Come Into My Trading Room: A Complete Guide to Trading

Rating:
Summary: Traders Magazine Review - Helen Quenet
Review: Book Review - Come Into My Trading Room by Dr Alexander Elder

It was with a great deal of curiosity that I began to read Come Into My Trading Room. Trading for a Living, Elders first and classic book was the second trading book I ever read and even 40 or so books on from there I still rate it in my top five and frequently recommend it to others who want a considered and honest introduction to trading.

I was interested to see how the themes and emphasis had changed and developed in the nine years since the first book was published. I had briefly read a couple of reviews that suggested it didn't add much to the previous book but I was eager to make my own mind up.

So the first question I asked myself was what hasn't changed?
The style of writing is as clear and engaging as in the first book. The layout is logical and in all key areas he suggests further, more specialised reading to take you deeper into the subjects that may interest you. For the size of the book (only 313 pages), it is very comprehensive and covers the three main areas of competence for a trader. Psychology, Technical Analysis and Money Management. So the three pillars from the first book are still very much standing.

What is different? A great deal in my opinion. The psychology section is vastly improved. I thought that to be the main weakness in the first book, with an over reliance on the AA model which (because of my professional background I have issues with) He draws the title of the psychology section from another excellent book by Mark Douglas, again giving the impression that Elder himself has been learning a lot over the past few years.

The technical analysis section goes much less into describing basic TA than the first book did and instead focuses more on the application of TA to trading. It also includes an update on a method first described in the first book the "triple screen" and a section on systems trading and system testing. As someone who is toying with developing systems at the current time I particularly enjoyed his discussion of the distinction between systems and discretionary traders.

The book is not just aimed at day traders, in fact he lays great emphasis on people examining their own motives to become day traders suggesting that you require at least a years successful experience with end of day trading before you move to intraday trading. He does ask his readers to answer tough questions about themselves and if you are able to give honest answers you will profit greatly from this book.

He also concurs with one of my prejudices, which I am happy to repeat here, he stresses that traders should take their first steps in inexpensive markets to trade. So with futures for example trading the Eurostoxx50 at 10 euros per point is a better starting point for the new trader than Dax at 25 euros per point. He also provides a helpful method for working out which markets you can afford to trade. It is this applied aspect of the book that makes it so valuable. There is no irrelevant padding here, every paragraph has relevance.

The overall balance of the book is about perfect now. In the first book the basic TA took up a large percentage of the volume, this time the sections are much more equitable, with quite rightly, money management and record keeping getting a much more through treatment than in the previous book.

One change in this book (and I did wonder if he had read Tony Oz's wonderful "The Stock Trader") is an addition of some actual trade examples. I always like seeing these because following them through gives a real insight into the traders mind in a way simple chart examples can't.

I think there is a more cautious/warning tone about this book than the first. I suspect this might be because Elder runs trading camps and has had lots of experiences with wannabe traders since writing the first book. He's very aware of the main reasons why people fail and makes these very explicit in the text.

There is also a very good and well referenced basic description of the major trading instruments their advantages and disadvantages something that was missing from the first book.

The section for new traders (or babes in the wood) as he calls them covers the basics of setting up to trade from home, which instruments and markets to look at and the issues of commission, slippage and expenses. He stresses the importance of the bottom line and the need to keep trading expenses such as commission under control

Conclusion

This is a book written by a mature trader and trader educator, who has seen and done it all and can now give the most balanced, practical and honest description of learning to trade you will find anywhere. I highly recommend it to new traders and improvers alike.

Rating:
Summary: Absolutely wonderful--a must for every trader
Review: I have bought many books on trading, but none have been as valuable as this one. Dr. Elder has provided a very concise, no-nonsense guide to the art and science of trading. The information provided obviously comes from years of hard won experience coupled with rigorous analysis. I use the concepts of the book everyday in my trading, and rely on it more than any other source. The concepts are well-organized, logical, and practical. They have helped me to filter out all the noise of the market to concentrate on a few reliable indicators. I especially like the "five bullets to a clip" concept. I also appreciate Dr. Elder's writing. It is down-to-earth and accesible. It is as though you are having a conversation with a mentoring friend who cares about whether or not you succeed in the market. I have recommended this book to everyone I know. It is simply the best book on trading out there.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent book
Review: This book is a winner. It covers in detail the most important aspects to make trading as a business - Money management, record keeping and method to identify opportunities.
The only shortcoming, if any, is that the book does not cover risk-to-reward ratio, win-loss ratio and their relationship. Nonetheless I would recommend it highly.

