February 17, 2013
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Book Review: Mastering the Trade
My original plans this weekend was to read 2nd version of the book, “Mastering the Trade” by John Carter-
I had checked it out of the library and due to the discussed unforeseen events that needed addressing, was quickly running out of time. I wasn’t able to have it renewed for more time since someone else had put a hold request on it, so this was my next big task as I had to return it next week so if I don’t look at it now, it will be at least 3 weeks before it becomes available again. I got some time yesterday evening to power though it.
The good news was since I already read the 1st version, I didn’t have to read each page/section with deep focus so I could go through pages at a fairly fast pace. Even so, the book is about 450 pages, so I didn’t finish until the wee hours of the night. Nothing like “fast reading” a technical book
– I attribute it for the weird dreams I had last night. My quick review of it would be good, but I think new traders would likely benefit more from the 1st version as the 2nd version would likely be a bit overwhelming. What I like about his books are that he gives you numerous examples of trading techniques he says he uses- which is a kind of proxy for looking over another traders shoulder to see what they are doing.
Note, doing this works best when you already have methods of your own to compare with, as opposed to trying to learn to trade by his info only. When I read his 1st version, his techniques gave me better insight on applied trading such as how to set up entry/exit points on my own methods, but I didn’t find his methods of trading to be compatible with mine. I also think that anyone trying to duplicate his techniques word for word will likely also have problems being consistent in generating gains. But I wouldn’t fault the book for this entirely- it’s the nature of trading- once you reveal a certain technique to the general public, unless it’s complicated or subject to much interpretation, it becomes less effective because techniques work best when only few people know them as the market is based on human behavior and not a fixed-in-stone mechanism.
The reason I recommend the 1st version for newer traders is the amount of guidelines and examples thrown at you. A new person will try to soak everything in and easily be inundated with everything presented and probably wind up missing the main points to take away. The 2nd version also starts veering into commercial methods like more proprietary indicators and references to his website that offers “premium services” for a fee. The 1st version has much less of secondary “selling”. Seasoned traders can benefit from the 2nd version since it’s easier for them to separate the wheat from the chaff.
