Why three stars instead of zero (which one might have expected me to give it after reading what I'm about to write below)? Because Carter's an effective writer and says some things that make sense, even a lot of sense at times. But as the title of this review suggests, I'm puzzled by how Carter expects us to take this book seriously when at his website, [...], he's peddling someone else's (not even his own!) "black box" system (for a definition of "black box," see Wikipedia: [...]; in general, when applied to trading, it's a proprietary program that one relies on to indicate when to buy and sell and whose dictates one follows without worrying about what criteria it uses to make its decisions, which are kept under lock and key by the creator of said system).

In the video located (as of this writing, on 6/16/10) at [...], at around the twelve-minute mark, Carter fawns over the "Wave Indicator" developed by "Rodney," which is on sale at half price for a mere $747 (see 24:27 into the video). Why would a supposedly world-class trader steer the visitors to his web site to someone else's black box trading system? Doesn't this reduce, or at least call into question, his credibility as an authority on trading? Everybody's looking for the trading "Holy Grail," and apparently Carter believes this other guy's system is just that--or at least enough to ask his followers to shell out $747 for it. Why waste our time asking us to read this long tome when all he has to do is tell us to buy this other guy's system and blindly follow what it tells us to do in order to make a bundle of money?

This is one of the better trading books I've read. I would have given it 5 stars but because of it being just a tad dated (4 years old) I marked it down 1 star simply because a lot of the material is specific rather than general. I like specificity but it ages quicker than generalities or principles. With that said, the majority of the material is still pertinent. At least 1 of the techniques though are no longer valid (the 2:50 PM trade) because it's a low volume trade and when a lot of people started using it, then it lost its effectiveness. The author, who makes his living trading, gives specific trade patterns and techniques he uses. He provides lots of examples of trades with clear, easy to understand charts and explanations. He discusses how he enters and exits certain trades. Very valuable information. It's a keeper for my shelf and I highly recommend it.

Being well written it leads to a strong sense of confidence about the trading ideas put forward.
In addition there are many expressions of criticism for anyone that does not follow trades to the letter.
Having traded some and simulated the others I believe there is nothing in this book that is directly a money generator. The views are too simplistic (cookie cutter almost) to be practicable and there is no direction on how to develop.

Easy read, bad execution.

Many better books out there on successful trading style and techniques.

This is a MUST-HAVE book for people who have just begun trading actively. The set-ups that he included in this books are proven techniques that highly increase the probability of being profitable. Grab a copy!

Im not going to write about the topics in this book, as you can easily find out by reading it. I will, however, give you my honest opinion of this text. There are also plenty of other good reviews you can read to get a synopsis of this title.

The book is logically written and easy to follow. You can easily conceptualize some of his techniques but wont know if they hold any truth until you put them to the test. Many reviewers have backtested his setups and claimed them false or invalid. However, we also have to remember that some setups we backtest and have great results with dont fare well in the real world. So, the backtest argument goes both ways.

The best way to put this book to the ULTIMATE test is to simply use his setups by following them to the T in the real world with REAL MONEY. Put real dollars on the line and you will see if any of the ideas hold true.

Well, that is what i have begun to do. After reading this title, i quickly put 3 of his setups to the test and traded them word for word with minor adjustments on stops and entrys.

I used Pivots with DDM successfully and made enough money to pay for this book a hundred times over.

I used his ping pong plays and made money 75% of the time.

I also used his HOLP and LOHP setups and avoided a costly mistake in going long CIT before the 80% drop just 2 wks ago.

So far, i can say that this book is worth buying and having a look at. You have to try his setups and really see for yourself if they work or not.

He lays out a business plan for you to follow...of course you can tweak it to your liking and preferences.

Although he does emphasize futures trading alot, you can apply it to anything like an ETF or some other instrument.

All in all, i have yet to try his other setups but if 3 of them are working for me, thats all that will make this 40$ buy worth it for me. Even if i got one good setup out of it, it would be worth it...because most trading books are BS and a waste of time.

