Rating: 
Summary: Outstanding book! A must have for any technical trader
Review: I'm reading this book now and it's amazing how much you can learn in so short a time. This is a small book but the information and the way it's presented is outstanding. I wish all of the books that required study put their material in this format. Each section has a quiz to determine that you understand the material. Not only that but detailed answers to each of the questions is included. You're getting double re-enforced learning. While it starts with the basics of candlesticks the book concludes with real examples of applying these patterns. What's really the kicker is that Steve shows how he integrates Western charting techniques with candlesticks to greatly improve the odds in trading. I don't expect to be a trading wizard after reading through this book but I do expect my trades will be thought out more thoroughly with the right techniques. Get this book even if you don't use candle charts now.
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding book! A must have for any technical trader
Review: I'm reading this book now and it's amazing how much you can learn in so short a time. This is a small book but the information and the way it's presented is outstanding. I wish all of the books that required study put their material in this format. Each section has a quiz to determine that you understand the material. Not only that but detailed answers to each of the questions is included. You're getting double re-enforced learning. While it starts with the basics of candlesticks the book concludes with real examples of applying these patterns. What's really the kicker is that Steve shows how he integrates Western charting techniques with candlesticks to greatly improve the odds in trading. I don't expect to be a trading wizard after reading through this book but I do expect my trades will be thought out more thoroughly with the right techniques. Get this book even if you don't use candle charts now.
Rating: 
Summary: Self-Paced Learning Guide on Key Candlestick Patterns
Review: Steve Nison, CMT, the author of two previous volumes on candlesticks, and an educator, trader, and seminar speaker, has written a basic workbook on the fundamentals of candlestick charting and how to interpret and use only the most significant patterns. I attended one of his Nison's candlestick workshops at an investor expo, as well as reviewed his video and found them to be excellent educational vehicles. This book is for those individuals who like to read about certain candlestick characteristics, and then test themselves on their level of understanding. Each chapter begins with a bullet-pointed list of learning objectives and key terms to watch for. It then explains the concept, shows examples, provides highlighted key points, and then provides review questions, and detailed answers. In most all of the chapters, the review questions and answers take up more pages than the explanation of the candlestick pattern or the concept being taught. So, this is more of an instructional and teacher-student approach to the subject. One chapter entitled "Progressive Charting" is about 50 pages long and contains a walk-through of an unfolding market scenario, a few candles at a time using 88 annotated charts. The purpose of this approach is to help the reader interpret each candle or pattern in a real market situation and learn from his/her experience. The last chapter entitled "Bringing It Altogether" asks you 42 questions about candlestick charting and provides the detailed answers. This allows the reader to determine his/her level of understanding and areas for further study. The book contains a short "visual" glossary illustrating candlestick patterns. For readers who are avid students and like to work through numerous exercises and examples of the basics of candlesticks, this book will serve their needs well. For other investors who want more "meat" and detailed information and explanation, then I would recommend Nison's "Beyond Candlesticks" instead.
Rating: 
Summary: Frustrating
Review: The content of this book is good. My criticism is that the layout is badly planned. You have to refer to charts on different pages, then look at the questions on another different page, then refer to the answers on another different page etc. Lots of flipping pages back and forth, kind of ruined it for me.
Rating:
Summary: very useful book
Review: this book is more likely study guide for candlestick charting techniques. it contains a lot of useful exercises to test your understanding on candlestick. i strongly suggest to read other nison books before you buy this book. i give this book 4 stars because this book very useful and give more knowledge to understand candlestick
Rating:
Summary: good for testing your candlestick knowledge
Review: this book is more likely studyguide book. it has a lot of useful exercise to test your understanding on candlestick chart analysis. this book is very good as a companion of other nison books.
Rating:
Summary: good for testing your candlestick knowledge
Review: this book is more likely studyguide book. it has a lot of useful exercise to test your understanding on candlestick chart analysis. this book is very good as a companion of other nison books.
Rating:
Summary: A good addition for learning candlesticks
Review: This book is very good to refine and hone your skills. Each chapter has questions at the end. Many books that have questions only ask two or three. In this book however, most of the chapters has as many as 20 or more questons and you need to think before answering. After the quiz you will fine the answers plus an explanation. In the chapter on using candlestick anlysis the reader is shown charts then the reader writes down his/her anlysis/market observations by answering the same four question for each chart. Afterwards Mr. Nison gives his market observations. In short this is an interactive book. You will not only read about candlestick charting and patterns but will need to get out your paper and pencil and do work which I found a great learning tool. Mr. Nison has used another type approach to help people learn the art of using candlesticks.
Rating:
Summary: A good addition for learning candlesticks
Review: This book is very good to refine and hone your skills. Each chapter has questions at the end. Many books that have questions only ask two or three. In this book however, most of the chapters has as many as 20 or more questons and you need to think before answering. After the quiz you will fine the answers plus an explanation. In the chapter on using candlestick anlysis the reader is shown charts then the reader writes down his/her anlysis/market observations by answering the same four question for each chart. Afterwards Mr. Nison gives his market observations. In short this is an interactive book. You will not only read about candlestick charting and patterns but will need to get out your paper and pencil and do work which I found a great learning tool. Mr. Nison has used another type approach to help people learn the art of using candlesticks.
Rating:
Summary: Shooting Stars and Belt Holds and Dark Cloud Cover
Review: This is a great basic primer on candlestick charting techniques by the guy who allegedly introduced it into the west fifteen years ago. All the basic one, two, and three formations from spinning tops and high wave candles to piercing lines and cloud covers to three soldiers, harami cross and evening doji stars are there. It is pretty amazing that candlesticks are so much simpler but contain more information than standard western tick and point-and-figure charts. Among the things I learned were that hammers must have shadows twice as long as the real body, and the way windows (gaps) are used for support in Japanese trading. The book is arranged with quizzes, and while repetive (and there are a couple of minor mistakes, including on one of the questions), Nisson really drives home the message. Among the things he emphasizes are that candlesticks are best for signaling reversals, and that they are best supplemented by western techniques for price targets and confirmation. Although not quite a complete novice, I'm a slow reader but it only took me three hours to read this in the library. The last part of the book takes you through a chart and points out the formations-dispelling the common critique that technical analysis is completely subjective. Highly recommended and quite a contrast to the information overload of many other trading books.
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