Trade Your Way to Financial Freedom

The discipline for successful trading (all varieties of trading) is firmly planted in FINANCIAL FREEDOM. Not Flashy from this standpoint. It does not offer the latest entry techniques and wealth guarantees. It is Solid by originating a six-point discipline to successful investing. The book details a comprehensive mathematical and psychological plan to carry investors to success. The book might be better classified as a reference book than a 'quick' read. I would recommend this book.

A truly great book. Practical. Well written. I came away with more knowledge I can actually apply from this book than anything else I've read. Not for beginners. But an absolutely invaluable book!

I bought this book based on the positive reviews, but found it to be disappointing. The author's writing style is difficult to read and he contradicts himself. He tries to appeal to a large audience by illustrating how some successful investors/traders (e.g. Warren Buffett) will do things. However some of these superstar investors implement strategies that are the antithesis of what Tharp is trying to promote. For example, Buffett never uses stops nor position sizing. He skims through some areas superficially. If you want to find out more, you need purchase additional products on his website. At the end of the day even Tharp has had only limited success in his teachings. Forget it and save your money.

Great theory, a stock that goes up 15 points will cover losses of 14 stocks that go down 1 point so control your losses and come out 1 point ahead. No practical information on how to set up a trading system, only generalizations. This is the same book this guy wrote 10 years ago.
Great suggestions like be like Warren Buffet. Don't waste your money.

This book came to me as great recommendation from several places . Compared with the posh title I thought this should be something spectacular . However , expectations are one thing , the facts another.
1.The reader may get a little confused at the beginning due to the overcomplicated language used by the author . Then at some point readers (at least some ) will start to realize that the author has tremendous potential of overcomplicating simple stuff and oversimplifying complex things.
2.The reader will have difficulties understanding what this book is about. Is it about traders as the posh title suggests? Or is it about investors ? and what kind of them ? short -term , long -term , value , growth ?The author just tried to pack in the book as much things as possible no matter what's the relevance of the material . How can a book that is supposedly about trading talk about W. Buffett? What has Buffett to do with trading for crise sake? How can you afford to talk such nonesense like value trading and so on...At the end the rEader will understand one thing- THIS BOOK IS NOT ABOUT TRADING .
3.The book is full of generalizations , contradictions and especially REPETITIONS. I will not delve into specific examples here but believe me you will read throughout the book all the same things and concepts served in different ways and talked with strange language . It looks like the author's aim was to make the book as thick as possible .
4.How can a guy that is not trading himself be one of the best trading coaches and write books about trading ? Only this question can arise plausible suspicion . I would never buy a book from people who are not traders themselves.
5 .Instead of wasting money and time on books written buy people whose only goal is to market their products people should start buying books from real traders . I would recommend reading some of Alexander Elder's which are top -notch books for trading .
6.The author is trying to sell all his products throughout this book . You will often stumble upon a statement which will announce something like this: If you want to know more buy my ....book. Excuse me are we writing a seriuos book or an advertisment pamphlet?
7.I know people pay a lot of money to trading coaches and thing like this . Would I trust this guy with my money ? Hell , no. What is going to teach me when he's not a trader ? Answer to that question before you put some serious money down the line .
8.The most annoying thing in the book (except everything aforementioned) is the always - to - be -right approach of the author . He will tell you how a trader came to him , he told him what to do but he didn't listen to him and failed and lost all of his money . How instructive!
9.Most of the paper is USELESS BABBLE .
10. Here is the iceberg -at the end of the book the author makes the stunning conclusion that everybody has to read his book at least 4-5 times. Is this guy nuts or is he really believing himself that his book is so great?
11.Judging by the reviews It's NO Wonder Why so Many Lose Money in the Markets
12.To Sum it up - DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME AND MONEY ON PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT TRADING THEMSELVES. ONLY LOOK FOR PEOPLE WHO KNOW WHAT THEY ARE TALKING ABOUT . THIS IS NOT A GOOD BOOK.

