island with only one trading book (and a live internet connection, trading platform, and quoting package, of course) I'd choose John Carter's "Mastering the Trade."

Link's book is among the best book you can read about if you serious about making money investing for a living. There are tons of books about technical analysis and stock picking, but you won't get far unless you can recognize and control emotions, have a system and money management plan, and learn discipline. High Probability trading is one of only a handful of books that covers those aspects, which is most important in determining your success. Unlike many guys, he actually admits to making big mistakes and blowing through $$$. You have to accept the fact that you'll lose money at first and that large chunks of money that you blow through is really "trading tuition". This guy is really an ordinary Joe who has journeyed through many painful experiences in the investing world. Link teaches you how to deal with them.

I've read Trader Vics book and it doesn't hold a candle to High Probability trading. The only shortcoming is that Link does not cover techniques of speculating in options.

I have never found a book that you could sit down with and directly trade the market using the set-ups in the book. This book is no exception.

I don't really know why this is. I suppose if I wrote out exactly how I trade and put it in a book, people reading it would also be unable to duplicate my results.

That's how trading is. There is so much of you in your trading strategy and execution that it is non-transferable.

On the other hand this book contains an approach to trading that the clearest and best I have ever read.

If anybody asks me for a book to start out with...I always recommend this one.

For starters, I do not want to pick a fight, and I am not saying this book is by any means perfect, but I hope no one is influenced by Larry Livingstone's review dated May 18, 2006. In case you don't know, Larry Livingstone is the character in Lefevre's classic, "Reminiscences of a Stock Operator", which is itself a slightly fictionalized biography of the very real Jesse Livermore. Just so you'll know. Read his review and then come back.

Again, without spending my entire review responding to the "Larry's" criticism, let me just say that if you actually read the book, these criticisms will vanish. Link is not advising traders to be loose and wild and not worry about blowing your account, as "Larry" seems to imply, rather he is stating an undeniable, plain fact....many successful traders have at one point blown their accounts.....period! Cold, hard reality. Yes, me included. Had I read this book, however, I might have prevented that. "Larry's" other cherry-picked criticisms will fade away when you read the book and understand the context of some of the quotes "Larry" provided.

Moving on....as I said this is probably the best trading book I have ever read. As opposed to books like "The Master Swing Trader", this book is very well written (like it or not, this is important), very easy and interesting to read, very practical, and very informative. Nor is he a big Wall Street fund manager (at least the book is not written from that perspective) that operates in a completely different world than the average trader. It is a very practical and realistic book that you will be able to relate to. I have read many trading books including Market Wizards and Reminiscences, and I highly recommend them, but in reality how many of us actually operate at that level? These are good books and you should read them, but Link's "High Probability Trading" is aimed at the small trader and it will have an immediate impact on your trading.

Yes, most of what he teaches can be found elsewhere, but my response is that it can be found here too; and as I said, he brings it to you in a way that you can relate to and it will help you really understand the why and the how. Just having a list of rules is not as good as having someone give you a very good example of how to implement the rule and what can happen if you don't. This is why, in my opinion, High Probability Trading, for the average trader, is even superior to books as acclaimed as Market Wizards and Reminiscences.

Link's discussion of technical indicators is very brief, but I have to say it was in some ways far superior to other, much longer, items I have read about them. What he does better than others is that he shows you how to apply them. He gives you the proper uses, and limitations, of these indicators. Not many writers do that.... some make them out to be a crystal ball, while others tell you that they have no place whatsoever. I would disagree with both.

Link does not try to build himself up in this book like some writers do, rather he is very honest about his growth as a trader, which I find very refreshing. He tells some stories about his experiences, good and bad, his mistakes, his successes, his emotions, that you can immediately relate to. You will find yourself saying, "Yep, been there... done that."

Although the book is very well written and easy to read and understand, the main reason I found it to be the best book on trading I had ever read is very simple...... it was the most realistic book on trading I had ever read.

