Don Thomson:
What is TRUE. That's what I would like to know when I am writing a Trend Trading System. I Digress for a moment. I downloaded TradeStation 9.0 what oh three - four weeks ago and funded my account for 30K. Then What? I had no idea. I got on the Trade Station forum and found some help. I looked into the training on the TS site for a minute, $250.00 for a class seems steep. Being a Java, C++ and Rules programmer I have seen many such manuals look like what I see from TradeStation. Lousy is a kind word for them. For a language I am going to spend the next 20 years in it seems there would be more. I'm used to this kind of crap documentation in the software world, and have always relied on after market documentation for my programming needs. Hey anyone who codes Java knows books are your lifeblood.
So what did my Amazon search yield? "TradeStation Made Easy" by Sunny J. Harris. Now I realize that few people who use TradeStation come to it from the programming world as I have but if you work at it I think you'll agree this is a very useful book. As a programmer I look for books that can both teach and provide me a leg up in the development of my system. This book fits the bill. No it does not hand you a $$$Money $Making strategy on a silver platter. But It does teach you the basics of TradeStation.
If you need a system I created a $PROFITABLE$ one with code gleaned from Sunny's book. I don't understand the negative reviews on Amazon about this book. Sunny has all her code examples on her site so you don't have to type it all. Though I highly recommend you do type it all. As an experienced programmer I have learned over the years that typing in code is the best way to gain fluency in it. Back to the Code samples. She has a good example of how to code a simple dual moving average and an Example of coding the use of the ADX indicator. AND she also plugs her other products on her site [...] . AND WHY NOT. I code for a living and get paid why shouldn't she?
Following Sunny's book from start to finish steps you thru each feature you'll need to develop a system that could be $profitable with a few tweaks. Which is what I did to get my system, which has profited $2500.00 in the last two days in LIVE practice trading on TradeStation 9.0.
I have also purchased SunnyBands. I can't tell you how much fun this thing is and I don't even know how to automate it yet. Full Disclosure) I am taking Sunny's Mentoring class as well. What Can I say she always helps me answer the question "WHAT IS TRUE". Back to SunnyBands. I have been a buy and Hold investor for years, since 1992. Yep I took a 40% haircut in 2008. You know what great about Buy and Hold. The Ride. You get to feel the exhilaration as your stock tick, tick, ticks climbing the ramp up. THEN THE RUSH down that first steep incline, around the loop to loop and into the curl. Oh wait a minute that's a rollercoaster. You never miss a ride. But you know what you never get to take profits.
Here's where Sunnybands comes in it tells you where 1 or 2 ATR's of profit are as it ticks by. Today I have 4000 shares of IRBT with a cost basis of 21.95 a share. That is almost 15,000 dollars in Buy and HOLD profits. iRobot has just had a great Quarter, they have nearly doubled EPS estimates, and just raised outlook for the year for the second time. Yesterday knew iRobot would do this. Why because I have listened to every conference call, every quarter for the last two years. They have a tradition of under promising and over delivering. SO the stock is a rocket. When do I take some money of the table. Watch the Sunnybands. I took some off @ 33.77, @33.34, @33.45 all these in 100 share increments and with profit, when the one minute tick was above the 1 ATR band.
Finally I would like to add that if you want to be a trader I feel I am well on my way because Sunny, her products, and her 30 years trading experience, help me see for myself
"WHAT IS TRUE"
Don R. Thomson, Enterprise Architect - Trader.
Priceless! A Gem of a Book by Mary Christian
The book is written to be an introductory guide to EasyLanguage programming, but there are all sorts of little gems, enough material for several books. I never would have thought of writing an automated strategy for myself; I just wanted to be able to find out how to code my own indicators that I knew must be possible in EasyLanguage. But this book convinced me with numbers and data that writing, optimizing, and testing an automated strategy was the most scientific way to study and test my methods. There are also useful bits of code for strategies by famous traders such as Larry Williams and Linda Raschke. And all the appendixes are useful for any trader or EasyLanguage programmer. And she introduces the money management and position-sizing formulas of Ralph Vince, another priceless piece of trading wisdom in the book!
This book has that perfect balance between giving the beginner the very introductory bits they might need to know and not insulting the intelligence of a more experienced person. I've been trading for 15 years but I hadn't started with TradeStation until a few months ago. Yum, yum, I love a technical manual that I want to start over again as soon as I finish it! And this one is fun to read cover to cover, and not just use as a reference manual.