I have tried this trading stuff and only lost money in the process. I believe you have to be gifted in some way in order to make money with these books. They seem to be a scam to me . but maybe not you.

I have been investing money in stocks since 1997. Since that time, I tried to learn as much about it as I could . I thought I had come a long way, but this book showed me how little I really know, and more importantly, why I haven't made as much money as I was hoping. I am not all the way through it yet, but I've already learnt a ton of stuff I never knew about, or didn't pay much attention to. If you're not very successful in your investing or trading, or you are, but you know you can do better, then buy this book. It teaches about psychological factors that can ruin your trading if you don't learn to control them, about the optimum amount of money to trade on each idea, about analyzing your system to see if you're even likely to make any money off it, about exit strategies etc. No book will teach you every detail of everything you need to know about trading/investing, but this one will give you a rock-solid base on which you can build.

If you are a wishful thinker searching for the holy grail to riches in the financial markets and enjoy falling prey to con people after con people who out of sheer altruism want to share their great secrets with you, and who promise you that if you buy their invariably expensive systems/books all you have to do is work half an hour in the evening to gain incredible wealth, then do not buy this book.
If however you are willing to accept that there is no holy grail waiting to be discovered, are serious about wanting to earn more than you lose in the financial markets over a relevant frame of time, then you will absolutely have to buy this book.
Van Tharp tells it the way it is.

This book focuses on 4 things: (1) Be Open Minded (2) Focus on Exit Strategies (3) Positive Expectancy (4) Create your own system by studying other people's systems.
(1) Be OPEN MINDED: The book attempts to point out why most investors are too narrow minded and get too attached to a single trading system. It argues for the importance of first knowing yourself, your habits, etc before creating your own system.
(2) Exit Strategies: The book attempts to explain why Exit Strategies are often more important than Entry Strategies, how other systems often focus too much on entering the market and not enough on exiting the market and why this going against the grain is important.
(3) Positive Expectancy: It teaches you how to create a system of keeping track of your trades so that (1) you'll know your batting average and (2) don't get discouraged like everybody else when a trade doesn't go your way.
(4) Create your own System: It shows you a bunch of other people's systems in the hopes that you can pick and choose the right trading tools for yourself.
This book is definitely not a get-rich-quick book and it's more about developing a proper trading mentality which the author sees as a key ingredient for most successful trader. It does not spoon feed but it does force you to think and do your homework.

To me, this is a breakthrough book. I found just about every page insightful, challenging my own personal beliefs about risk, trading, and position sizing. If you're serious about trading (anything!), get this book. It will open your eyes --- and your Mind! --- to a whole new way of thinking and designing your own individualized trading system.
Too many Investors do not understand the nature of risk: how to limit their losses and maximize their profits. Too many Investors spend all their time worrying about Entry and little (if any) on Exits. Van Tharp's book will teach you the approach YOU need for successful investing and trading.
Get it; absorb it; then apply it. You will be thankful you did! If you agree with my assessment, then tell a friend or relative who invests to get this book. Not only may you save them tens of thousands of dollars by doing so, you may help them become more financially independent than they could ever dream.

If you are interested in the stock market (I suspect most readers fall into this category) or any other financial instrument, you MUST read this book, because it is one of the few that focus on the importance of SELLING (exiting) a trade or investment (David Cassidy being the only other).
I started my investment research by asking a simple question--why do people often lose large amounts of money in the market? It is because people are told to BUY assets (stocks) but have absolutely NO instruction on when to sell. Whether it is your friendly stock broker, or your random walk theorist, almost everyone subscribes to the Buy and Hold philosophy--great in a bull market, but what happens when the bear returns?
In addition to focusing on exits, Van Tharp instructs potential traders on the crucial importance of position sizing. Even if you have a money making system, you can blow up by risking too much money on any trade. Think about how this is possible.
I suspect thoughtful readers will look at technical analysis in a new light. It is probably a better used as a tool to control risk of catastrophic loss, rather than predicting market direction (which may still be helpful on occasion). Even if short term market action is nearly random, it still pays to get out of losing trades, as you have a 50% chance of losing more money.
Buy the book. The money you spend now may save you a lot more later on.