Unless you are already at the top of the trading world and can condescend to the rest of us, I suspect you will disagree with "Larry" and find this book very helpful. I wish I had read it about 5 years before it was written..

One other book I highly recommend is Stanley Kroll's "The Professional Commodity Trader". This book is a sleeper. Again, it is very well written and is very interesting to read.

Having been asked about which books I would suggest my students should read on trading, this has to be very close to the top of the list.

Good quality, well written content.

My only small critism is that Marcel constantly refers to trading futures, whilst the methods can be applied to stocks, options, CFD's and spread betting.

Probably the best practical how-to book on the subject of daytrading stocks, indices, and futures contracts.

It's all technical - that is, chart-reading - but you get a much clearer idea of how to actually trade using a chart than you do out of all the classic technical analysis books. There is nothing in this book about chart patterns (triangles, cups, flags, etc.) or about candlestick formations. Perhaps the author doesn't consider those things worthwhile, but personally I find that knowing about them is at least helpful.

His mantra is trading with the trend of a higher time-frame than the one you are trading in and basically trying to capture the meat of the next wave after a correction in the direction of that trend in your trading time-frame. He uses trendlines and channels to find the best entries and exits. If there is no trend then you are in a range-bound market and should play the range reversals at the extremes - when this fails be prepared to play the break of the range without chasing it, which usually means waiting for a pullback (in which case you have now switched back to trend-following tactics). Breaks of channels in the higher time frame create a reversal in trend and are played in a similar manner.

There is alot of material on using oscilators correctly, especially Stochastics - not just looking for reversals when it crosses and turns from overbought and oversold like most people use it. He shows how it can be helpful in both trends and range-trading.

Interestingly enough, he includes some examples of "high probability trades" that are against the trend as well - although he always goes back to saying you are better off sticking to trades with the trend. (There are a few seemingly contradictions like that but this is still a great trading book.)

Link stresses over and over that top traders will have 50% losing trades. So what trading boils down to is a probability game like poker or backgammon. Your average winner has to be significantly higher than your average loser - and that's where picking the good setups comes into play. So you want to be stepping in where different types of traders and investors in different time frames all get signals in the same direction and will act as a collective force to move the market because of it. Even with that, still expect 50% losers so these spots must have reasonably tight stops that still give the market wiggle room but when the move happens it will usually be sustained enough to make up for all the losers plus some.

Link also acknowledges that it doesn't matter how large or small your profits are when you take them as long as you are systematically taking even smaller losses. This opens one's mind to different approaches that can all be successful.

The book lacks a clearly defined trading plan - it is up to the reader to develop one of his own from these concepts. But the building blocks of a successful plan are certainly contained herein.

[...]

Probably the best practical how-to book on the subject of daytrading stocks, indices, and futures contracts.

It's all technical - that is, chart-reading - but you get a much clearer idea of how to actually trade using a chart than you do out of all the classic technical analysis books. There is nothing in this book about chart patterns (triangles, cups, flags, etc.) or about candlestick formations. Perhaps the author doesn't consider those things worthwhile, but personally I find that knowing about them is at least helpful.

His mantra is trading with the trend of a higher time-frame than the one you are trading in and basically trying to capture the meat of the next wave after a correction in the direction of that trend in your trading time-frame. He uses trendlines and channels to find the best entries and exits. If there is no trend then you are in a range-bound market and should play the range reversals at the extremes - when this fails be prepared to play the break of the range without chasing it, which usually means waiting for a pullback (in which case you have now switched back to trend-following tactics). Breaks of channels in the higher time frame create a reversal in trend and are played in a similar manner.

There is alot of material on using oscilators correctly, especially Stochastics - not just looking for reversals when it crosses and turns from overbought and oversold like most people use it. He shows how it can be helpful in both trends and range-trading.

Interestingly enough, he includes some examples of "high probability trades" that are against the trend as well - although he always goes back to saying you are better off sticking to trades with the trend. (There are a few seemingly contradictions like that but this is still a great trading book.)

