Crusader,
Early on in this thread (first few hundred messages) a book list (also contributed by Richard Estes if I recall) was posted - worth reading back in the thread for that and many other nuggets.
My bookshelf has expanded somewhat. Many books I've found only a couple of pages were worth while, but terrifically so. So to add to your list, I'll mention one, "Trader Vic, Methods of a Wall Street Master" - it has a title that would normally put me off, but someone else drew my attention to it and I'm happy they did. I think his definition of the right and wrong way to draw trend lines, and the 2B top/bottom; and 1-2-3 reversal are worth the the price of the book.
That said, and to further answer your question if not compound it more, TA means many things to different people. Early on people will look at a great number of things until they find something that works for them, and they will apply that technique consistantly and learn to recognize the results (good and bad) and develop trading plans around the technique(s).
Others will flit from book to book, guru to guru, ever in search of the holy grail, and never make any real progress since they are all over the map. Some folks I observe avoid adopting techniques proven to work as they are sure they can do better. Some may, but I think many or most early TA traders fail in the process of discovery.
Bottom line, I think there's a lot of value in simply adopting someone elses techniques that are proven, as long as they fit your basic psychological needs and other requirements (trading timeline, etc) -- and fully explore why they work and when they do not. Like an apprenticeship. Once a trader has a basic set of tools that allow the trader to stay in the game, further exploration is safer to contemplate... |