Worth its weight in gold. We hear that expression a lot, but this book is just that. At current prices, that would be about $6,200. It will save (i.e., make) me at least that much.
The book is probably worth most to intermediate level traders, although it will certainly help all traders. I say intermediate because they will have enough experience to appreciate the methodologies presented. Too many traders lose money because they are not prepared. This book helps prepare you for the hard choices (not merely finding a system for when to enter trades).
Using money management (position sizing) is a must. When you start implementing that, as presented in the book, you will sleep much better at night.
The sections on R, R-multiples and expectancy are worth the purchase. But, continue through the book and you will fall in love with it. I bet you will read it at least twice!
Of the hundreds of investing books that I have read, this is first or second on my list of favorites.

This book is very important for would be traders in my opinion, because it emphasizes finding a strategy that works for you. Though it gives some suggestions on sizing and the such, this book is an introductory in my opinion along with The Winning Investment Habits of Warren Buffett and George Soros by Mark Tier in setting up the appropriate psychology one needs to enter the market. When I first started trading in stocks at the fresh age of 21, I was nervous and jittery, I entered each stock with a pit in my stomach, and sold them the moment they made a profit, and then kicked myself for not waiting. This book helped me learn patience and directed me to a strategy that has worked for me, a strategy I would derive from reading dozens of books afterwards on both investing and trading.

This book teaches you how to understand yourself, something that will not just help you in the stock market but in life. You must create your own system, it would sound cheesy to say, but the Holy Grail is inside of you, and is different for everyone. You might be a value investor with no interest in trading, so then don't trade, you might be a stark trader, who can sit their and focus on the markets, you might be buy stop order and trailing stops type trader, there's a system out there, and books that will help you develop your strategy. This book helps you understand figure out what you want and how you want that strategy to work for you.

Books I'd suggest be read aftewrords:
Stan Weinstein's Secret For Profiting In Bull and Bear Markets
All Nicolas Darvas books
All William O'Neil Books
Trend Following by Michael Covel
The Five Rules of Successful Stock Investing by Dorsey
The Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham
Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits by Phillip Fisher
and, Reminiscences of a STock Operator.

These books helped me turn a 30,000 dollar account into 185,000 dollars today, 110,000 dollars in a year. Of course that was when the market was rallying in 2009, so a good deal of timing. My system is my holy grail.

P.S.
When trading in anything, stocks, commodities, or currencies, money management is key. Money management is the key to risk management. Whether you're buying stocks, stock options, futures or future options, the way in which you manage your funds will decide whether or not you are successful. When you enter a stock, when you exit a stock should be the least of your concern, how much you'll enter the stock with and how much you'll get out with if it goes against you will make you a fortune in the market.

The Golden Rule of Trading is "Don't Lose Money."

This book captures the fundamental understandings of trading. You should not make another trade unless you incorporate the lessons contained in this book into your trading plan. Do you understand why you are a trader instead of an investor? Do you know the difference between investing and trading? Do you know the importance of having a disciplined approach to choosing your trade size, your trade entry and exit? If your current trading style does not parallel the trading concepts described in this book, you will either destroy your account or be the recipient of undeserved luck. This book is quite simply the best book on the subject of trading.