The only reason why i havent rated it 5 stars is because i havent had the time yet to trade all the setups that i like. I chose 5 out of the 10 setups and want to give them equal chance. Because i had success with the ones i tried so far, i will rate it 4 stars.

will update my review again in a few weeks.

I think this book was very helpful, it covered different plans, setups, it stresses good money and risk management techniques. I found there could be something of use either from a novice to an experienced person point of view. John Carter puts down some nice example views, and explains them very well, also includes web-sites to see or use. In all I would definitely recommend this book.

First of all, i should point out that no one should expect someone to release "proven techniques for profiting" about the markets. The title is just for marketing purposes, and none of the trading methodologies in the book are by no means consistently profitable techniques. However, some chapters can be valuable for beginners.

Conclusion: Low value.

THE TRADING BOOKS I HAVE SEEN ARE MOSTLY GARBAGE.
THIS ONE IS A CUT ABOVE THOSE.
BUT, AFTER READING THE CHAPTER ON GAPS,
(HE FADES BOTH THE UP AND DOWN) I GOT BUSY WRITING
A PROGRAM TO TEST IT. DOESN'T WORK.
JUST FROM THE OPEN TO THE CLOSE GAP UPS TEND
TO GO A BIT FURTHER AND THE SAME FOR GAP DOWNS.

The author has an interesting way of presenting the material in that each chapter deals with how to trade a specific setup. Each chapter discusses a specific play including: trading the gaps, pivot points in trending markets, fading the opening tick, scalping, swing plays, end of day plays etc.
This allows a more in depth discussion of how to handle each trade situation..
Most other books usually have a technical analysis chapter that focuses on technical indicators and/or chart patterns but does not go into depth on how to trade each specific trade setup.
One of the few reservations I have is that the author mentions his website and tries to sell his indicators too hard which is somewhat of a turnoff.

THIS BOOK IS YOUR AVERAGE SALES PITCH BOOK. EVERY CHAPTER HE EXPLAINS HE HAS SYSTMES AVAILABLE AT HIS WEBSITE WHICH HE MENTIONS ABOUT A BILLION TIMES. [...] I DONT RECOMMEND ALL THE STRATEGIES HE EXPLAINS ARE CUSTOM TAILORED TO HIS SYSTEMS AND THE FUTURES MARKET

THIS BOOK IS YOUR AVERAGE SALES PITCH BOOK. EVERY CHAPTER HE EXPLAINS HE HAS SYSTMES AVAILABLE AT HIS WEBSITE WHICH HE MENTIONS ABOUT A BILLION TIMES. IF HE'S SO SUCCESSFUL WHY DOESN'T HE POST A FINANCIAL STATEMENT IN THE BOOK? I DONT RECOMMEND ALL THE STRATEGIES HE EXPLAINS ARE CUSTOM TAILORED TO HIS SYSTEMS AND THE FUTURES MARKET

The promos for the book and Carter's articles led me to believe that this book dealt equally with swing trading and intraday trading stocks. In fact it is mostly focused on very short term and intraday trading of S&P and Dow futures and other such indexes and currencies. Since I can't trade these intraday a good part of the book was of little present use to me. If I were trading them I think this book would be of great value. That was the negative for me but the book is well worth its cost even for the parts that are focused on swing trading. It is extremely easy to follow. It provides many interesting insights and a host of good examples.

I have tried some of the approaches suggested for swing trading stocks and have had some limited success but I haven't done enough trading to see if it will ultimately provide some real value.

Some of the things I did like were the descriptions of how to set the specific buy prices for longs and sell prices for shorts as well as target prices to close out trades at and the approaches to clearly defining stops. Most such books avoid be specific in these areas and to my mind have little value because of that.

Had I found this book when I day traded, I think it would have been far more valuable to me and if I do go back to day trading I will certianly consider its approaches.

