Rating: 
Summary: Great book for system traders
Review: If nothing else, get this book for its rich code base. I downloaded the code from the TradeStationWorld site to save myself the typing. Yes, you do need to subscribe to TradeStation to use the code (the code is written in a Basic-like language for trading called EasyLanguage).I have been a subscriber to TradeStation for a long time. The authors are generous contributors of articles and free code to the TradeStation community and are well-respected. I would check out their article that uses combinations of sentiment indicators, taken from Chapter 8 in the book.
Rating:
Summary: A Gold Mine
Review: If you want to know how the pros do it, look no further. This book is a gold mine. Not only are the details of several highly successful trading strategies clearly discussed, but the actual code for each of the strategies is included. In addition, the authors have also included a complete trade management system... entry points, profit targets, stop loss points, position sizing, risk:reward, money management... it's all there. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in automated system trading.
Rating:
Summary: Requires much study, but it deserves it
Review: If you're looking for some light reading on trading systems, this is not the title for you. But if what you want are detailed, well fleshed-out trading systems to study as examples or even to use, this is an outstanding library of ideas that are fully implemented as code. The focus on TradeStation as the platform is only mildly distracting if you're using a different programming approach, there is enough detail here to go your own way with another language. It will take quite some time to dig through everything because the prose isn't quite as clear as it could be in spots, but the time spent will easily pay off to the serious student of trading systems.
Rating:
Summary: A BLUEPRINT FOR FUTURE PROFESSIONALS
Review: IN MY 10 YEAR QUEST FOR STOCK TRADING SUCCESS,THIS BOOK HAS BEEN MORE HELPFUL TO ME THAN DOZENS OF OTHER BOOKS,COURSES,ETC.
THE TYPICAL AND NATURAL PATH TO TRADING SUCCESS INCLUDES EMOTIONAL & DISCRETIONARY TRADING TO TECHNICAL & INDICATOR FASCINATION TO SEMI-SYSTEM TRADER AND "FINALLY" TO COMPLETE SYSTEM TRADING.
THESE AUTHORS DON'T WASTE ANY TIME WITH THE "LEARNING CURVE" AND GETS RIGHT TO THE POINT OF WHAT'S "REALLY" IMPORTANT...
A COMPLETE , AUTOMATED FRAMEWORK FOR
TRADING STOCKS:A MODEL THAT ENCOMPASSES MONEY MANAGEMENT,POSITION
SIZING,ORDER ENTRY, AND AN ACTUAL SET OF TRADING SYSTEMS WRITTEN IN "EASY LANGUAGE" FOR EASY IMPLEMENTATION IN TRADESTATION 2000I
AND TRADESTATION 6 PLATFORM.
INCLUDED IN THE STRATEGIES WAS MY FAVORITE (PAIRS TRADING) WHICH IS A LOW RISK/HIGH PROBABILITY STRATEGY ,WHICH IS "VERY RARELY" WRITTEN ABOUT,BUT INCLUDED IN THESE HEDGE FUND MANAGERS ARSENAL OF SUCCESSFUL SYSTEMS.
I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK TO TRADERS WHO ARE READY FOR THAT NEXT STEP....TO PROFESSIONAL LEVEL TRADING $$$
Rating: 
Summary: Enjoyable reading
Review: It's an enjoyable book. Discretionary trading strategies are incorporated into a mechanical frame by means of a Tradestation platform. Most of the systems incorporate well-known price pattern concepts, with the exception of the float analysis system. The novice trader will obtain some good ideas on how to develop a trading system, with the exception on the issues regarding testing and optimization. Most of the systems incorporate the concept of price contraction/expansion and trading performance is mainly dependent on price volatility. These types of systems are a natural consequence of the bubble trading environment where prices surpassed normal levels of historical volatility by leaps and bounds. The trading environment is quite different now, as the recent rise in the markets is marked by low price volatility. This environment tends to favor trend following systems, something that the book does not present. Stock selection and stop placement is a bit confusing. First, the position modelling incorporates an ATR factor of 1. The entry/exit default models call for a 0.3ATR trigger above and below the high/low. From the get go, the max. loss potential is 2*0.3+body of the bar, which in most cases will be greater than 1ATR. The exception to the case will be in the narrow range models, where the body of the previous bar may be small enough to limit stop loss at 1ATR. The other dubious issue is stock scanning and selection. It is not clear whether the authors trade the system on a stock for an extended period of time, or whether they scan the markets for stocks that meet the filtering criteria and perform a quick test to determine performance. If the latter, then the trading system works as an automated discretionary system rather than "mechanical" on its true meaning. The latter approach does not take advantage of the statistical edge of a system when only traded a few times in a certain stock, and becomes a random event. The filtering seems somewhat very restrictive and the ATR trigger rather than the high or low of the bar is not convincing. I have developed and traded narrow range systems where the high/low of the bar works as a better triggering mechanisms. This is because of the nature of the stocks that the authors tend to favor in their selection. The filtering on the narrow range system is restrictive, and when traded on a single stock for a considerable period of time on a daily timeframe, the user might be disappointed. But overall, the book is an excellent addition to your trading library.