Unfortunately, this book suffers from being both over-and under-technical, and the problem is that you sometimes have a hard time telling the difference. Sometimes the over- and under- happen right next to each other, confusing things further. His many references to risk, "1R," total risk, etc., are the best examples, and these are the things where the serious reader is looking for clarity. It is obvious that Mr. Tharp has deep technical (statistical and mathematical) knowledge, and is frequently torn between simplifying and being accurate. Albert Einstein had warned that it is crucial to simplify as far as possible, but no further. Amen. Nevertheless, this book is likely one of the best of its kind for these three things a reader should come away with:

1. Of all the elements of a trading system (entry, exit, position sizing, etc.), it is position sizing that is most important, by far. His illustrations unfortunately can be confusing, rather than clarifying.

2. Trades should be thought of as "belief systems." Staggering as it is to think that one's own trading system isn't analytical, Tharp is correct in reminding us (strongly) that we are trading our beliefs, and to keep that in mind. For the average person this is hard to do even after the second trade!

3. Think of trades in terms of risk units. No explanation in this review, as this needs to be read through in the book.

I just finished reading the book and first bought this book based on the reviews on this site and on Elitetrader.com (an excellent and unbiased forum for traders). If you want to find the best system out there, you must search in yourself for that answer. Everyone is different, everyone has different investment horizions, some want to be long term Buffet like traders, and some want to be Day traders. There is no one size fits all system...you have to take inventory of yourself and look within of what you really want..and this book will teach you how....I know about setups, and stops and profit taking, from other books, but those books never teach you how much to bet on each position (called position sizing), this book will show you in detail. That alone is worth the price of the book...but please, aside from the position sizing techniques, the most important part in being successful in trading is taking inventory of yourself, shown in the first 3 chapters of this book and then you can construct a sound, strong system based on those parameters..

Van Tharp discusses and explains thoroughly the topic of position sizing in a trading account. This topic is virtually ignored in the literature of speculation and yet no other feature of one's trading will have as big an impact on long term results. I have made my living as a professional trader since the early eighties and cannot emphasize enough the value of understanding this subject. The great bull market we are experiencing is attracting many new traders and all of them should take the time to truly understand this topic.

I really had mixed feelings about this book. I agree with some reviewers that 1) this book is biased towards long term investing and fund manager type of affluent investors. 2) there are many quasi-promotional messages for books and courses of Tharp and his friends. However, I must state that in the early chapters, Tharp had given lively illustrations of how people try to search for the holy grail (an invincible trading system/formula) in the market, the destined futility of such, and the importance of market timing and selection. It's a pity that only the beginning part is in place. The interested readers got to find much of the content and the ending elsewhere.

I was very sceptical about this book. Contrary to the editorial review, I find the book to be vague and too theoretical.
It is not for beginners, as the author assumes that you already know quite a bit about "the market". The book is so unspecific, that the author does not even mention that there are various markets. There is the stock market, the index market, the forex market, the commodities market, etc.
Instead of providing successful strategies and proving them with a broker statement, he presents some general ideas and then says to the reader, "go design your own system". How long it will take me to design and test my own system?! How much time it would take for a beginner, who has no idea where to start, to design a winning system?
The book lacks information on such basic things as candlesticks.

The "secret" that the author talks about in the beginning of the book, is "the Camarilla Equation" and the trader who invented is Nick Scott. Oh, Van Tharp, why didn't you mention expcilitly the name of the method and the trader?

However, there is a chapter in the book, called "Trying to beat a random entry". This chapter is very good. I used the information in it, and I designed my own system, based on candlesticks, Parabolic SAR, and trailing stop loss. It seems to be successful, but I will write an update to this review in a few months to confirm whether the strategy is sucessful in the long term.

I enjoyed this book - it introduces plenty of ideas. The earlier chapters on psychology are very valuable to think about. The ideas on position sizing, risk multiples and exits are good.

On the down side, Van Tharp doesn't fully develop his idea of the finding your 'holy grail' in the market, perhaps because such a thing doesn't exist. Instead, he advocates devising a clear strategy which you understand and executing it consistently with appropriate position sizing and exits.

The book is very broad which can be annoying - it would benefit from more detailed worked examples. Because he treats stocks, futures, commodities and foreign exchange as equals, he avoids too much depth when exploring ideas. Some sections seem pointless - the section on neural nets and other cursory topics don't contribute much value.