Link stresses over and over that top traders will have 50% losing trades. So what trading boils down to is a probability game like poker or backgammon. Your average winner has to be significantly higher than your average loser - and that's where picking the good setups comes into play. So you want to be stepping in where different types of traders and investors in different time frames all get signals in the same direction and will act as a collective force to move the market because of it. Even with that, still expect 50% losers so these spots must have reasonably tight stops that still give the market wiggle room but when the move happens it will usually be sustained enough to make up for all the losers plus some.

Link also acknowledges that it doesn't matter how large or small your profits are when you take them as long as you are systematically taking even smaller losses. This opens one's mind to different approaches that can all be successful.

The book lacks a clearly defined trading plan - it is up to the reader to develop one of his own from these concepts. But the building blocks of a successful plan are certainly contained herein.

For me, books are either a 1 star, 3 star, or 5 star. The 5-stars are the classics that are too good to ever remove from your bookshelf, like many of the books I recommend at winningfinancialstrategies.com. The 3-stars get sold on ebay when the bookshelf overflows. The 1-stars go to Salvation Army.

I think this book is fine but one needs more updated strategies to make in this game

These days it's really hard to find trading books that are practical and simple to understand. Most of the info outhere is full of the same thecnical analysis jargon that makes you lose a lot of times. Basically most tehcnical trading books tell you the same story but organized in different chapters using different words and charts as examples.

Some places on the web have pretty practical information. One site that I recommend is MomentumStockTrading com. They have a pretty clear way for trading stocks with momentum using easy to understand strategies. This is also one place where you can understand why the use of a Level 2 system is critical for trading the rally.

Understanding how to trade a rally is one of the most important aspects of trading, since for us traders the rally is where we make our money.

I always wanted to get this book as in a lot of the forums i used to browse, it would repeatedly come up as how it was such a classic and had saved them so much moeny. Little did I realise these reviews were written by beginners themselves.

Firstly I should say that most of my critism stems from having read a lot of the good books already and having experience trading. I will admit here that if this is one of the first books i read as a beginner, then i might have considered it great, but most experienced traders or good traders should i say, will be able to pick holes in a lot of the things that he mentions.

I will not go into it too much, but from a lot of what he says you get the feeling that this guy himself is not all too good of a trader. Sure he might be at a reasonable level now, but it seems it took him the best part of 10 years to learn some basics and even now, you get the feeling that he will blow his account at any time.
As sson as i started reading it i felt that some of his advice would be dangerous to a new trader as he keeps reinstating that most of the great traders blew their account at some period so you shouldnt feel bad about doing this in the future. He also goes on the say that when your account does eventually blow up, you should treat it like being initiated into becoming a trader and from then on you will be fine, suppossedly only making profits form this point.

I shouldnt go on too long here, but i came across so many mistakes in the money management section whcih fails to take into account distance from stop loss to entry to decide on position size. He merely suggests selecting a number u are comfortable with and then stating 'this is the mz number i will trade.' he says a beginner shouldnt trade more than 100 shares (or something like that) but what the hell happens when one stock costs $1 and another costs $100?!? you are taking on a position 100 times bigger, does he not understand this concept yet after 10 years of trading!!?

Also he says that at any one time a trader shouldnt have more than 50% at risk....what the f&%*!!!???? This is so wrong on so many levels but the most obvious is that how can u even get your portfolio to be at 50% risk in the first place??? this is saying his stops are 50% away from their current price. He is saying he will let the stock half in value before he is wrong!!?? Otherwise he has got his concepts mixed up and needs to learn some more before writing a book that potenially could destroy someone.