Thanks John Carter for taking the time and making the effort to write this book. I use a variety of ETF indexes as the acid test for my own systems. I go right to systems and only use indicators as a visual component. Easy Language coded LOHP and HOLP and they did not fare well with the compressed trading ranges of SPY 1993-2009, DIA 1998-2009, QQQ 1999-2009, or IWC 2005-2009 and the individual S&P 100 securities; The systems fared moderately better with SPX 1970-1996; the entry-exit spread gobbles profits on all but the widest range moving average securities, although the signals visually span the range; I tried to find a fix for the internal entry-exit algorithm but difficult; I also coded Squeeze and this did not do very well either with the more volatile indexes but I find it works better with exponential averages and Linda Bradford Rasche's ATR substitution for range. Going from visuals like indicators to direct systems testing can take some years to gather the courage and advancement to find one idea after another fail the performance statistics; Most if not all ideas probably fall short of your indicator expectations; it can be discouraging to see one idea after another with less than tradeable performance numbers, but this is what accountability must be, and it will boil your blood to see any number of scoundrels sell piecemeal algorithms not easily deciphered. One standard is a PF of 1.5 but Charlie Wright in "Trading As A Business" shoots for 2+, a very difficult consistent standard.

I was referred to this audio book by a friend and it is an excellent review. I have recieved great help tools that will assist me in my trading techniques. This book gives you great insight on the markets and how they move at various times, which is very helpful. This is a must have in your stock trading library and I am buying the hard back next to go along with it.

I purchased this book and highly recommend it. I've also used their pay per month services and was very impressed. I also give them high praise for their customer service. In the stock market business one must be very careful in whom they trust. There are many charlatans out there. One company I would not recommend is ABLESYS which offers ABLETREND 7. Misleading advertising. How can you trust a company that tries to mislead its customers?

I enjoyed the book a lot and learned a ton. I use the 8/21 ema crosses in my own trading and found it really helpful to take his suggestions and keep it simple. I reference back to this book often when I start swaying away from my plan. I get his free newsletter every pre-trading day evening and it's fantastic. I would highly recommend it. There are a ton of books on trading out there but this one is my favorite because it's comprehensive yet simple to understand.
Laura Wingo
Sugar Land, Texas

Received the product as described. Took longer than I expected, but was withing the window they promised.

Excellent book - in my opinion, should be on every beginner to intermediate trader's list of 'must-reads'. Is comprehensive because it addresses assessing market internals, favorite trade setups, creating a trading plan, and trader psychology (includes a personality test), all of which is a fairly comprehensive list. The book can read cover-to-cover or selectively by topic. The writing style is insightful, direct, clear and includes easy-to-understand charts and examples. Book is written by someone with a very keen mind, who seems to love his topic and shares a lot of his own experience and conclusions. As an intermediate trader, this book added a few more tools to my list of trade set-ups. A lot of this could also be learned by being a member of the author's trading website. I would recommend this book.

Save your money ! I have been studying stock market trading for 20 years and have read all the top rated books, and I have a 145 iq, so I can read between the lines when it comes to all the books, all the charts, indicators and the markets themselves.. and my conclusion is that.. there is NO way to predict where the markets are going to go.. NO WAY !
All these books out there are written for one reason, to get your money and then to get you to go to their web sights and suck more money out of you ! Trading is nothing more than Gambling ! Your better off betting on my pro football picks !

As a systematic trader, I don't judge the book by how most people have been reviewing it, I judge by how the ideas mentioned in the book have been proving themselves in real market. It is in this sense that I found the book very shallow, skin-deep. Yes, the author talked about a dozen of trading setups in this book, but none is backtested in a systematic manner. And I have to say, after backtesting, ( it does not take much time as all the setups are simple enough, less than 10 lines of codes) these setups show little edge and consistency.

