The Electronic Day Trader: Successful Strategies for On-line Trading [Kindle Edition]

This book does give the beginning day trader a lot of information. It will give you details about how the NYSE and NASDAQ exchanges operate. It will tell you how the different ECN's operate. It will even give you a few day trading strategies.

However, it will NOT, as the back cover states, "put you shoulder-to-shoulder with other active traders." It simply does NOT give the reader enough specific information on how to become a full fledged day trader. While I was reading, I was under the impression the authors were withholding or omitting information. In some chapters, the text is so cryptic or filled with meaningless technobabble, it is difficult to understand how it is applied to actual trading.

I'm sure many who read this book will recall the '80s when "no money down" real estate seminars became all the rage. Throughout this book, the authors mention their web site and how you can learn more about day trading. Apparently, the authors are using this book as a primer for their $1700 week long seminar. All necessary information should be in the book and the seminar, which others offer for $200, should only be used for augmentation.

The book is rather short. Although it is 208 pages, only the first 165 are useful. The last 2 appendixes deal with CNN and stock index information which is either outdated or may be obtained elsewhere. In fact, a true day trader will not be watching CNN to be making trades. He will be using his Level 2 screen and realtime newsfeed.

The term "day trader" carries a special connotation which most beginning investors don't understand. Most day traders use only NASDAQ Level 2 screens. L2 shows the demand for a NASDAQ stock. The biggest objection I have with this book, and with most other day trading books, is that there aren't enough examples and instructions on how to use the L2 screens. Even the author's mention how their own program, "Watcher", only deals with NASDAQ stocks. Yet, there isn't a SINGLE colored L2 screen in the entire book. Furthermore, there are too few L2 examples and the authors do NOT show you how to use L2 "step by step." If a reader were to rely solely upon this book to learn day trading, he wouldn't be around for very long.

Mark Friedfertig and George West's The Electronic Day Trader is an exceptional read for those interested in becoming a day trader or improving their day trading skills. Each chapter was informative and helpful. Since I am a beginner at day trading, the first two chapters "The Reemergence of Day Trading", and "What is Online Day Trading?" were excellent background material, familiarizing me with the terrain before beginning in earnest. It seems, day trading is just like trading in the old days in the bucket shops as written by E. Lefevre in his famous "Reminisces of a Stock Operator" in 1923. In this book Larry Livingston made millions executing his own trades following the ups and down ticks in the market. Apparently, the same applies now. After the SEC mandated lower commissions on May 1, 1975, big brokerage firms making huge spreads are now facing stiff competition from day traders who will take increasingly smaller spreads. They suggest brand new technologies, such Island an (ECN) Electronic Communication Network allow traders compete against big brokerage firms by executing trades directly on the NASDAQ with real time quotes. To get involved, Friedfertig and West even invite prospective traders to trade at their firm and even take their course and learn the tools to get started, as detailed in Chapter 7 and appendix A. The third chapter explains the market, its specialist and the marker makers. These are the people who you compete against for money. This material is definitely useful to review. The fourth chapter details how to gauge the strength of the market. Indicators such as the S&P, futures, Bonds, and stock market leaders are important to observe when trading as they may affect the direction of your particular stock. Moreover, they hit on other factors like the time of day, volume, charts and stock patterns in explaining the essentials of day trading. Chapter 5 "An insiders Look at Day Trading" is chuck full of useful secrets useful to strong day trading. Tips like reading the tape, how to know what the market makers and ECN traders are doing, uptrend, downtrend dynamics, levels, momentum, when to buy and sell and timing are offered to give the reader a head start. They wrap up the book stressing the importance of having a solid "trader's philosophy". They suggest that particular habits can make the difference between a successful and unsuccessful trader. After reading the book twice and would recommend it highly. In fact. I have already recommended it to my friends and others who have expressed interest in this field. The book was comprehensive and informative. The chapters are clearly written. The scope was broad; yet the information was concise. They did a solid job synthesizing material. I have learned a lot from this book and look forward to applying it in my future career as an "Electronic Day Trader."

When I see the one and two star comments I just shake my head and laugh. This is an excellent book if you are a real day trader. I can see where it would be over the head of those just starting out. But anyone who uses Level II quotes will find a lot of useful info. to pick from. I day trade for a living, it's how I pay my bills! What I can tell you is that there is no magic formula for buying a stock, never has been and never will be! Daytrading is a game of momentum and volume. Understanding why stocks make runs and then pullbacks throughout the day is half the game. Watching how market makers act during the runs up and the pullbacks will stop you from getting shook from your positions, and give you a good point for opening new positions. To those that rip this book, I thank you for your daily contributions to my trading accounts. To those with access to Level II quotes I think the authors give you a pretty good overview of how the game is played. There's no magic formula to becoming a great trader. Any book that promises one is a sham. Trading skills come through experience and application, the game is keeping your capital preserved to survive the learning curve. This book is a good foundation to build upon.