Wall Street Buddha

Jesse Livermore, The Legend of Wall Street November 19, 2010

If you’ve never heard of him, you’re definitely a newbie. Jesse Livermore is a legendary trader who lived in the early 1900′s. He made millions and lost millions through the 1900′s . The experiences are documented in Edwin Lefevre’s novel. He is the main character in the book “Reminiscences of a Stock Operator”. He started his career in trading at the young age of 15. With an aptitude in math he wrote down prices of various stocks in order to predict or anticipate the next major move in the market. The father of technical analysis perhaps? He made lots of money in “Bucket Shops” , places where traders would gather to make trades, other than the stock exchange itself. After some time in the bucket shops he was kicked out because he was winning too much. He left the trading world leaving us a philosophy of how to trade. Many of these trading rules hold true today despite being over 70 years old. In the panic of 1907, he was short and increased his position as the market fell. In the 1929 crash, once again profited so much, he was blamed for the crash itself because of the large positions he would take. Many believed he had the ability to manipulate the market in his favor (a false premise). Unfortunately, in 1940 Jesse died by his own hands and committed suicide.  If you haven’t had the chance to read the book. I would highly suggest it for your trading library. When I’m on a losing streak, I read the book to get inspiration. We all take a hit once in awhile, but it’s part of the game.

What I really like about this book is, as you evolve in your trading with time you experience the same experiences that Jesse goes through. The book really puts you in the shoes of a trader. This book was one of the last books I read when learning trading when in fact it should have been the first. The evolution of a trader is greatly illustrated here. You will live the life of Jesse, and understand the market in a different light. Lots of the stock market sayings come from this book.

Be sure to check out my full library at Amazon.com all the essentials look no further. All the trading books are all the same. It’s all recycled information.

Also be sure to check out Wall Street Buddha’s Trading Education Category to learn.