I can't say I haven't gotten anything out of the book (using mid pivot points, and switching to YM from NQ) However, there are chapters that rely on indicators that you have to find on your own, or buy them from Carter. I would definitely recommend the chapters on pivots, market internals and gaps (although gaps are still a hairy subject that is not covered very well in most books) As far as psychology goes, Carter does a decent job, but The Disciplined Trader: Developing Winning Attitudes is the holy grail as far as trader psychology goes. If you trade futures actively, it won't hurt to pick up Carter's book.

Glad I bought this book, even though a couple of reviewers suggested that you need to buy John Carter's indicators or you might as well not bother with the book (that was the impression I got anyways). They would make life easier, but you dont need to buy them, he tells you what he is using to set his charts up. There are lots of nuggets of wisdom throughout the book. It isnt the end-all of investment books, but should definitely be one that you have read (more than once) and keep handy to reference back to. Wish I would have read it when it first came out!

As a beginner in the field of short term trading, I found this text to be sort of a general overview of different trading strategies.It offers 20 trading strategies but does not offer a substantive elaboration on how to master and utilize those strategies. It's a broad introduction on trading strategies but I feel you not be able to master any one of them.

Overall, an OK outline but short on substance and techniques/timing.

Always looking for more information, I got this book since it is so popular. I already use the "Applied Reality Trading" software, so wasn't really needing Carter's set-ups, but found them informative. And, the rest of the book has much valuable information also, but is lacking in a key area of educating the reader about the importance of risk control and money management.

The areas that were my favorite were:

1) Ways that Carter takes the pulse of market emotions - a) Dive, Captain, Dive - he writes about how when "newbie" traders on a free trial in his trading room press the "submarine dive" noise - the more experienced traders know that it is time to cover their shorts and go long. b) What does your mother think? Another way he uses sentiment from "non-traders" to gauge when the market is topping or bottoming -- is by listening them interpret news headlines.

2) His drawdown rules and profit rules are useful for formulating your own personal rules. For example if Carter is down by 20% for the month he will stop trading for the rest of the month, and, if he hits a 30% total drawdown on his account, he takes a six week break from trading.

3) The profit rules are equally useful. Love his "euphoria" rule where if he has a day in which he makes $5,000 per $100,000 (or 5% return on his money in one day), he will "...take the next day off to escape those feelings of euphoria that cause traders to do stupid things...". And then, he says he will withdraw 50% of his trading profits at the end of each quarter.

The areas of the book that were weak were the following:

1) Risk control is weak, although he briefly mentions at the end of the book to not risk more than 2% of your account equity on any one trade, which is helpful. What has been profitable for me, is using the risk of ruin tables and the optimal f formula to be more precise with exactly how much to risk. You can get some easy formulas on this approach from McDowell's book "A Trader's Money Management System" A Trader's Money Management System: How to Ensure Profit and Avoid the Risk of Ruin (Wiley Trading) and you may find at times it is better to risk 1% or 2.5% or maybe even higher. The percent risked is based on what your pay off ratio and win ratio -- so it is not a shot in the dark with a flat 2% risk.

2) Paper trading has helped me refine my skills and, in my opinion, one weakness in Carter's book and philosophy is that he says "...paper trading it's more worthless than an iraqui dinar...". It will be hard for readers to dive right into the markets trying his set ups and be profitable if they don't test them in a safe environment (like paper trading), to at least see if they hold merit for their personal trading style and psychology. Maybe I'm more cautious than Carter, but I'd rather test the waters before jumping in.

Overall, this book will get you started, but you'll need a few other tools and books to round out your tool kit before entering the markets.

This is a MUST read. I have read a lot of books on trading and this book is really the only one that had helped me. That is an understatement. This book had changed my trading life forever!! Read all the other reviews and let me add this. Read the book cover to cover twice. Go to his website and sign up for his newsletter. Get the 4 day seminar on dvd. Buy the 5 indicator package. And finally start making some money. Yes all of this is expensive. It is worth every cent.. I paid for all of this in one day of trading using the indicators and his techniques!! Trading for me now is no stress, no yelling at the screen. And finally I have stopped buying the guy on the other side of the trade dinner or worse. No, I am not affiliated with TTM, this stuff just works and I wanted to share the news.