Rating:
Summary: Skip the rest...this book is the real deal...
Review: It's as if these authors came into my firm and took a full inventory of our needs and frustrations. I've never seen a more organized package of what's important. It's all there. I've read over 100 books...Stridsman, Kaufman, Crabel, Conners, Geitzen, Murphy, Balsara, Vince, Kase, Zweig, Demark, Tharp, etc. At this point I must bump Stridsman's book down to second place. Professional Stock Trading is a real difference-maker. If you want to make it as a trader buy this book and UNDERSTAND the significance of position sizing and relative volatility measures. This book is outstanding.
Rating:
Summary: Bottom line is the book makes me money
Review: It's rare when someone goes out on a limb and actually shares the realism of system trading -- warts and all. Ever wonder why vendors are reluctant to tell you the performance of their systems? I use two of the systems from this book every day, especially the R system for intraday and daily breakouts (these patterns have been killer the past few months). Some of the other systems do not seem to be as useful now, as all systems seem to cycle in and out of favor. But I find it comical that one of the reviewers can find nothing of value in this book -- apparently missing all of the free code in the appendix -- I counted 65 pages of code in total. Did he really expect the authors to hand out a dozen perfectly working systems? Sounds like someone who is too lazy to do the work... At the very least, there is a huge library of TradeStation code with two very simple but elegant daily systems that work on the indices, confirmed by my own backtesting on historical data. Lots of great ideas, plenty of charts, and some non-traditional technical analysis. Well worth the money. Great job guys.
Rating:
Summary: Commentary from Malaysia Trading Group
Review: Our comments as follows. - We computerised our trading floor with pattern code.
- Need Tradestation software
- Separate CD product has good intraday indicators for 3-line break and ACD code
- Rectangle pattern work very well daily and real-time.
- Lots of free code, book cheap for this reason
Rating:
Summary: What You Are Up Against
Review: Shucks, I was hoping to come here and see bad reviews, perhaps even adding one of my own as a diversionary tactic. With that said, this is the best book on quantitative trading -- bar none. As a trader, I can say that the underlying techniques are sound. Stock selection is critical. Fortunately, we have access to a vast database of historical equity data to screen for the best candidates and have developed our own statistical ranking system that improves the edge of the mechanical systems given in the book. I am not overly concerned about the systems being "public" -- one still needs the full complement of historical data, screening software, and the platform to which the code is written. We deconstructed each of the systems with delight, modifying the code to suit our purposes. Then, we applied our own statistical filters to screen out the obviously bad trades (the code does not account for gaps). In fact, I think the authors were quite modest in their presentation -- clearly these are not names humping their services, given all the free code in the book. What a pleasant surprise.
Rating:
Summary: Simply Outstanding
Review: The trading systems are fine with "a historical edge and a decent profit factor." At this price I wouldn't expect the ultimate trading system. Richly rewarding for me have been the generous number of indicator and paintbar studies. The standalone indicators for Geometric Trading are better than anything I have seen before. If you are willing to study the code and have a sound knowledge of Easy Language, you can add some of your concepts into the systems and some of the system concepts into your strategies as the authors point out. To make life easier, much of the code has now been posted on the Tradestation forum, with permission.
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