The biggest issue is that the book is dated: published in 1998, he doesn't cover the tech-wreck (dot com collapse) - this would have made an excellent case study.

I wouldn't say that Van Tharp is the definitive writer on trading psyche, as some reviewers suggest - I've found more concise material on expectancy, exits and portfolio risk management elsewhere. Nonetheless, I'm glad I bought this title and it is valuable: I've marked several chapters to read again. This shows that the core ideas Van Tharp discusses are not eroded by time. Recommended.

As a professional trader, I am convinced that the only better trading teacher than Tharp is experience. Tharp forced me to take perspectives on my methodology that I never would have considered had I not read his book. As a result, I was able to immediately implement his techniques and philosophies into my own trading and profit enormously because of them. Highly Recommended. Also Recommend: Market Wizards, New Market Wizards, What Works on Wall Street

I have read many, many books on investing and trading, and this is one of the best. I use Investors Business Daily and O'Neill's method of stock selection and trade entries. This book is the perfect compliment to O'Neill's work. Tharp emphasizes the importance of money management and exits. His chapters on exits, setting stops, and money management are among the best investing pages I have ever read. In the past I usually made good entries using O'Neill's ideas, but I often let too much of my profit slip away once a stock started to decline. Now I feel confident about when to exit a trade. I am trading with less emotion and making more profits because of this book. It will also help an investor or trader develop a good system. An outstanding book!

Van Tharp's "Trade Your Way to Financial Freedom" concentrates on the most neglected aspect of trading stocks, futures, and other financial instruments: money management. Tharp is not biased toward the technical or the fundamental side, and his interviews with traders and the books he cites are representative of different methodologies. I know that reading this book has improved my trading, and it will do the same for you!

I bought this book because I had seen numerous references to it in other places. I did not have high expectations because it I believed it might be a book that only addressed the psychological side of trading. I was wrong. This book explains how anyone can create a profitable trading plan. If you have ever questioned whether or not it is truly possible to make consistent returns from the markets, then you need to read this book. It explains exactly what factors need to be taken into consideration and then allows you to personalize it to fit your own tendencies and strengths. After having read many trading books I would rate this one in the top 5 of all time. As Ed Seykota said "If you intend to trade, you'd better know what's in this book."

I have to admit the reading was a little intense, but once you understand the guidelines, these concepts can be applied in developing a successful trading system. I use some of these techniques in trading for my clients', yes I'm a broker based in LA (amazing a broker with a trading system, yes we do exist...LOL). This book has to be read in accordance with the following books. To get a better understanding of what Dr. Tharp is saying.

Reminisces of a stock operator by Edwin Lefèvre
Market Wizards by Jack Schwagger
By reading these books along with Tharp's book you have to get visualizations on what it takes to trade, the psychological aspect, market knowledge, and mathematical (algorithms) concepts. If this combination can't be understood than the people who brought this book and gave it poor ratings will continue to fail in the markets like the other 90 percent of investors or speculators who don't have a system in place. I always tell my clients not to treat trading as a hobby; a hobby is what you throw money at to satisfy certain emotions, but to treat this as a business where cash is your inventory. Strict rules and discipline are required to run a successful business, and this book enforces this ideology.

Trade Your Way To Financial Freedom is the best book I have ever read on an introduction for helping a person find out and develop a stock market trading strategy and system.

This book brings to light the #1 Trading Systems Rule: You will not be successful using any stock market trading system, unless you know something about yourself.

Defining your objectives is probably the most important part of developing a strategy for stock investing. Until you know where you want to go, you can never get there. As a result, a major portion of the time you spend in developing a trading system, should be in terms of developing objectives.

In his book, Trade Your Way To Financial Freedom, Van K. Tharp lays out a number of questions that you, as a stock market trader should ask yourself.