New to day trading? Read this first and read it often. Plain english with plenty of examples to make clear sense of the trading methods described. I have purchased no less than six books on the subjects of trading, options, investing etc. in the past year, all of them left me with a feeling of not getting what I paid for. Some were just a long winded infomercials for some product or service. Not this book. Worth every penny.

I read this book as a favor to a greeny (the term I use for newbie traders) who wanted my opinion of it. While there are some decent trade observations in this book it is far from containing any original material. Most of the ideas and indicators have been lifted for other peoples ideas, which can be found free and easy with a little research. For example the type of gap play he decribes in this book (and gap theory for that matter) have been around for a min of 40 years and derives from old school pit traders. At least that's how I first learned of the strategy. Playing the gap is trading 101 when you first study classic charting techniques, or akin to the old axiom "always fade the first move". Please do not try these techniques unless you know what your doing, you will lose. Trying to put a rigid formulae on a gap play, like this book does, will put you in the poor house. Markets change constantly. Strategies must be adabted with those changing conditions. While I'm not sure I want to go as far as saying he's a huckster, I'm fully confident in saying he has taken other people ideas and passed off them off as his own. Perhaps a good businessman but unlikely a good trader. At least if Mr. Carter us practicing some of the ideas in his book.

I was excited to receive this book because it is written by a seasoned professional and as such carries a lot more credibility than one from someone who never actually managed money. I am a money manager and systems developer myself and have managed huge positions and had many hundreds of clients. The first few chapters of the book cover some basics particularly those relating to psychology and setting up to trade. All of it is good. The section on computers is as would be expected for a book published in 2006. Then the book gets into some areas of trading. Chapter 5 is excellent and covers various breadth and/or market internal measurements. I found this chapter to be worth the price of the book as I have always traded with breadth and it was very nice to catch some differt viewpoints and ideas. John Carter is not a systems trader and I am. I code everything and test it extensively. Mr. Carter is a discretionary trader and as I started to code his methods (Part two) I found them to not hold up very well to the scrutiny of computer analysis. The concepts are still of value though, so I still recommend it as excellent reading and a wide array of excellent trading ideas that could be built on. Many times it is the process in the thinking that is of more value that the content itself. So, if you are inclined to purchase the book to find instantly useable trading ideas, you might come up short. But, if you want something that might inspire some of your own brilliance, of course, you may just find a jewel or two. Section three of the book covers more on planning, psychology and the game of trading. This is an excellent book for any level of trader.

This book is a must for day traders. Carter's set-ups for buys and sells are amazing. Since reading and studing his methods I have almost doubled my daily revenue and looking at 6 figures this year.

If you only read one book (and I have read many) this simple to understand and well documented text will serve you for the rest of your career in the market.

I read John Carter's book "Mastering the Trade" from cover to cover. There is a tremendous amount of detail in his book. And plenty of it is very useful or even necessary to know if you want to trade full time in my opinion. As a matter of fact, I think after reading a bunch of books on trading, that one book singled out some weaknesses I had in my trading I was finally able to identify. I believe the book gives you a good frame of mind with which to look at the markets. However, I tried to quickly find some of the trade setups described in his book and found at least from a rapid, superficial look, that his trade setups don`t seem to be that promising. But, the book gave me a good idea how some technical indicators work. His ideas combined with ideas from Oliver Velez, Alan Farley, Josh Lukeman and Dave Landry (to name a few) make a powerful combination.

i have been trading for 2yrs, so im a new trader, this books helps alot, and it convince me to switch from stoks to futers, its toold really help2. i loved the ttmsqueeze. i also found tradestation a grate trader platform, your going to love using the simulator.

