1 comments about Personal Finance 101 - A Beginner's Guide: What Every High School and University Student Needs to Know About Debt, Credit, and Money!.

1. This book is a great read! It lays out the rules for having credit cards and checking accounts that I wish I had when starting out with my personal finances. I finally found out how checks are used by banks and department stores. And I like the ways to protect myself from getting my personal information ripped off and my credit ruined. And the ways to get out of financial trouble if your in it are wonderful.
   
   This book also has many ways to get free money in the form of grants for college and starting a business that I find useful. Many foundations and the government have a lot of money they give away every year. There is a lot of free money out there that I didn't even know about, like credit cards and special financing deals for cars and furniture.
   
   I always thought that a budget was about counting pennies, but I was wrong. The way to create a budget in the book is easy and makes sense. And there is a lot of good information about easy investing for the future. I loved it!

No comments about The Best of the Professional Traders Journal: Options Trading and Volatility Trading.

5 comments about The Compleat Day Trader: Trading Systems, Strategies, Timing Indicators and Analytical Methods.

1. One of the most difficult things involving the markets, regardless of what you trade is timing.With this book, Jake not only gives you suggestions for timing indicators, but he also gives you some strategies to follow and shows real time examples which are clear and very detailed. In this book, Jake share his extensive knowledge about systems, strategies, technical indicators, and trading systems. I have purchased many trading books and this one is CRITICAL for your success as a trader. One more point that I wish for potential traders to consider is the source. Jake Bernstein has been involved in commodities and futures trading for 25 years. He brings real trading experience to the table. He does not promise you guaranteed results are a "pot of gold" under the rainbow. What he does give you is the information that you will need to be successful, REGARDLESS of the time frame you are trading. Also, he is available for you. I recently e-mailed him with a question from the book and I received a detailed explanation from him the very next day! I challenge you to find any author who will do that! Good luck and good trading!



2. Most books for "day traders" are so general that their techniques and advice can be successfully used by swing-traders (those who keep stocks for several days), and even by longer-term investors. This one is different. The author, Jake Bernstein, strongly advocates real day trading, when no securities ever kept overnight. Therefore, his techniques are usable for very short term trading only.

   The advantage of this book is that it has very little general rhetoric and comes straight to the point, that is to the techniques which the author finds profitable. Basically, 90% of the book is about the use of technical indicators (such as various moving averages and oscillators) to determine potentially profitable entry and exit points. The topics discussed in particular detailed manner are the use of moving averages, stochastic indicator, moving average channel (MAC), relative strength index (RSI), momentum, and techniques for trading of opening gaps. The author also suggests several oscillators of his own. However, despite the simplicity of these indicators, one has to own software such as Omega Research Trade Station to calculate and plot these home-made oscillators in real time, or write a program yourself. There are also several chapters applicable to futures only (actually, the whole book is about trading in the futures market, but 95% of techniques are equally applicable to stocks).

   The great advantage of the book is that it is very specific, clearly illustrated, and gives plenty of detailed technical advice and a number of potentially profitable trading techniques. Be advised, however, that those who are interested in trading but do not have enough capital to take profits from half-a-tick changes (and I, too, belong to this group) cannot really take advantage of this book. No trend and no trade longer than a few hours is discussed there! Therefore, this book is for the serious day traders, and only for them. If you are a day trader, this book is a must; if you are not, do not bother buying it but rather consider other options, e.g., the excellent book "How to get started in electronic day trading" by D.S.Nassar which is good for traders on any time frame.




3. Trading especially short term trading need great concentration and a full-time commitment. Professional traders write few or no book.

   Mr. Bernstein's books and articles are everywhere. Sometimes I came across his publications, I scanned through a few pages to see what he had to say about trading. Mr. Bernstein makes statements which are generally safe and easy to say. For example, I read his article the other day. He tells the readers "Do your homework.", "The trend is your friend." etc. Of course, these are the common rules for traders. But what are the concrete steps to implement these rules in the real-life situation? Well, I could hardly find any. On the other hand, he stated in that article: "...I maintain that a good trader can make any system works." I found this statement unprofessional and phony. The reasons:

   1. Many systems on the market are just trash and can not be used at all.

   2. Good traders wouldn't pick up any system and risk their money with it. Good traders are very selective and only trade a few systems that have proven record and are suitable for their individual styles.

   I found similar problems in other works by Mr. Bernstein. Should I bother to buy this book? No, thanks.

   I have read books from many different writers and have more than 10 year active trading experience. So I know something.

   A few tips(IMO) for choosing good books on trading:

   1. Only a small percentage of books on the market are good or great.

   2. Popular books are not necessary good books. If you automatically think so, you've probably fallen into "Herd mentality" thinking.

   3. Trading is a bottom line business. Find books written by traders who had proven long-term(5 year or more) successful trading records. They are the ones "know how".

   4. Be wary of the authors who write many trading books.

   Good luck.




4. Take my word for it and save your money, the techniques in this book simply do not work!



5. The book is good if you want to depend on technical strategies to make money day trading.
   
   The stock market is always presenting us with trading opportunities that don't neccesarily have to do anything with technical analisys.
   