Definitely a highly recommended read!

Summary from my full length review - One of the most important books on money management you will ever come across. It is also the trading book that everyone loves to hate. Recommended to all newcomers.
Full review [...]

(If you want to find out specifically what is great about the book, check out one of the +100 5-Star reviews)

Trading Your Way To Financial Freedom. To be honest, the title sounds gimmicky and like an infomercial that airs at 3am so I was definitely hesitant about purchasing it, but after recommendations by traders that I have high esteem for (and a finding a used bookstore selling the hardcover copy for $8.50) I decided to get it. I finished the book about an hour ago, and after going over it with a fine-toothed comb (and highlighter) here is my analysis:

The book is logically sound and easy to grasp to the point that you would expect it to be the norm but if read most stock newsletters, visit any online forum or tune into the Bloomberg; it is painfully obvious that this is not the case. However, the book is not without its drawbacks. For what it is worth, the problems lie not with the methods or logic conveyed but the way the author conveys them. Another issue of concern is that Dr. Van Tharp keeps perhaps too open of a mind towards some questionable tactics that could lead a trader/investor to obvious risk.

The book is undeniably helpful and a must read. Again, I cannot stress that enough. However, the author manages to throw his credibility into question with almost every turn. The book is sprinkled with self-promotional pieces throughout, especially in the initial chapters. Dr. Van Tharp will often touch on a matter in a matter that seems suffice, only to say that he has not done the subject justice but you can really understand the topic in his other book . Dr Tharp also engages in other questionable tactics when he tells readers to play a game on his website where 'the first three levels are free.' He alludes to the importance of the game, saying that, "If you cannot do it in our game, then you have no chance in the market." Uhhh no thanks. I'll paper trade on one of the +100 free alternative websites.

Before I go any further, let my preface by stating that I am still new to the trading world and do not claim to have more trading experience than Dr Tharp. With that said, from a logical standpoint, I get the feeling that Dr Tharp is more of a mathematician that trades than a trader that is good at math. For example, I have never heard of a professional trader advocating newsletters for stock picks other than a quick flip on a penny Pump and Dump. I concede that Dr Tharp does recommend that readers follow the newsletters with the best track records based on previous issues. While this idea makes sense, it somewhat contradicts a statement in an earlier chapter where he questioned the validity of backtesting because as every advertisement regarding mutual funds or backtesting will tell you, "Past performance is not necessarily an indication or guarantee of future results." He tells the reader to do their own DD on the stocks given by newsletters but it is minimal advice at best IMO.

In the aforementioned example, his words seem to go against the logic of someone trading their beliefs unless the person believes that their money should be put in the hands of others. That is actually one of many contradictory messages throughout the text.

For example, Dr Tharp discusses the fallacy of having to be right in the trading world, yet throughout the book he always looks for a way to retell the story of how he told Company X to take his advice but they didn't and ended up bankrupt 6 months later, how Dr Tharp confronted an instructor because he disagreed with the instructor's opinion about Position Sizing, or how he told a Trader to stop doing Z and the trader refused, said Trader promptly blew his account out in less than a year. Dr Tharp's attempts to prove how 'right' his method is works against him and he comes off more like a 'know-it-all' than a unbiased teacher. Actually, the more I think about it, Dr Van Tharp comes off egotistical in general as I can recall instances of him quoting himself in the beginning of chapters and even goes as far as casting an interview with himself in the final chapter.

Dr Tharp also manages to throws his credibility as a bonafide trader into question when he gives readers various examples of how five fictional successful traders would play the markets. It sounds harmless enough but one of the successful traders happens to be a woman who guesses the changes in seasonal tendencies based on the alignment of the stars or some new-age mumbo-jumbo. While I can dig the use of Fibonacci Retracements, I can't really follow a woman who just has a gut feeling that something is going to happen on February 23rd 1993 so she buys some stock. Plus, this notion of order in the universe seems to contradicts the belief Dr Tharp has about taking full responsibility for your trading decisions. How can you assume full responsibility for your actions, yet take trading advice from your horoscope? *scratches head* Between you and me, I have heard it said that some of Dr Tharp's latter books goes off the deep end in respect to the supernatural/preternatural so I guess I am not entirely surprised.