Ok there are so many other problems but one more that should be helpful to any one new is that this book is written from his perspective and he assumes you understand that it is a book essentially based on day trading with short holdign periods. This is never stated but only worked it out when he was saying you should take profits as soon as the stock has moved 75% of daily ATR....ummm what happens if your time frame is longer than a day sir idiot??!!

anyway there is one plus and that is his information on trading using news. A few good insights there

Ill leave u wiht one thing i read after figuring out this guy isnt too smart. He states that he lives by the priniciple of keeping it simple.."The indicators that i tend to use more than others are trendlines and channels, stochastics, moving averages, MACD, RSI, ADX, volume, volatility and elliot wave analysis..since i like to keep things simple i just stick to a few.." WHAT!!@?#?#?!!! he believes to keep it simple, use different indicators in each different time frame. yes, seems so simple to me.

in conclusion maybe a good read for beginners but nothing of interest to anyone who hasnt read all the other classics and doesnt want to get frustrated by his almost suicidal advice towards trading

The book is very basic, so everyone from beginning traders to veterans may find something to complain about, but this book should be in every trader's library. Almost every trading book writes about money management, but this is the first one i've read that discusses writing a trading plan (much like a business plan). Having a trading plan will force you to determine which type of trader you plan to be and under what scenarios a trade is justified. Being able to explain why you made a specific trade is crucial in both eliminating overtrading and in learning from each and every trade. Developing a trading plan that assures you at least have the odds on your side prior to entry certainly doesn't hurt your trading results either.

The best book for active trader. I like it alot. Mr Link wrote
this book from his own experiences.

I agree you learn from losing more than anyone can tell you about winning trades, on the floor it is all simple, off and alone difficult. Best book I read on this was "What I Learned Losing a Million Dollars" by Jim Paul and Brendan Moynihan. So difficult and yet fun to gain wealth, but so much to learn from the errors in losing. And in America.....afer 25 years of trading for a living, where does one go? Or do? As no one understands. Lose (smoke take drugs, etc) while young....as this is a bite of life you would never assume from your condo in the sky....ah....and they ask to see my real name Doug Temple and where I am now (GETTING RELIGION...THE WRONG SORT IN SOUTH CAROLINA....THE CHEAPEST PLACE I COULD FIND TO LIVE WHERE NO ONE UNDERSTANDS WHAT I DID, OR STILL LOVE AND MY ODDS ARE NOT GREAT ...BUT STILL THERE FOR MAKING IT BACK. ASK ME IN TEN YEARS. A CTA OR CPO COULD IN THEORY RAISE THE FUNDS TO CONTINUE. A SOLO TRADER HAS A TOUGH TIME).
But it does teach what poverty is like at the wrong end of life for a highly educated, older, non-team player sort. And all takes a turn on its head especially your theory of human intelligence.
Now watching markets and reading is the best. Oh and love.

I agree you learn from losing more than anyone can tell you about winning trades, on the floor it is all simple, off and alone difficult. Best book I read on this was "What I Learned Losing a Million Dollars" by Jim Paul and Brendan Moynihan. So difficult and yet fun to gain wealth, but so much to learn from the errors in losing. And in America.....afer 25 years of trading for a living, where does one go? Or do? As no one understands. Lose (smoke take drugs, etc) while young....as this is a bite of life you would never assume from your condo in the sky....ah....and they ask to see my real name Doug Temple and where I am now (GETTING RELIGION...THE WRONG SORT IN SOUTH CAROLINA....THE CHEAPEST PLACE I COULD FIND TO LIVE WHERE NO ONE UNDERSTANDS WHAT I DID, OR STILL LOVE AND MY ODDS ARE NOT GREAT ...BUT STILL THERE FOR MAKING IT BACK. ASK ME IN TEN YEARS. A CTA OR CPO COULD IN THEORY RAISE THE FUNDS TO CONTINUE. A SOLO TRADER HAS A TOUGH TIME).
But it does teach what poverty is like at the wrong end of life for a highly educated, older, non-team player sort. And all takes a turn on its head especially your theory of human intelligence.
Now watching markets and reading is the best. Oh and love.

This is what this book is best at. It may not give you a key or a set of keys to trade successfully, but it definitely reminds you of how you can lose without following the rules. May be basic to some old timers, but not many old timers will have time to write a book like this. Someone commented it is depressing, too realistic ... But it is better to find realistics in a book than in the market.