It comes almost as a surprise that so crucial writing may still be added to the rich catalogue of trading literature. I guess it has something to do with the passion and openess with which the author conveys his view on trading. The book contains a wealth of interesting information from the real world of trading, but what seems most important - it is effective in helping a trader acquire a winning mindset. 6 stars Mr. Carter!

Excellent book. Chapters 2 needs to be studied by anyone who expects to trade profitably. Definitely top 10 must own trading book.

I found the pivot method works, gap play works sometimes, but the so called 3:52 method never works for me. I doubt some methods in the book still work in 2008.

For those new to the world of trading, or for those who are looking to expand beyond stocks, ETFs and options into futures trading - John Carter's "Mastering the Trade" provides a solid, well written "how to" guide - from the basics to the advanced trade set ups we are all looking for.

The "trader - know thyself" theme is clear. John offers many ways to find out what suites you (timeframe, trading products, etc) and gives you the mental, physical and technical tools you need to make $.

A must read.

I bought this book because of the testimonial by Mark Douglas on the back cover. As I've stated in reviews for other trading books, again, I thought I knew what I was doing with regard to my investment acumen. I did not. I incurred large losses. I was stubborn due to my advanced education with a Ph.D. in Psychology. After experiencing the pain of losing, I elicited the help from books by Mark Douglas, Alexander Elder, Paula Webb, John Hill, and now John Carter ~ all to hone my system.

As an expert in one specialized field ~ trust me when I tell you when you step into the game of trading ~ all your previous expertise goes out the window. Study these trading experts and you will succeed. And, do it before you lose a large amount of income like I did.

Great book. It does lean a little more toward investing in Stocks/Indices. Forex or commodities aren't covered nearly as much in this book.

Carter's book would have been better entitled "Mastering the E-Mini Trade". If you are looking for good ways to trade E-mini's and similar futures, this is a good book. However, if you want a book that offers examples of how to profit from day trades of individual stocks, this is not a great book.
This review is a little longer than most, but then again, this is your money we're talking about. You should take time to do it right. I try to take care in giving an honest and detailed assessment of this book. I have found other reviews helpful, and I want to return the favor.
What really works in the markets? This is what we all seek. I bought this book because Carter makes money trading - he has skin in the game. However, he has obviously found his niche, which is trading index futures. If you do not do this, like myself, you will still be wondering what the best set ups are for day trading.
There are about 11 chapters dedicated to "set ups" for actual trades. The lion's share are for E-mini's and other futures. Very few are applicable to day trading individual stocks, but specificity is often lacking where he says you could apply them to stocks. Some examples are downright strange, like in chapter 12, his so-called "Ping Pong Play". He says he uses it almost exclusively for one stock - yes, one stock - KLAC. He does point out you can use it for similar stocks, but examples of use with other such stocks would be nice, and examples he does not offer.
I have made a great deal of money buying stocks on break-outs utilizing Bill O'Niel's approach as laid out in "How to Make Money in Stocks", the principles of which are found in the Investor's Business Daily every day.
When the markets are not in strong uptrends, like right now, I had decided I should learn day-trading to keep making money since stocks are always moving intraday. I have made money day-trading using the same basic approach - buying on breakouts and selling on break downs using tried and true (albeit for longer term periods) charts on an intraday basis: cup with handle, double bottom, head and shoulders, etc. Since O'Niel doesn't deal with day-trades, I began my education reading about thsoe who do.
Toni Turner's books were very helpful in my so far humble day trading success, and I hoped Carter's book (he wrote one of Toni Turner's introductions) would help me take it to the next level - or at least offer me more tools and set ups to draw on. I was mostly disappointed. And it's a shame. In the chapters where Carter is not offering specific set ups, his insight and wisdom is terrific. He comes from the same mentality that I come from: let the chart tell you what's happening, cut your losses, trade without emotion (all the same stuff Livermore, Darvus, Loeb, O'Niel and others rightly tell us). He is practical in his mindset, but I think the rest of the book tries too hard to impress with technical knowledge and his own success, such as when you "inadvertently" see, presumably, one of his trading accounts (over $1million, in case you were wondering - page 280), and when he unecessarily brags about playing golf while his computer makes him money.
Carter never gets into break outs and break downs. From all the books I have read, and from my own actual experience making money from them, these set ups seem to be the best, surest ways of playing stocks. Another reviewer mentions this, and I agree with him. Stocks consolidate, then punch through resistance or support on volume. It would be nice to see him elaborate on this. Toni Turner certainly does, as do other authors.
I think Carter has it in him to write a better book for those seeking to profit from individual stocks. I gave the book 3 stars because it probably can make you money in E-Minis, but it should be a 2 or even 1 star book for day trading stocks. If he comes out with a book in the future that is more about day trading individual stocks, I'll read it. In the meantime, if you don't want 85% of a book dealing with E-minis, take a pass on this book and try some others.