Dr Van Tharp also talks about being conned out of money by an associate which also attacks his credibility. Based on the (brief) information given to us on the subject, it sounds like he got burned because of a lack of Due Diligence but since he doesn't go into much detail on that subject, I will not make assumptions. However, in the the store forum of this book, there is a post, that discusses David Mobley, who wrote the initial forward. Mobley was prosecuted for fraudulent spending and fraudulent disclosure. On second thought, perhaps the idea of being 'conned' is an attempt to distance himself from his work associate and liken himself to the public? Maybe the 2nd Edition was a means to distance himself from Mobley and his foreward, and at the same time, sell more copies? I don't know the truth but it seems logical enough based on Dr. Van Tharp's credibility thus far.

The fact that the author has so much going against his credibility by the end of the book yet still manages to explain a logical simplistic way to build a trading system speaks volumes to how important I think this book and its theories are. I recommend this book to anyone, not to obtain financial freedom, but to understand risk and how to deal with it in regards to your captial

Thousands, if not millions, of people waste huge amounts of money and time every year searching for some get-rich-quick Holy Grail of trading. Tharp's somewhat misleadingly titled Trade Your Way to Financial Freedom is definitely not a get-rich-quick technique. Nor is it even a guide to analyzing the markets; there are no fundamental analysis approaches, no technical chart patterns, no quantitative formulae. Instead, Tharp offers something totally different and far more useful: he systematically describes why you should develop your own trading system and how you should go about building and testing it.

Description:

An expert in trading psychology, Tharp quickly covers why most novice traders fail due to psychological problems trading and unrealistic expectations of the market. He advocates that an individual rationally lay out objectives for trading and design their own system, using whatever techniques work best for them, to meet their goals. Tharp goes on to describe the components of a trading system and how to objectively judge between them. He stresses the importance of money management and position sizing; two areas where traders should spend much of their time but often ignore. Just to be clear, there are no trading techniques at all in this book: no technical analysis signals, no material on how to pick stocks or futures, nothing like that - just how to build a system and overcome some of the psychological barriers to successful trading.

Opinion:

As a professional commodities trader, I believe that a thorough reading of Tharp's work will give a novice trader the benefit of years of hard-earned wisdom. It can take years of mistakes and losing money before internalizing the lessons Tharp gives out for a relatively extremely cheap price! It is very important to think about position sizing and money management. It is equally important to have a technique that can be objectively evaluated rather than trading randomly. No matter how you choose to approach the markets, whether by reading technical charts, fundamental reports, or quantitative models, Tharp's advice is excellent.

To be an excellent trader you need to understand each trade's risk and reward. This book helps you calculate share sizing based on risk. It is a very important work that needs to be incorporated in everyone's trading plan. If you don't have a written trading plan then you must have this book. Then write your plan. Use the risk calculation and you will be a much more profitable trader.

This book takes you through all aspects of trading system development from the psychological preparation necessary for success in the market to analyzing the results of your system. It has three major benefits that most investment books do not share: 1) it is very readable, 2) it makes sense (no voodoo here) and 3) it actually WORKS! The chapters on stop management and position sizing alone can cure most of the problems that individual investors usually have. This book is a solid winner. My only hesitation in recommending this book is that investing is a zero-sum game. If everyone used these principals, it would be hard for ME to make money. Fortunately, most investors are not that wise.

The author seldom present any original ideas. About 3/4's of the book is an overly simplified regurgitation of other people's ideas. I feel the author is insulting the intelligence of his readers because he will present an idea only to elude that it will be further explained in the following chapters. It's annoying when he does this throughout the entire book.

