Van K Tharp

[Jaydee]

As I said a couple of posts ago, I see what you are getting at in terms of these 'fake' traders who talk the talk but, secretly, don't walk the walk and I completely agree. You're right, if a trader has to make money writing book, the question has to be asked, 'How successful can this guy be as a trader if he's having to make money as an author?'

However, my point is that I have read the book and I honestly wish it had been one of the first trading books I had read. I read it just over a month ago and its educational value was limited because it didn't add much to my knowledge base. However, if I was starting out, I think I could have learnt a lot from it and for that reason I recommend it.

So, to answer your question, I have no idea if it helped him trade well but I do think it would help those new to trading. Jack Schwager talked to traders and there's some pearls of wisdom in his Market Wizard series. Tharp's book has wisdom too and it's far more tangible and specific than the Wizards books.

I appreciate that Van K Tharp could be a complete loser when it comes to trading - I have no proof to the contrary, but this particular book he wrote is ok in my opinion. If he is as bad as you say, then maybe it's a good think he leeched other traders ideas and methods, rather than use his own - he has presented the information well.

 

[Chorlton]

Inevitably, it will be your experience and observations which teach you the most but, for now, if you need a book to guide you, you could do a lot worse than Van K Tharp.

I agree.... Forgot about the Author but instead focus (and understand) the message he is trying to convey in his book.

Personally, I have read and found the book useful when I started out trading. Most newbies focus solely on the TA aspect of trading and ignore the Money Management / Position Sizing element. Probably explains why most of them lose consistantly IMO....

Chorlton

 

[temptrader]

As I said a couple of posts ago, I see what you are getting at in terms of these 'fake' traders who talk the talk but, secretly, don't walk the walk and I completely agree. You're right, if a trader has to make money writing book, the question has to be asked, 'How successful can this guy be as a trader if he's having to make money as an author?'

However, my point is that I have read the book and I honestly wish it had been one of the first trading books I had read. I read it just over a month ago and its educational value was limited because it didn't add much to my knowledge base. However, if I was starting out, I think I could have learnt a lot from it and for that reason I recommend it.

So, to answer your question, I have no idea if it helped him trade well but I do think it would help those new to trading. Jack Schwager talked to traders and there's some pearls of wisdom in his Market Wizard series. Tharp's book has wisdom too and it's far more tangible and specific than the Wizards books.

I appreciate that Van K Tharp could be a complete loser when it comes to trading - I have no proof to the contrary, but this particular book he wrote is ok in my opinion. If he is as bad as you say, then maybe it's a good think he leeched other traders ideas and methods, rather than use his own - he has presented the information well.

one famous mathematician once said that in number theory a fool could come up with a conjecture that would stump even the experts, and that's how I see these so called authors of courses/seminars/books. It's one thing to come up with a conjecture and quite another matter entirely when it comes to producing a rigorous proof.

for the reason above you'll often find that charlatans do have something of value to say that you can relate to, and the way they dress it up helps their con, but what you got to ask yourself is whether that something in all the crap they spout is just an accident? How can I make this more BLUNT: If you talk enough crap for enough time there is always bound to be something that other people see as "of value". If they've been in the game long enough they might even start believing in their BS.:-0

 

[iq200]

Tharp's son used to frequent Elitetrader. From what I have read, the son couldnt trade to save his life.. If Tharp really was a great trader I am sure he would have been able to help his son to succeed!

 

[donaldduke]

Who cares if he can or cant trade himself. He has studied the methods and psychology of dozens of succesfull traders and presents this research from a NLP/psychological point of view.

Very valuable stuff.

 

[zupcon]

Who cares if he can or cant trade himself. He has studied the methods and psychology of dozens of succesfull traders and presents this research from a NLP/psychological point of view.

Very valuable stuff.

Not quite sure how a psychologist, who claims to work with sucessful traders was completely fooled by David Mobley. It certainly casts doubts over his alledged abilities.

 

[trendie]

I have been getting Van Tharps newsletters for a while.
Today, there are some about self-sabotage, how to detect it, and fix it.
In addition to the usual aspects about money-management, position-sizing, edge, etc.

The consensus here seems to be VanTharp is a writer, not a trader.
That, in itself isnt a problem to me.
My question is are any of his works worthwhile?
I have his Trade Your Way to Financial Freedom, and I found it fairly useful.

But, because he always seems to want to sell another document, with the obligatory free first few pages, I wonder where his main skill is.

I want to learn more about the psychology side, position-sizing, but is Van Tharp the best route?
Any other recommendations on the more advanced stuff?
thanks

 

[Jaydee]

Trading in the zone by Mark Douglas is pretty good for the psycological stuff. It's a bit wordy and could do with being a quarter of the length, but the concepts and ideas Douglas puts forward are very plausible.

Position sizing wise, there isn't a lot out there. The basic idea of position sizing comes from the concept of 'gamblers ruin'. That is to say that even if you have a fool proof set of methods, if you bet too much you will blow your account when a period of negative variance (bad luck) occurs. Therefore, much of your position sizing model will be developed by yourself through understanding the relationship between percentage winners (and average winner amount) and percentage losers (and average loser amount).

As a rule of thumb, longer-term position traders won't want to be going over 1-2% risk of their account as they may only yield 20-30% good trades. Shorter-term traders (scalpers, flow, momentum, etc) may go up to 10%.

 

[Spamula]

I enjoyed the book and made me realise there is more to trading than entries and technical analysis, money management and exits are also very important and often the most overlooked part of trading.