Larry Connors, the author of Short Term Trading Strategies That Work, has published a number of VERY good stock trading books, so when this one came out my expectations were pretty high.
I wasn't disappointed. Covering material that could have been trite (buy
pullbacks, go long when stock is over 200 MA, short when stock is below,
etc.), he raised everything he presented to a new level of instruction by
providing years worth of data proving his points. There are loads of stock
trading books on the market providing buy and sell entry triggers, but few
quantify what they are talking about in a way even approaching what Mr.
Connors has done here.
But this book really challenged me, too. One of my personal mantras over the
years has been "never trade without a stop". In fact, one of the folks who
hammered that into me was Mr. Connors and several other
TradingMarkets.com teachers. So you can imagine my consternation when
Connors informs the reader that, at least with the strategies he is presenting
in this book, stops actually HURT performance! To be honest, I'm still
digesting this claim; I'm not discounting it out of hand, but I've seen too many
scenarios play out where the only thing that saved my trading account from
financial Armageddon was a disciplined use of stops.
Bottom line on this Short Term Trading Strategies That Work: it is one of the
best stock trading books available, is more than worth the price, and will
provide the active trader some great material for their own trading practice.
But it is a bit heretical, and each reader will need to see if every element fits
his/her style of wrestling with the markets. But whether you use every
strategy or not, this book can help you become a stronger trader who relies
on quantifiable data more than their own 'gut' instinct.
No comments:
Post a Comment