Timeless Advice From Trading Classics

D

David Hume

One by one, I am burning all the books in my trading library, starting with the worst. If ever I get one that I can't bear to consign to the fire, I'll know it is worth keeping.

But before I commit a book to the conflagration, I shall quote whatever I find most memorable in it. And perhaps play a little game with other oldsters to see if they can guess the source of the quote.

To begin:

"...get out of a stock which you would not buy"
 
I asked a friend of mine who is a professional trader (I am not) about his take on a certain book about the market.
His reply was: "I have heard of this book, but I have not read a book on the markets in quite a long time."
 
Le Roi de Bingo, I think the only people who read trading books are those who haven't really learnt to trade yet.

Our soon to be immolated author also wrote:

"A trader should be a cynic. Doubt all before you believe in anything."
 
"...get out of a stock which you would not buy"

_____________________________________________

Timmay. After the CYGT fiasco.
 
Very clever, haha! The guy who wrote that is from the generation of Timmay's great-great grandfather. He also wrote:

"Realize that you are playing the coldest, bitterest game in the world."
 
Books are useful for definitions ("what is leveraged trading? What is a commodity exchange?" Who is Jesse Livermore?")

Books are useful for getting an overview for what people do (TA, Fundamentals, seasonals, tape reading, etc.)

But mostly, they contain a whole lot of stuff that used to work, or otherwise start new traders down the garden path.

You want to learn trading, then agreed, they won't really get you too far.
 
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