Also, whenever he writes about an idea that was presented before, he will make sure that you know you already read about it by referencing that it was previously mentioned in so and so chapter. It is like a game of ping pong trying to read this book. There are obvious fillers throughout the whole book. Reminds me of my writing in high school when I would repeat and babble away just to satisfy the required word count. This is unacceptable from a PHD. He seldom present any concrete facts, just matter of opinions which from the way he writes, puts into questions his certainty about the topic. The author repeats the same ideas over and over and I found very little meat in this book.

Overall, this book could have been compressed into 50 pages and you would not have missed any important ideas. I would rate this book 2 stars for the fact that at the beginning of the chapter where he interviewed Tom Basso about his objectives is useful to improving your system. I am rating this a 1 star, however, to offset the general high rating this book, in my opinion, does not deserve. The title is very misleading and the author is under qualified.

With all of the hoopla surrounding "trading" recently, it's interesting that many, if not most, would be traders don't know how to get started.
I should know. I'm a professional, full time trader and I'm constantly being asked,"John, how can I daytrade and make a living?" After reading Van Tharp's new book, I finally have a great answer to that question.
Sometimes I think I've read almost everything published on trading. Some are so basic they insult the reader, in their naïveté. Others are very advanced technical treatises. Van Tharp's book is refreshing. I found it a great read...a blend of the foundational concepts such as "fundamental analysis" with very advanced concepts including "expectancy"...a topic that very few traders understand at all.
Along the way, Tharp gets the reader involved by asking plenty of self-analysis type questions. Questions designed to immerse the reader in the complete process of trading. From understanding biases and success roadblocks...to designing and implementing a winning system...it's all here.
Whether you're brand new to trading, or a seasoned pro...there's plenty of material to dig into here. A lot of meat...very little fluff. I rate it five starts. Get it. Read it. Understand it.
And best of SKILL in your trading!

Once, a trader has gone thru many different stages and experiences within his personal "learning curve" (if he survived until here anyway) on the way to become a successfull trader, he will know by looking back in retrospective, that all he would have to know about from the beginning on would be:
1. Knowledge in statistics ( as much as there is statistical evidence possible to extrapolate into the future)
and
2. Knowledge about himself and the individual nature and tendency to act within special and abnormal situations.
These 2 important points are the main focus Dr. Van K. Tharp, the author, puts emphasis on. Not more, not less. This is it.
Its very, very worthwhile to read this book.

If you are looking for trading recipies, this is NOT the book for you. This books describes the trading process in an open approach, whithout selling speaches, trading formulas or magical enchaments. It describes the importance of risk management of your trades, and the pshycology and biases that are part of every system. Though general, the offered information serves both from what someone would call academic understanding, and the practical side of trading. The book is not academic though, as you will not see tons of equations, proofs, or algorithms.
I think it is a must for everone that does not want to jump into trading someone elses formulas, but to understand the mechanics and the psycology of trading. It contains references to other books that will help you understand the trade reciepies.
So if you want to understand what you are doing, or at least what you are supposed to do and the biases associated to your decisions, buy the book. If you want to trade like a maniatic daredevil who is told what to do by following nonsense schemes, you dont need this book.
No wonder why some readers were dissapointed. My impression, its the readers fault not to aim to higher goals while buying and reading a trading book.

Its missing something? Perhaps more action items? I don't know, I just didn't feel like it was a guide to freedom. I need that road map right now, I need what is going to get me from point A to B. However, it did provide a lot of valuable advice for me and I know that my outcomes will get better as a result.

Mark LaMoure, Boise,ID

Van Tharp in his book: 'Trade Your Way To Financial Freedom' introduces you to a rare and valuable stock book. It helps you discover your own style of stock trading.

EXCEPTIONAL
This is super-important for seeking success on the road to winning with stock investing. The book is a one-of-a-kind and precious. Read it and learn your own style of trading. A four star book."