   As a day trader your homework is all about studying and testing different market strategies that will help you take advantage of stocks and at the same time protect your investments. Just always keep in mind that a good strategy is simple and practical. Complicated technical systems will always make you slow in your decision making process or confuse you right from the start.
   
   There are very good sites on the web where you can access practical trading strategies that are easy to implement. One of those sites is Stress Free Traders ( StressFreeTraders com)
   
   They focus on short term day trading strategies that can help you pick and approach momentum stocks while reducing your trading risk.
   
   All in all, day trading is all about picking the best stock opportunities and deciding when to buy and when to sell with ease and simplicity. Once you learn to master your trading decisions, you can aspire to obtain consistent profitable results.

No comments about Winning With Futures: The Smart Way to Recognize Opportunities, Calculate Risk, and Maximize Profits.

5 comments about Trading Index Options.

1. The software is defective and the author and publisher, in the unlikely event you can get either to respond, only cloud the issue with disingenuous assurances.



2. I was eager to use the software that came with this book, but since my PC runs on Windows 98, it will not install. They should update the software so it will run on later versions of Windows before they sell the book again, or least ask you what version of Windows you are using before you place the order.



3. From the beginning pages, the explanations are flowing and account for all levels of competency in options. When you finish the very readable book, you will have a solid understanding of index options. The graphs are excellent while the mathematical concepts are carefully explained. I have traded stock options successfully for the past ten years and I now have enough confidence in my knowledge of index options to not panic when hitting the enter button.



4. The good news is that this book is very nicely done, providing a useful foundation to beginner and intermediate options traders. I found that I learned quite a lot about the interactions between option pricing and the various factors influencing pricing. The author provides numerous case study examples utilizing the OP-EVAL(TM) software included with the book. A majority of the book contains detailed examples describing how to use the software and interpret the output. The bad news is that the software will not run on current Windows operating systems (Windows 98 or newer). So don't buy the book if you want to try the software on your own. Efforts to contact the author, through the publisher McGraw-Hill, about the possibility of updating the software, have been unsuccessful. Otherwise a good book.



5. The book is very good from a professional options trader and teacher.
   
   A lot of the comments from people who recently bought this old (but good) book for the software, were not diligent enough to think about contacting the author. I contacted the author and he mailed me an updated version of the software that comes with the book. He was very kind and cordial.

No comments about Winning with Options: The Smart Way to Manage Portfolio Risk and Maximize Profit.

No comments about Margin Trading from A to Z: A Complete Guide to Borrowing, Investing and Regulation (Wiley Trading).

5 comments about Profit with Options: Essential Methods for Investing Success.

1. This is the fourth book on options that I have read.

   I learned a lot from the 2 chapters on using options as indicators to spot insider trading activity and the chapter on volatility.

   The chapter on using options as insurance will help me teach my family the bare minimum of what every stock investor should know about options.

   The chapter on System Trading was useless to me.

   One "feature" of this book that irritated me at first is that the "Review Questions" after each chapter quiz the reader on information that wasn't covered. However, I quickly got over this minor irritation because the answers are useful new information. The section is simply mis-labled. It should be called "Relevant Questions" or "Frequently Asked Questions".

   At any rate, I used up an entire highlighter pen and that is good indicator that this book is worthwhile.

   One other minor nit-pick; the copyright date is 2002 but the examples are from 1999 and 2000 (pre bubble-burst). There are also a few references to "the video" which leads me to belive that this book is a collection of previously written reports. That's fine because the chapters are self-contained but the editor should have deleted the reference to "the video".

   Overall I give it 4 stars.

   Thank you to the author.




2. Profit with Options seems to have been thrown together from a series of talks, with little attempt at editing. The book is replete with mistakes that render the book useless to a novice options trader and frustrating to read for an expert.

   The figures are particularly bad, with incomplete or incorrect legends. On page 9, for example, are shown profit graphs for puts and calls. One problem is that the graph for calls is labeled "Put purchase" and the graph for puts refers to buying a call. This is worse than useless to a beginner because it is flat out wrong, and makes the expert wonder whether anything else in the book is sufficiently reliable to trust. Another problem with this figure is that neither graph has any numbers on the axes.

   Poor labeling of figures renders indecipherable many of the figures in Chapter 2, which deals with options as direct indicators. Figure 2.1, for instance, does not provide dates on the X-axis, so when the text says something about what happened on July 29, it's difficult to know where to look on the chart. Many of the charts in this chapter include several data plots, apparently including price and option volume, but the plots are not labeled. Sometimes the text refers to put volume and call volume, but the charts don't indicate which is which.

   The text often is no more clear than the figures. The discussion on stops on page 133, for example, states: "So you gave back a lot by waiting for your stop to be hit. Or did you Will, in this case you did, but what if the S&Ps had gone on to 1335?" Who the heck is Will, and what does he have to do with anything?

   The "review" questions are not really review questions. I expected them to review subject matter that was covered in the preceding chapter. However, the questions are directed to material is not covered in the chapter.

