Book Reviews

Mike Bellafiore : One Good Trade
Amazon.com – $37.80
November 4, 2010

I remember when I first tried sushi. At first, I thought, ‘what’s the big deal?’ Then a few weeks later I caught myself wondering if I had time to sneak out of the office to grab some sushi. I ventured away from the basic California Roll and moved on to some Crab Rangoon. Oh my, it was unreal. Soon, not a week went by that my body didn’t crave sushi. It got to the point where I actually wondered if they were putting something in the meal to make me want to come back again and again.

A strange analogy I know, but I have to tell you, it encapsulates my entire view of Mike Bellafiore’s book, “One Good Trade.” I first received my copy and started immediately powering through the book. I enjoyed the read as it was fun. I enjoyed learning about the different characters Mike discussed almost as if I was watching a reality show. I found myself rooting for certain traders and knowing the fate of others before Mike’s tale was even complete. Sadly, my first encounter was like that California Roll where I just didn’t realize the greatness I was holding. It wasn’t until I was finished for the first time, that the words started to resonate and my mind craved to return to the content again and again.

You see, when I first read the book I went into it with this idea of being an outsider looking into a totally different business. “I’m a money manager looking for swing trades”, I thought to myself. It will be an enjoyable read, but I doubted I would take much out of the book that resonated with what I did on a daily basis. That was until the title itself showed up in a recent journal entry of mine after a particular challenging day in trading. It was a few weeks ago when for some reason I found myself holding a loser that should have been cut long before. Finally, after I puked up my final shares, I struggled to write the lesson learned. I thought long and hard how to articulate just what it was I needed to do on a daily basis until it hit me. I simply needed to find ‘one good trade!’ of course, after I did that, I needed to find another and then another.

Immediately after writing those words I dove back into Mike’s book, this time from the perspective of a trader who may trade different time frames or different strategies but struggles with the same tendencies as anyone in this game, particularly in the areas of allowing myself to get in the way of the tape.

Suddenly, my eyes were reopened to a whole new world and I absorbed everything Mike wrote. Sure, I still laughed at the stories told, and felt my emotions swing as Mike recounted various examples, but this time the valuable lessons started to really sink in.

I evaluate a trading book based on whether or not it helps me. It’s a very simple assessment. If it does, I recommend it. If it doesn’t, I will rarely mention it again. One Good Trade won’t merely have a place on my office bookshelf, odds are, it will sit right on my desk and be referenced often.

If you are looking to learn about this business of trading, whether from a prop trading perspective or any other, this book is a must read. For you old professionals out there, this is as enjoyable read to refine and drill down into some core principles that always must be worked on.

In summary, I give One Good Trade penned by my friend Mike Bellafiore, a well deserved 5 out of 5 Tickers.

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Timothy Sykes : An American Hedge Fund
Amazon.com – $17.95

Tim Sykes just might be one of the most notable traders today. Like him or not I don’t know of a single person who hasn’t heard the story of how Tim turned his Bar Mitzvah money into millions, dinged up his car on Wall Street Warriors or traded from his SOHO apartment in his bathrobe. With a vulgar mouth and a unique niche in micro-cap stocks, Tim has carved out a unique brand for himself that has garnered quite a following over the years. For those of you who know me and my conservative ways you may already be scratching your head over this post. Well, scratch no more as Tim and I over the years have gotten to know each other via the web and I am proud to call him a friend. His work ethic, execution, and interest in mission work are traits I admire and I’m always curious to see what adventure he will embark upon next.

When I first came across Tim’s book I didn’t know what to expect as I had only known of him through his famed stories. Before I got to know him I struggled to get past some of the attributes of his brand and was curious if the pages I read would be filled with a similar style.

I read quite a bit and must say that Tim’s book was one of the most enjoyable and honest trading books I have ever read. It was apparent that Tim faced many of the same struggles I did early in my career in that while his returns were clearly there his lack of traditional Wall-Street pedigree did not afford him the true respect he deserved.

From the very beginning of the book I was extremely impressed with Tim’s candid review of not only his winning trades but his losing trades, magnifying how human emotion is truly the greatest obstacle when it comes to sustained success in the market place. I laughed out loud when Tim recounted a specific story of having to trade during a meeting as I have done precisely that.

Some parts of Tim’s book were rather nostalgic as he recounts his time in the ‘Shark-Tank’ on AOL as he learned from the same teacher I had. Or when he discussed specific tickers he had traded which ultimately brought back fond memories of trades I had been in that included those same names.

As I was reading the book I thought Tim could have dove deeper into his specific strategy. However, by the time I was done I saw no need. I suspect this will not be his last work and future material could easily contain such specifics.

I typically rate books the old-fashioned way, with my primary litmus test being just how well it holds my attention. I must say that Tim’s book did just that and I knocked it out in a matter of just a few evenings. It was nice to have a refresher in many of the humility lessons we all learn as traders and it was great to learn more of just who Tim was and his story that got him to where he is today.

Again, Tim and I may be a bit like the Odd Couple but I suspect that he would call me a friend just as I would him. I highly recommend that you pick up a copy of his book as you will enjoy it.

Qman Score: 4 Tickers out of a possible 5

* None of my reviews have any profit motive as in I have no pre-arranged agreement with any author. These are simply for education and * None of my reviews have any profit motive as in I have no pre-arranged agreement with any author. These are simply for education and entertainment purposes.