When I first picked up the book, I flipped thru it and discovered that it was full of futures charts and discussions on futures related issues. I primarily trade stocks and options but there was a section on market psychology that looked pretty good so I started reading....

The more I got into the book, the more I liked it. The Market Psycholgy section was excellent so I kept going. The discussions of the 7 interday indicators was right on and very helpful. The setups that he used in his discussions made sense. I related to a lot of the examples and discussions that the writer used and liked his writing style. He primarily trades futures but gave some great trading analysis and ideas that could apply to both stocks and futures. He also walks you thru the "switchover" to futures from stock trading if you choose to. After reading hundreds of investment books, I was surprised at how many "fresh" ideas and specific setup ideas were in this book. It's like discovering a new tool to take you to the next higher level of understanding. I know that sounds "hokey" but I am quite impressed with the content of this book.

To conclude, this isn't a generic beginners guide to investing. It is focused and packed with varsity level information. I learned more from this book than the last 50 books I've read on day trading and assorted investment strategies. It is now one of my top 5 favorite investment books of all time.

UPDATE: I changed my mind, this is my all-time favorite trading book, It has so much good stuff in it, I am very happy and making good $$$.... no, I don't know the author...

When I first picked up the book, I flipped thru it and discovered that it was full of futures charts and discussions on futures related issues. I primarily trade stocks and options but there was a section on market psychology that looked pretty good so I started reading....

The more I got into the book, the more I liked it. The Market Psycholgy section was excellent so I kept going. The discussions of the 7 interday indicators was right on and very helpful. The setups that he used in his discussions made sense. I related to a lot of the examples and discussions that the writer used and liked his writing style. He primarily trades futures but gave some great trading analysis and ideas that could apply to both stocks and futures. He also walks you thru the "switchover" to futures from stock trading if you choose to. After reading hundreds of investment books, I was surprised at how many "fresh" ideas and specific setup ideas were in this book. It's like discovering a new tool to take you to the next higher level of understanding. I know that sounds "hokey" but I am quite impressed with the content of this book.

To conclude, this isn't a generic beginners guide to investing. It is focused and packed with varsity level information. I learned more from this book than the last 50 books I've read on day trading and assorted investment strategies. It is now one of my top 5 favorite investment books of all time.

I would be glad to review this but I have never receivedit. I was told it was sent after a few weeks told that although it was shown as shipped, it really wasn't.

Pros: I have finally found a book that helped me make money. I've read many books, attended numerous seminars, and signed up for courses but none of them have really helped md make money. Over the last 3 years of trading I've lost $30,000 but made it all back in one month by apply his strategies to my options trading. And the daily pivots really help me with my trading. He offers a lot of examples too. If you've traded for several years and have not made money, READ this book.

Cons: too much information about futures trading. That stuff went over my head.

