business and investing

Farley's book compares very well with my favorite swing trading book, Dave Landry on Swing Trading.

Discretionary traders will like the fact that Farley believes trading is more art than science. The Master Swing Trader still relies on pattern interpretation, after all. What Farley terms "Pattern Cycles," in fact, form the core of his methodology.

Farley, also, makes ample use of charts and examples that greatly aid in understanding. However, the example-charts at times appear to be too detailed or "cluttered," but this is a minor complaint.

This is a book that is very broad in content. There are chapters on "Preparing For the Market Day," and one on "Understanding Time." Candlesticks are added to the discussion throughout, as are those indicators commonly found in software charting packages.

The best parts of the book, however, are the chapters devoted to the "7-Bells," one chapter for each, which disuss seven specific pattern setups that seek to capitalize on predictable crowd behavior. The "Finger Finder" (one-bar candlestick reversals) is just one "bell" example that could improve your short-term trading immediately.

This is a must read and very dense compilation of discretionary trading techniques. It's definitely written for those (like me) who have taken their trading to a certain level, and then stalled out in performance. I can't enough good things about what Farley's ideas have added to my trading.

I didn't find the material too subjective or "arcane". Not at all! The concepts bridge the gap between our trading instincts and the cold, hard numbers. This conceptual view of price patterns and trade execution is exactly what's missing in the trading books I've read over the past few years. This is certainly no simple "how-to" book. Perhaps that's where some readers get frustrated. Every chapter forces you to think about what you know about the stock chart, and what you don't know. Clearly, Farley is able to push the buttons of his readers. That may be frustrating for some, but most will walk away from the experience realizing its importance and impact.

The work required to get through the dense text is well worth the effort. I believe this book will eventually be recognized for what it is...a market classic.

VERY difficult to understand, the charts in this book look like tangled spaghetti, the wording is long and makes little sense. I returned the book 5 days after i bought it. The techniques in this book are useless if you can understand them. I am not new to trading books and have read my share but this has to be one of the worst. Don`t waste your time or money on the book.