business and investing

Here's a heads up from someone who actually has taken the time to read the book and put money on the table to test its strategies in real-life trading situations (after I paper traded them, of course).

To avoid undue negative bias, I recommend not listening to the reviewer that "heard" that the authors don't trade (what a bunch of bologna)...and also try to ignore the guy that talks about the "performance" aspect (Pristine posts a trade once a week on their website...since I've been following it --quite a few months now-- the win/loss has about 50/50) -I guess the writer of that review hasn't realized that trading is a numbers game...it's not about being right more than you're wrong, it's about cutting losses short and letting profits run (the most profitable trader in the world was only right 42 percent of the time, and that was his best year). Finally, please try not to laugh when you read the review by the guy that only "skimmed through" the book at B&N...give me a break...maybe he ought to actually READ it before he bashes it.

Anyway, I think that this book is ideal for people who may just be entering the arena of trading. It cites some basic, yet proven, high-probability price pattern formations and some simple but effective technical indicators. I've personally traded the core tactics (the Key Buy/Sell setups) on many occasions and have made lots of money doing it. Part 1 has some useful info about the mental aspects of the game...of course, controlling your psyche is what it's all about when everything's said and done.

Bottom Line: Don't believe the negative hype... This book is well worth the 40 bucks.

What makes this one of the very best books on day trading is the clear, simple and direct language the authors use to illuminate a complex subject, and few books in the genre are as comprehensive in scope, as well organized and presented. In Tools and Tactics for the Master Day Trader, authors Oliver Velez and Greg Capra have created the essential primer for neophytes, as well as a book seasoned traders will find of lasting value for the insights and wisdom the authors only could have acquired through long experience in the trenches themselves.

Their approach is technical, based on a number of reliable chart patterns that identify key short-term shifts in market psychology, those points when a change occurs in the balance between buyers and sellers. Charting techniques, market indicators and timing, and execution skills are detailed in a concise and focused way. But the book excels in discussions about trader psychology, the emotional challenges that must be overcome, and the attitude and discipline a successful trader must have in approaching the markets. For example:

"The need or desire for certainty is one of those natural human traits that every aspiring trader must learn to overcome, because certainty is a myth. It does not exist in life, nor does it exist in the market. It is a phantom, a dream that is chased by far too many market players. As traders, we must be capitalists of the unknown. We can never escape the fact that we are forced to act in the face of uncertainty. Those who must know all the facts before they trade will find opportunity forever leaving them behind. Fortune waits for its captor in the shadows of uncertainty. It lies hidden on the path least traveled. The active trader will find that the greatest opportunities will be found where no one else is willing to go. The trader can never be certain that the trade just taken will work. The trader can properly assess the odds and devise an intelligent strategy in an attempt to exploit those odds. But each trade will still possess the ability to disappoint. Each attempt will carry with it the potential to fail. The aspiring trader must learn to deal with this and must learn to act before he or she knows. Because by the time the trader knows, the opportunity is long gone."

The authors include chapters on "the seven deadly sins of trading"; how to identify and kill your deadliest demons, and rules the master trader lives by. This book is required reading for all who intend to trade profitably.

This book is a real piece of crap. Don't waste your money. It reads like a 389 page advertisment for Pristine Day Trading seminars.As a professional trader, I pity the newbie who buys this book expecting to get any usable information from of it. I buy books hoping for ONE good idea: I lost!"Methods of a Wall St. Master" by Vic Sperandeo is a MUCH better buy.Velez and Capra advise their readers to ignore market fundamentals: Those fools who choose to ignore the fundamentals of the market do so at their own risk!!!