I bought this book because of rave 5 star review. After reading through most of the major sections, I've decided to back test one of his idea. Chapter six is about Opening Gap trading and author claims to be a high percentage trade. First, I analyze S&P and realized profit factor and % of winning is not impressive at all. Maybe it does work on DJ. I tried DJ and it also fails what the author suggested. While there are some good theories, but I think the author has not backtested it - another cherry picking case studies. Also, I check the examples used in the book. The data/charts used by author seemed to be very different from what I am using (Pinnacle data). Don't just plug-and-play this one.

I purchased this book after a very careful review of the contents and reading several online reviews. While there was a little bit of information that I found useful, it wasn't enough to justify the price of this purchase. You can read most of what this book tries to teach for free in about 4-5 minutes if you know the right websites to visit.

I practically read through all the reviews (was a bit bored) and felt obliged to do justice and give answers to some of the reviewers who felt that this book was not their cup of tea, as well as give future readers what to expect.
First of all, if you've been trading like me, then you'll find this very useful for intra day and swing. Either way the author describes clearly as to how he approaches each trade and provides the charts to prove it. Sure not everything is a 100% guarantee but JC has a 6% failure rate and this is mostly through discipline as well. In order to make money, you have to first suffer and pay the tuition fee just like anything else, the same goes for trading. If you're not willing to take the risk, then you won't make any money. This book has helped improve my discipline and approach towards trading.
Secondly, he does make money and he is rich but you have to remember that diversifying is important and he's just making a new business from book writing and his online websites. I feel the prices charged are fair and he does provide free videos if you'd like to test them. For the videos, it will sometimes show him doing live trades but mostly how he goes analyzing the current market trends. Really informational and good.
Thirdly, the trading techniques and strategies provided are very detailed and helpful to the trader starting out, veterans, and maybe the pro's. Everyone has their own favourites and style so obviously there are a few I don't pick myself.
Overall, if you really trade or are interested in trading, I'd recommend this book and check his website too. You won't get anyone more bluntly honest about his trading and life.

However if any of Carters trading systems where all that great I'm sure he would not be selling a book he would be making a living trading and him and Warren Buffet would be drinking buddies think about it. Take his Scalper Buys and Scalpers Sells technique maybe it worked in 2005 before the volitility jumped up but I'll bet it won't work now.

I have just bought this book. Went to Chapter 8 and study it deeply. I challenge anyone to understand the strategy explained as there are many incongruence between what explained and the example charts. How can a trading book be confusing?

Do not trust my opinion? I challenge anyone to find chapter eight congruent. I challenge anyone.

Suggestion: do not buy this book.

Well rounded book on trading for people to gain an overview of all markets. The best ones like this are by those who actually trade.
This is one of the first I read as a beginner, where some of the things were over my head but still held a lot of interest. Re-reading it now brings out the full benefit. Great book.

When I first heard the reviews of John Carter's Book ,I was a bit confused. Some people said the book was great, some said it sucks. Then I bought the book and read it. This book is a very good look at trading from top to bottom and in the middle. The people that are dogging this book must not trade at all period. These are very simple and easy strategies to follow with examples to support. PLEASE BACKTEST and USE TIGHTER STOPS, because the guy is either filthy rich or got balls of steel....I am sure Carter did not put a lot of his losers in the book but he did put some. I find it sad that people dog this guy so much. Yeah, he is greedy..very greedy, but his products are what they are, GOOD. My only complaint is his DVD's are 2400.00 and his open software indicators are copied from the Tradestation library and are 1600.00. ALL in all he has a great book and a good website with a free trial that is only 14 bucks. He has some excel downloads worth that alone. Buy this book if you want to day trade or get a better perspective of other succesful traders. You will learn a lot. Try to buy his other products 2nd hand they are too HIGH. If the guy's products wasn't so high he would be a lot more popular and respected. He has been called a snake oil salesman. He is not that,he is just a greedy salesman and a helluva trader... Great Book on trading!!!!!!!!!

I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it!! It covers all aspects of trading not just strategies and setups e.g. trading tools, trading mindset etc....lots of great information on futures, equities, options and forex.