Book Review – Super Trader by Van Tharp
Review by Cliff Clark
Super Trader
by Van Tharp
Super Trader is a great starting point for anyone starting out in the trading business or for anyone who hasn't put the proper infrastructure in place for their current trading business. The book won't teach you anything about reading charts but it will provide you critical information on building your business plan, building your trading plan, risk management and learning to handle your emotions.
The book is broken into four parts and each part contains multiple chapters:
Part 1: Working on Yourself: The Critical Component That Makes It All Work
Part 2: Developing a Business Plan: Your Working Guide to Success in the Markets
Part 3: Develop a Trading System That Fits Each Market Type You Plan To Trade
Part 4: Understanding the Importance of Position Sizing
If you have completed PTS (or some other educational course) and are wondering what your next step should be this book can help set you on the path. I highly recommend this book to new traders and others that are working on developing plans and working on emotions.
Here is more from the Amazon.com description:
Super Trader provides a time-tested strategy for creating the conditions that allow you to reach levels of trading success you never thought possible. Providing expert insight into both trading practices and psychology, Tharp teaches you how to steadily cut losses short and meet your investment goals through the use of position sizing strategies--the keys to steady profitability. Tharp offers concepts and tactics designed to help you:
CREATE AND MEET YOUR SPECIFIC
UNDERSTAND THE BIG PICTURE
CONQUER COUNTERPRODUCTIVE THINKING
MASTER THE ART OF POSITION SIZING STRATEGIES
With Tharp's proven methods, you can live the dream of enjoying above-average profits under various market conditions--up, down, and sideways. Tharp's wisdom, perspective, and tactical expertise are legendary in the world of trading. Follow the master down the path to trading excellence with Super Trader.
How do you transform yourself from a mild-mannered investor into a proactive trader who outperforms the market day-in and day-out. Think clearly. Plan accordingly. Commit completely. In other words, become a trader. No one is better suited to help you make the transformation than legendary trading educator Dr. Van K. Tharp.
Combining the sharp insight and technical brilliance that have drawn legions of investors to his books and seminars, Tharp provides a holistic approach for becoming a successful full-time trader. His system--a meld of investing psychology and sound trading practice--is the secret to achieving optimum conditions that produce results in both bull and bear markets.
Using the lessons of Super Trader, you will approach trading as you would a small business--realistically, systematically, and enthusiastically. Drawing on his decades of experience, Tharp has created a simple plan designed to help anyone successfully navigate the market that includes the following:
Mastering the psychology of trading
Crafting a "business plan"--a working document to guide your trading
Developing a trading system tailored to your personal needs and skills
Creating position sizing strategies to meet your objectives
Monitoring yourself constantly to minimize mistakes You can put this plan to use immediately.
Throughout the book, Tharp raises the pertinent questions you must ask yourself about becoming a trader, being a trader, and succeeding as a trader.
The rewards that come with being a Super Trader--both financial and personal--make you feel as if you can leap small buildings in a single bound. Whatever your skill level, Tharp provides the formula for succeeding in a field where most people fail.
2 trades for me today with +1.5R total
1st Trade QCOM +2R
148.39/149.97 exit 143.25
12% gap down under pivot support and 50ma after a strong daily double top rejection,. I took it on a congestion breakdown with a fairly wide stop, leaving my 2R target 50c over its ATR, slow but consistent move down with great RW, hit my target on the penny before it bounced.
2nd Trade AQB -0.5R
9.40/9.70 exit 9.56
I rarely trade stocks under $10 and even more rarely short them. I liked this daily chart as it broke its uptrend channel and stayed under a strong 9.50 support line enough room to its daily 50ma. I entered after a pullback with a fairly wide stop but only 1/3 of its ATR used at the time. It failed to break down with the strong market open and stayed in a narrow range.
I actually broke my plan with this trade as I lowered my stop to a pivot where price made a big bounce earlier at 11am with a large seller sitting there. My thought was that if it breaks that level again then it will likely...
1 trade for (-1R)
I took a BD on QCOM. I was worried about the target being close to the daily range, so I took a tighter stop on the 2 min chart. I am looking through PTS right now, most of the examples have 2 options for where to put your stop. It looks to me like one of the stops would be at the bottom of the main consolidation area, and the other at the bottom of where there has been a shakeout or turnaround bar (if there has been one). Due to the daily range I took the tighter one on this. In hindsight it seems obvious to take the wider stop, but in the moment it looked ok.
I was then looking at the 15 min 3BP on QCOM, but the reason I used a tighter stop in the first place was because of the range. The 15 min 3BP would have needed to have gone even further than the wider stop on the 2 min BD, so I didn't take it.