I trade more in FX market and find it applies just as good. Almost in every chapter and every page I found things that I either not know yet or know already by unpleasant trading experiences.

You can skip this book only if you are sure that you cannot be wrong or you have a deep pocket to learn the same in the market.

This is what this book is best at. It may not give you a key or a set of keys to trade successfully, but it definitely reminds you of how you can lose without following the rules. May be basic to some old timers, but not many old timers will have time to write a book like this. Someone commented it is depressing, too realistic ... But it is better to find realistics in a book than in the market.

I trade more in FX market and find it applies just as good. Almost in every chapter and every page I found things that I either not know yet or know already by unpleasant trading experiences.

You can skip this book only if you are sure that you cannot be wrong or you have a deep pocket to learn the same in the market.

I am a trader in Hong Kong. This book give me a lot of insight about trading. The chapter about the use of multiple time frame chart just open up my mind. What an enlightenment!! I recommend this book to all trader, especially to beginner. It is a good foundation. Someone said this book is too basic, I think that the basic things are the most important things for trading. Forget about, Gann, Market Profile, Wave theory, just back to the basic, KISS.

I've read only the first half of the book and I was so depressed about trading that I wanted to purchase a gun and end it all. This book may be realistic, but man it make it sound like you will never make money in the markets, and you might as well take up a session in Vegas for better odds. Hey, I'm not against being realistic, but give me a small amount of hope! Or am I being too optimistic?

I bought this book about 3 years ago, and I still look back over it from time to time. The blunt, to the point, text is unrivaled to any other. The analogy's are GREAT. The info and experence Marcel conveys to the reader are the undoubtably the best I have yet to find in any book on the topic. Please scroll to the top of your screen and click the buy now button, no I'm serious you NEED this book, buy it now, you won't regret it!

I have been trading for over 15 years. My timeframe is not day trading but intermediate term. Typically my trades span 3 to 4 weeks. By reading a lot of literature, doing my own backtesting and expensive real life lessons, my own investment style amazingly parallels those described in this excellent book. Whether your trading timeframe is days, weeks, months, or years, this is an excellent manual to keep at your side. After reading it, I assure you it will not be sitting gathering dust on your bookshelf! Some experienced traders like myself will find the book elementary only because we have independently arrived at the conclusions so ably presented.

I absolutly like the way Mr. Link presents the day trading arena. He has a realistic vision that many other authors don't care to expose.

Day trading is not that different from investing in the sense that its all about making buy and sell decisions. When you make a trade either your going to lose money or your going to make money, and some other times you will break even. When you win some body else will lose and so forth, but that's NOT what's important.

The most important aspect in day trading is the knowledge FILTER you employ to make your buy & sell decisions. There are many "fantastic" strategies outhere, but you need to test them in order to discover which ones help you the most. That's part of your homework as a stock trader. Test, test and test again.

Complicated strategies that rely on a "boat load" of technical indicators can make you slow, and being slow in this game can be as dangerous as not knowing what to do in the first place.

I think the worst thing that can happen to a beginner stock trader is to get information overload. It's better to go step by step, and test a simple strategy that can show you how to focus on concrete ways to make money.

Fortunatly there are some good sites on the web today that can show you how to trade stocks in practical and effective ways. One of those sites is Stress Free Traders ( StressFreeTraders com )

In the end, stock investing & trading is all about buying and selling according to your knowledge FILTER. Once you master and follow youre proven filter parameters like a clock, you can expect to start making serious amounts of cash on a consistent basis.

I will save you the money on this book. This is a basic primer on not overtrading, starting with more than $5,0000, and being disciplined. If you have ever traded before skip this repetitive, sophmoric tome. I am a professional trader and read most trading books because one new idea pays for the book. One of the very few books that I read in literally 5 minutes and threw away in disgust. How this ever got a high rating I will never know, unless the average buyer of this book is really a drip.