Rating:
Summary: same old stuff
Review: This guy is so NEGATIVE!!! I have traded for 3 years and must admit his first book was ok, it made me very conscious of expenses and their impact on your profitability. (Most traders make 1 to 2 cents a share so trading costs must be controlled.) Guess what, Elder goes back over this area again and again and again.

Elder is not a good writer. He wanders, he repeats himself, he goes off about a "loser" trading gold futures instead of spending time with his family. He writes about owning a PC with kilobytes instead of megabytes. It's so hopelessly mixed up that I hope he gets to the point. But there is none.

Save your money,the guy can't write.

Rating:
Summary: If you read only one book on trading . .
Review: If you read only one book on trading, let it be this one. Expanding on the concepts presented in 'Trading for a Living', Dr. Elder has presented us with an entertaining, readable, usable approach to making money in the markets. The best way to prove this to yourself is to pick a few of your favorite stocks (first making sure that they meet Elder's selection criteria) and review history to see if his approach would make money for you. This is the key difference between this book and the plethora of others out there. This one works.

Rating:
Summary: Come Into My Trading Room
Review: This is an excellent book on trading which is the first one I have ever read that shows one how to determine quickly whether a particular market is ready to be traded. It also sets forth an approach to handling various time frames for a market and what trend-following indicators and oscillators to use therewith. This book, combined with Dr. Elder's earlier one Trading for a Living, are the only two books a beginner or an experienced trader would ever need to read and study to become successful. I wish I had had these two books ten years ago when I started trading futures.

Rating:
Summary: Come Into My Trading Room
Review: This book provides an excellent approach to futures trading and is the first book I have ever read on trading that really shows you how to determine quickly if a particular market is ready for trading. It also shows you how to analyze a market in different time frames and how to use trend-following indicators with oscillators in regard thereto. This book, combined with Dr. Elder's earlier book Trading for a Living, are the only two books a beginning trader or an experienced trader would ever need to trade futures successfully. His writing is concise, direct, completely understandable, and fun to read. His analogies and similes make learning to trade properly enjoyable.

Rating:
Summary: A mass market, beginner (but not enhanced) version of his
Review: 1993 classic "Trading for a living".

For his previous book, I gave it a five star rating and a review title of "If you are halfway from an amateur to a pro, it's for you". Inevitably, I had great expectation of what the author would give after nine more years of the game. However, I assure you that 70% of the material and 90% of the essence had been covered in his previous book. Some new technical analysis tools were added. However, I truly believe that the author could have provided much more and better.

For inexperienced beginners who seldom read trading books, this is okay.

Rating:
Summary: brilliant piece of work
Review: I am a businessman, have been for 17 years. After reading
both of elder books, I have not only improved my trading but
also improved my business. The reason, discipline. The
technical and fundamental parts are just impressive. If
we have a trading coach then elder is one of the best. Simply
follow what he says and your performance will improve like
a brilliant soccer player who finds the net everytime.Running
an actual business and trading are the same.I will read and
re-read those books forever, and hopefully one day will
score like Ronaldo.

Rating:
Summary: Trading secrets revealed and Mr.Elder is a nice guy!
Review: Once and for all there is an author that understands the difference between trading and gambling. For eleven years I have been trading futures as an investor and a broker. The three M's that Mr. Elder discusses, Mind Method Money, have been the cornerstone in my trading and the trades of my clients. Mr. Elder's psychology background puts to rest the antiquated "perfect market" theory once and for all by cleary showing the difference between theoretical preparation of traders and their actual actions. This is why everyone seems to get in at the top and out at the bottom, actions and poor psychology. ... Mr. Elder sites the primary issue at stake, discipline. Lack of discipline is the sole reason for money losses. If you have no other book in your investing library, this is the one you need to have.

Recently I was contacted by Mr.Elder and I was thanked for my reviews. He then went on to send me the companion workbooks for both of his books. This graciousness was impressive and I suspect that I am not the only one who has had that experience. This is a man who believes in his ideas and concepts, we should all have such faith in ourselves.