"...this book is unquestionably destined to become a classic technical analysis reference book for years to come..." (erivativesreview.com, 16 July 2002) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Skimmed through the Profitable Candlestick Trading: Pinpointing Market Opportunities to Maximize Profits , by Steven W Bigalow. Despite the claims that it would help Investors to "Pinpointing Market Opportunities and Maximizing Profits" it is really hard not to think, that the book is nothing but a quick-fix for a 'trading-coach' looking to make a quick buck, when his customers have deserted him.
There is no scientific or testable biases in the book, only a bleak summary of 'conventional' wisdom. He presents chart after chart, points out profitable trades, but completely leaves out any testable setups. This book will remain on the shelf and will not probably not even serve as a reference guide. I would only rate this as a useful guide for someone that has a low hurdle for wasting money on non-testable charting.
I've read two intro texts to candlesticks. This one and Nison's Japanese Candlestick Charting Techniques, Second Edition. The current book is not really bad, but Nison's book is much better. So in my view the choice is easy. The top reviewer for this book stated that this book deals more with strategy and making money. I do not agree at all. I think this and Nison's book both cover the basics. And as I said, Nison's book is much better.
In the current book there are a lot of patterns listed with three or four candles and they seem very much adhoc, I don't really buy the underlying reasoning. Bulkowski has analysed these patterns in Encyclopedia of Candlestick Charts (Wiley Trading) and he finds that many of these patterns are very rare. Bulkowski put everything through his computer and found that some patterns occur maybe 100 times out of 100,000. To name and label such rare patterns is silly and borders on the dishonest. Especially since they are not that extraordinary the 100 times they occur.
I have written several short reviews on trading books. The best way is to compare the score on the books I've read. Many reviews on amazon.com are just glorious 5 star reviews. I use all five categories; sorry but everything isn't "great". Books rated 5 are very good. Books rated 4 are good solid books well worth reading. Books rated 3 can be bought by some people who read a lot or have very specific needs. Books rated 1 or 2 I would not recommend buying or reading. Naturally all in my humble opinion.
I'm very pleased with the information contained in the book. However, most of the information contained in the book can be found on the authors website for free. Just google Stephen Bigalow and check it out for yourself, lots of info in the forum at that site as well. I read some other reviews (at another site) that recommended his second book over this one as the basics can be found at his website (and several others) and you can get more into the theory in the other book. With that said I still recommend it and would say its a 5 star rating based on the information. I use it every night while doing my research for the next trading day. Anyway, just something to know. Seems most days you can find just about anything on the net if you look hard enough. May all your days be bullish kickers!
I am a beginner Commodities/Futures Trader, and am in the process of learning everything I can about all the various trading tools and charting methods. My expectations after having read a lot of books now, is that the book should contain a focused look at the 'topic' followed by primary, secondary and tertiary examples of how the methodology of the subject can work effectively AND when it doesnt work well. Stephen Bigalow did an excellent job. The only weakness? The vast amount of analysis provided was for Stock Traders, even though the CandleStick methodology was invented for commodities/futures trading. There is a 3 page section that covered how effective the Candlestick charting method is for commodities trading, but in those 3 pages, he basically says that Candlesticks were invented for Commodities Trading and all the examples that are in the book apply BETTER for commodites as the underlying factors of price in Commodities are not as variant as they are with stocks. Bingo. So why all the analysis based on Stock Trading? I guess he had to play to the larger market of buyers. Anyway, he covers every kind of pattern, and his explanations are clear, succinct, and understandable. I highly recommend this book if you want to understand CandleStick's.
I own just about every book that exists on trading stocks, options and futures and this one outshines them all. The body of knowledge conveyed in this book comes about as close as it gets to a holy grail for traders. The book is clear, concise, comprehensive, and easy to understand. I had to force myself to put it down it's that good. Candlesticks used to be mysterious to me and I always stuck to the old-school use of price bars, technical analysis and fundamental analysis to develop my stock scans and buy/sell strategies. Bigalow elegantly demonstrates how to effectively use candlesticks and stochastics to streamline the process. I still rely on other technical indicators such as MACD and ADX to confirm candlestick signals, but everyone has different approaches. In my opinion, you really only need this book and perhaps Murphy's book on Technical Analysis to be a successful trader. I also found Bigalow's book to be much more insightful than Nisson's more objective material considering that Bigalow shows you actual practical application. If you're serious about becomming a successful trader or refining your existing trading chops, this book is a "must have".
This is a more applied book than Nison's Candlestick Charting. It focuses more on profit from candlestick signals than the psychology behind their appearance.
Easy to use, and build your filtering system, or interpret what you see in the pre-built filters [...] Bigalow covers building a filtering system as well, but he leaves alot of material uncovered.
He offers a FREE website forum and Thursday night chat where he answers the questions generated from the book, which furthers the growth of a candlestick trader.
One additional note, although not intended, the book is most applicable to the short-term trader looking to skim the market. With a little thought the information contained in the book can be used to generate stronger entry and exit signals once the setup is in place.
One knock, discussion on stops seemed like an afterthought with very little attention.
This is a great book to help you start trading with less risk. Using the candlestick patterns will help you enter and exit positions better and with a higher chance of success. Not every trade will be a profitable one, but with the techniques in this book I've been able to reduce the losses on the bad trades and hold on longer to the profitable ones.
I have given this book just 4 stars because the author has a second book coming very soon and I expect that with the combination of the two books, they will be 5 stars.
This book not only teaches the candlestick patterns and how to recognize them, but it also teaches you how to make money trading them. Money management, trade size, etc. are all very important concepts and not often explained. Here they are. This is a must read book for anyone interested in this trading technique.
Steve Bigalow's book is worth every penny!
As an introduction to using Candlesticks for trading, this book explains in an easy to understand manner the basics of what a candle is, the different types of candles, the candlestick patterns most useful in everyday trading, and provides numerous, detailed examples and analysis using actual charts.
For the experienced trader a new perspective on the psychology of trading using Candlesticks will provide valuable insight of the advantages the Candlesticks have to offer over the old- fashioned idea of "Buy and Hold for the long term" strategies.
Do not expect to read this book once and know-it-all. It took me several readings, study, practice, and patience before I became comfortable...and a believer in Candlestick trading.
Highly recommended and enjoyed!
This book provides the necessary understanding needed to spot when a trend starts to turn and change direction based on observing price movements. Each formation is explained in plain English that is clear and easy to study. What I found helpful also is that the book explains why the formation works based upon the implications of price movement on the market's psychology/thinking. Each formation is depicted in a pictorial cartoon, and then a real world example is given, taken from actual trades that took place in a stock or commodity.
The book takes it a step further and discusses important issues, other than determinig the change in trend. It outlines how this method of analysis can be used to enhance trading psychology, place effective stop orders, and help give the user an edge when used with indicators and other traditional chariting methods (triangles, head and shoulders, etc).
I would have rated it five stars, if not for a couple of real life trading examples that were not as good as the rest of the examples, and were actually rather confusing.
Take home message: Dont walk the street without it!!
Product Details :
Hardcover: 374 pages
Publisher: Wiley; 2 edition (March 8, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0470924705
ISBN-13: 978-0470924709
Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 1.2 x 10.3 inches
More Details about Profitable Candlestick Trading: Pinpointing Market Opportunities to Maximize Profits 2nd edition
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