Eric Simon:
Sunny Harris has a style of writing that always is trying to tell you how great she is and leaves many parts unexplained so that you have to go to her website. At times this can be an annoying aspect which repeats itself over and over in her book. If you can get past this, and I assure you it is hard, than the contents are a good reference for novice system traders. If you are not a novice you will be much better off with other material on EasyLanguage. I hope that she realizes that her style of writing is unprofessional. She is sufficiently well known to have to use these artiluges to get you to her site and spend some money.
Kenneth C. Crandall:
Great Book! Robert Weinstein
I read good things about the author and the book so I received the book with high expectations. With over 700 pages, this book is packed with great information. I started very quickly dog-earing pages for future reference, and I was doing it so often that I ended up using sticky notes to help quickly get to pages for future use. It should be noted that this is not a beginner's book in how to set up TradeStation on your computer and logging into your account. This reference is much more advanced with examples in the methods of getting things done once you are past the newbie stage and desire getting some real work done. Harris is very clear in her writing, and it is obvious she has used the product enough to know what the average user will be thinking and experiencing.
Topics covered include the use of Easy Language and an explanation of programming methods for non-programmers, development of trading signals with examples, reporting of expected results, and warnings of what not to do (i.e. curve-fitting, which is the selection of data that is likely to give the desired results but not likely to be the future expected results).
The discussion on optimization alone makes this reference guide well worth getting a copy. Harris instructs the reading in using some of the lessor known features of TradeStation so that the reader can automatically test and record an idea using different variables. This powerful technique can save massive amounts of time compared to doing it manually, and perhaps multitudes of the cost of the book in better results.
As someone who prefers to gain my information from a book rather then searching ad nauseum online, I really love the appendixes that are included. Included are Formulas, Reserved Words, User Groups (for the times you do need to go online to find what you want), Built-in Functions, Indicators and more. Plus I like having easy to understand descriptions of what they are and what they do. Much better in my opinion than even the software platform's help.
If you are using TradeStation and want to use more powerful trading, scanning, analyzing, and back-testing components TradeStation Made Easy is a great way to implement improvements immediately. It is easy to see that Harris eats what she cooks when it comes to TradeStation advice. I attribute the fast pace of my absorbing the content as a result of Harris actually trading and using the product. It is hard to substitute real world experience and you do not have to when learning the methods taught.
If you use TradeStation (and you should be), get a copy of this book.
Bronte W. Savage:
The book is well written and covers much of what a trading programmer needs. It does assume that you have some basic knowledge of Easy Language and have read the basic manuals that come with the software. A lot of work went into the writing and will be a significant value to advanced programmers.
Stu Rubinstein:
Sunny Harris writes so you can read it while enjoying doing so and learning at the same time. She's a terrific writer! Unlike many boring trading books, her books are page turners. I'm fairly new to TradeStation. I've found that her book easily leads me through the steps like no manual does. This starts with guidance opening up the program and leading you seamlessly through to developing your own trading strategies. Moreover, Sunny includes a profitable system in the book.
Additionally, the book is packed with reference material at the end including where to find all the commands, explanations of error messages and a list of the most used commands. It's really convenient to have it all in one place, instead of wading through through the TradeStation manuals and help files which can be difficult to decipher.
There is no other book like this out there. All the other TradeStation books go from too basic to increasingly advanced within a few pages.
"TradeStation Made Easy!" is a masterful book written by a master trader.
Sunburst90:
This is an awesome book, for anyone from a beginner to an accomplished TradeStation user.
For anyone serious about trading, it will be a invaluable tool that will save you countless hours. This book adresses many facets, from the development of your own indicators to the design of a dynamic and profitable trading system.
Thank you Sunny for a great book !
Don Smart:
Received my book about a week ago - and am reading it avidly.
It is a great book.
Have one question though.
Are the Figures available in color on your Web-site, Sunny?
This would help in reading some of the plots.
Thanks and looking forward to getting on and reading the rest on the book.
Although I can already program in Easy Language - I have found some insightful stuff in the first two chapters already!!
Thanks for being you!!
