High probability trading : take the steps to become a successful trader

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, disciplineConclusion: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 EditionInvest Like a Shark: How a Deaf Guy with No Job and Limited Capital Made a Fortune Investing in the Stock MarketClassics:Reminiscences of a Stock Operator (Wiley Investment Classics)How I Made $2,000,000 In The Stock MarketHow to Trade In StocksTechnical analysis formulas:Technical Analysis from A to Z, 2nd Edition

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.

This is one of my top 3 books that I've read that I can honestly say has given me a real edge in the market and has made me a better trader. From his honest statements on your ability to have an edge with a small trading account to his description of why indicators work, to his clear guidance on how to read charts and use trendlines an indicators, this is a *must have* for anybody who's serious about trading. If this is not your first book on trading, a lot of it will be familiar to you but you will *still* learn something. If it is your first book, GREAT place to start.Do you currently use multi-timeframe analysis? If not, you NEED to. Are you using any type of trend following system? This book is for you. Have a successful breakout system? READ this!My only issue with it was some of the indicators and chart analysis tools are glanced over with no guidance on how to use them or even the author's feelings on those indicators. For example, he mentions in passing using Fibonacci retracements, and while there are entire books on the subject, he mentions nothing specific about its usage (or his usage, or lack thereof).Also would've liked to have more on using different indicators on different timeframes, whereas the author just says that different people like different indicators. So the vagueness is a little weird, but overall excellent book which has definitely made a very quick and noticeable difference in my trading.