   I'm going to try a different book on options. It's just too frustrating to get anything useful out of this one.




3. I have read McMillan's other books and found them interesting and educational. But this book does not have any eyeopening material. If you are a beginner in options then this is not for you; if you are not a beginner then this book is not for you also. You probably know how volatility affects option prices etc., The author has just filled the pages with many historical charts of stocks. Instead he could have just illustrated his points with a couple of charts for each topic. Instead of a book this just deserves to be a booklet.



4. I am jsut wondering why many people take this book as another 'Bible' leveled book. It sounds exactly like an insult to all those real 'Bible' books.
   
   Some other reviewers are right: the editting is lousy, the graphs are irresponsible,...., and some other over a thousand flaws. One can expect to learn more by simply browsing Optionetics forum.



5. This book could probably be considered the Chevy in McMillan's fleet, with McMillan on Options and Options as a Strategic Investment standing as the Cadillac and Corvette, respectively. It's a worthwhile addition, but if you're new to McMillan, you'd probably be better-served by one of his more well-known works.
   
   This is a relatively short book that provides some tools for using options as direct or contrary indicators, and actual strategies for employing options to profit off expected movement in price or volatility. The book also provides some good guidelines for evaluating indicators like the put/call ratio (index and equity-only), VIX (old VIX, now VXO), and how to interpret volume in an options chain for possible signs of predictive insider trading. Later chapters get a little more complicated, covering some strategies for volatility buying and selling, etc.
   
   The "workbook" end of this volume is rather thin, basically comprised of 12-20 questions at the end of every chapter covering what you've learned, with an answer index in back.
   
   If you're a McMillan fan or new to options, you'll probably like this book. Otherwise, check into his better-known volumes first.

5 comments about The Complete Idiot's Guide to Daytrading Like a Pro, 2nd Edition (The Complete Idiot's Guide).

1. Sorry, but this book appears to have been written by a wanna be writer whose style---if you can call it that---is so blatantly irritating, condescending, and ridiculous that its facetiouseness distracts from any worth the book might otherwise provide which is minimal at best. Almost every paragraph contains a silly lead in to the next as if the writer is trying to hold your hand and help you 'get through' the material. Stuff like, 'ok, we're almost there now!' and 'I know you probably want to get right to the good stuff, but first, let's get a few of the harder points over with!....' Still with me? Both the writer and publisher should be pilloried for presuming the public is THAT dumb. You guessed it: don't buy this rubbish. And while we're at it, probably the only other book that's just as bad as this one for silliness is Toni Turner's.



2. If your stock market experience is limited, this book will serve as a good introduction. The material is basic and presented in an easily understood format.



3. This particular book is fine as a general reference on the stock market, but frankly beginners will need more concrete and to the point strategies to make it as online stock traders.
   
   The reality is that the stock market doesn't care if you are a beginner. It will gladly take your money away if you don't know what your doing. So the bottom line is, you better be PREPARED before you even think about making your first trade.
   
   Stock trading is a very competitive field and in order to succeed you need to FOCUS on a set of simple strategies that you can implement without hesitation.
   
   This game is all about buying and selling according to your set ups. So the clearer your set ups are, the easier for you can be to make a profitable decision.
   
   Hopefully some sites on the web do offer more relevant and updated stock trading information. One of those sites is Sharp Trades ( SharpTrades com )
   
   They focus mainly on short term momentum stock trading strategies, that in my opinion are easier to implement than many other technical systems outhere.
   
   Stock trading doesn't have to be complicated as many people perceive. But you do need to follow a well organized set of rules and tactics, that once you master them, you can aspire to replicate profitable trades with consistency.



4. New edition just out. More sensible approach, and updated. Definitely worth the money, especially for new traders.



5. Recently I decided to try short-term trading. Soon I realise that I need to learn more. What is going on behind bid/ask postings, how to read and interpret Level II quotes, what is Naqdaq TotalView, what advance platforms are available today, etc? So I went to local bookstore and browsed through the section. Didn't find anything satisfactory so bought this book as a temporary solution. After an hour of reading I decided to write my first book review on Amazon.com. This is simply the best book I could hope to find on the subject: precise, structured, brief yet informative, state-of-the-art information. Excellent book overall. I highly recommend this book for beginners and may be even more experienced traders that didn't keep up with the latest advances. My only complain is that the indexing is not detail enough.

2 comments about Writing Uncovered Put and Call Combinations.

1. I like to read Pauls books because they explain things in a simple and precise manner. I had no idea on understandind Options, but now I am very confident in what I am doing.
   I can strongly recommend Pauls books for people starting out in the deritives market.



2. Have written naked puts a number of times before and although you can loose your shirt quickly with this stratergy am comfortable with the logic behind it. Am not so comfortable with writing naked calls however. This book has got me considering it. As a read it is simple to understand and concise in it's detail of action to take in any situwation should things not turn out as planned,which I liked. I also liked the distinction between trading stocks and etf's and the possible benifits outlined from doing so. The fact it is written by an author with a banking background gives me confidence in his experience of useing the stratergies outlined to use money to make superior returns. Useful book.