Before You Get Those Training Wheels - Charles Miller
If you know absolutely nothing about trading, this is a good place to start. However, don't expect to make any money without a great deal more work. Ms. Harris does a pretty good job of listing the things that need to be done before starting to trade, but doesn't treat any single topic in sufficient detail to really cover it. That said, this is still a pretty good book, as long is it is viewed as a study guide, and not the real text.
Don't Flick Through It, Study It
Like many people, when I first picked up this book I thought that it might be a little light and fluffy without too much useful conetent, least of all for the money. Then someone reccomended it to me, so I paid the money and read it, three times.
It is a must for people who are thinking about getting into trading and investing because it makes people aware that they are embarking on a venture which could be very profitable. As a result, this really means that if you are trading, for what ever reason, you are in the business of trading and you had better treat it like a business.
Trading 101 is generally the first book I suggest to people because it is crammed full of subjects which need to be studied if you want to stand a chance of being successful in the high stress world of trading.
One chap I reccomended it to found that it helped him reorganise his existing business so that it ran more efficiently as well.
Sunny's style is light and easy to read, and some mistake this for the content as well. The content is thorough and broad. It is insightful and inspiring. For the mug punter it will probably seem like irrelevant material. That is until it is the only left that they own. Then they will see that it contains the wisdom that would have helped them keep and compound their profits.
When this review was written then listing only gave this book three and a half stars. To me, this was a mistake. It is a definite 5 star for serious starters.
James Hoffman
Trading can be extremely rewarding but it can also very frustrating. It is rewarding when you see your stock go up and you make money. But it can extremely frustrating to see your stock plummet and lose money, especially when you do not understand why your stock is going down. Do not go into trading blind or ignorant because you will lose money! Educate yourself and you will both enjoy trading, find the challenge satisfactory and make money. Sunny's book is simply a must-have for every beginner trader! He explains concepts clearly and simply. He makes the jargon easy to grasp. He lays out all the strategies. Plus, he provides a ton of resources to help the reader take their trading to the next level. He even has a section on avoiding charlatans. It is a great book! I highly recommend.
E. Fina
This is a great book for the beginner. I am just getting started in trading commodities and I am in the process of reading anything I possible can on the subject. I wish I read Trading 101 first.
This book has many references to other books to read next. Great starter!! Thanks Sunny!
Exactly What I Needed!!
This book was exactly what I was looking for!! As an engineer and computer programmer with limited experience in stock trading I wanted and needed a guidebook to give me a "bird's eye view" of the trading process and to point me in the right direction for further information. Do NOT buy this book if you are looking for a "how-to" book that tells you exactly how to trade. However, If you need to put together a self study program to learn all about trading I would definitely recommend this book. Sunny lists all of the topic areas you should cover and provides a great list of references to texts and web sites where you can learn everything you need to trade as successfully as she has done. The only reason I didn't give this book 5 stars was that there is some minor repetition of text between chapters and one or two of the texts that Sunny recommends are now out of print. Overall, this is a great introduction to trading - if you take notes as you read you will finish with a pretty handy course outline and text book list to tackle. After that it is up to you ...
Michael Pellecchia:
Fans of Trading 101, Sunny Harris' prequel to this book, kind of know what to expect. This time around, she covers how to develop a personal trading method that can form the foundation for a trading business. If you anticipate trading beyond your own account, or trading full-time, this new book shows how to set the business up and how to avoid psychological landmines that plague traders in the everyday course of business.
Stu Rubinstein:
TRADING 102 has been around a while. Despite such, it is still an outstanding,well organized and easy reading book on designing trading systems and testing them for success. This book is a follow-up to Sunny's first book, "Trading 101" which itself continues to be one of the most important books for new traders. Easy reading despite complex topics is Sunny's hallmark. Before making a trade, read these books and implement the suggestions.
The review speaking of "full of lists" is related to valuable appendices which should be appreciated. Although the book is such easy reading and simplifies complex topics, these concepts are critical to all those who want to trade successfully!!!
Remember, traders are in business for themselves. Sunny's books are therefore "must reads".
Dr. Richard Weber:
I found this book to be extremely rewarding to read, chock full of jewels. I loved it so much I have bought two (one for my son-in-law for Father's Day), and am now reading it for the second time. It's the best book I've read yet on trading. She doesn't keep anything back. And, there are tons of references to everything you can't find anywhere else.