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Trading styles of Livermore/Wyckoff

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Hi all

Could someone explain the different trading styles between

Livermore and Wyckoff

Cheers
SG
 
Hi all

Could someone explain the different trading styles between

Livermore and Wyckoff

Cheers
SG

hello stargazer,

From My understanding of the Historical literature..

Wyckoff and Livermore met each other in 1917.
Livermore as the biggest operator of His day influenced Wyckoff.. Both as to what to do and not what to do.

Wyckoff over time developed a purely technical system
With a strong focus on Risk.

(The Wyckoff/SMI course)

He built a rigorous system built from first principles.

Livermore Was much more orientated by Fundamentals, Stuck to His hunches
and Did not in practice have a systematic approach to risk.. He would often
buck the trend... He would plunge ..

Livermore made and lost fortunes.. And blew up big..
Wyckoff Just made fortunes..

Wyckoff overtime went from a more fundamental approach (1900)
To a purely technical approach (1930) He realized that prices moved way to much than real fundamentals should allow and that the real fundamentals were only know by the very few and unfolded over time (trends).
And that all markets are manipulated (By everybody, large and small)

motorway


Richard D. Wyckoff was born in 1873, and at the age of 15 in 1888, became a stock runner.
At the age of 25, He opened his own brokerage which gave him close contact with a number of the most important and influential traders on Wall Street . He studied the market operations and investing methods of Jay Gould,James Keene, Edward Wasserman, Jesse Livermore, J.P. Morgan, Andrew Carnegie, and others, as He set about attempting to develop his own approach to the market.

Wyckoff’s skills grew as he developed an understanding of what makes a market, or a stock, move. He was able to see the market from the views and actions of all it's participants. Big and small, losers and winners..Insiders and outsiders..

His method is based on three laws that govern market behavior: The law of Supply and Demand, The law of Cause and Effect and The Law of Effort VS Result.

Wyckoff's Method revolves around "The Three laws" "The Five Steps" "The nine tests" "The rules of three" "The four phases" "The four qualties (spread/range, close , volume & position )"
"The eight buy or sell setups"

The Five Steps
Step 1:
Determine the trend and the position within that trend of the general market.
Step 2:
Select those stocks that are in harmony with the market
Step 3:
Select those stocks that have built a potential for a move
Step 4:
Determine each stock’s readiness to move
Step 5:
Time commitments with the turns in the general market





Wyckoff Method does this by looking at the How not just the what.
The How of The What on all time frames.


regards
motorway
 
Hi all

Could someone explain the different trading styles between

Livermore and Wyckoff

Cheers
SG

A good book on Wyckoff is "Charting the stock market The Wyckoff Method " by Jack Hutson.

I got it years ago with difficulty from a Melbourne supplier called Success Tools.

I did a quick search in ASF Store and couldn't find it.

Perhaps Joe could source it for you.

Its not an easy read but instructive. Its very prescriptive and not an easy method to follow in real life.

I now mainly use it if I have difficulty sleeping, reading it along with Phillip Adams LNL 's tiresome lefty drone, on snooze, puts me out in under fifteen minutes.

Garpal
 
Fascinating read

Motorway
thankyou very much for taking the time and effort for a very informative reply.

Garpal Gumnut
Thankyou for the lead on the book.

Cheers
SG
 
The Hutson Book

was a series of articles in Technical analysis of stocks and commodities.

It does have deficiencies.. It has three Authors... The middle section is a bar by bar analysis by David Weis..
It does contain a form of the nine tests for example
But other aspects only lucky to get a mention..

Not much on effort/ result


For some background on David Weis

look here http://www.amazon.com/Entries-Exits-Visits-Trading-Rooms/dp/0471678058

Search inside the book with " David Weis " Some info on His Elliot Wave back ground and why He became a Wyckoff Practitioner..

All books can but be very sketchy compared to the Wyckoff Course material.

There are some articles around the web... And there are some options in obtaining good material..

PM Me if You are interested.


Hank Pruden has a new book out

He is a professor who teaches Wyckoff at Golden Gate University..

Getting Good reviews

"At long last, someone has taken the time and effort to bring the work and insight of Wyckoff to wider public attention -- and Hank Pruden has done so masterfully, with great clarity and eloquence. Hank has taken the best of Wyckoff's work, combining it with the essential aspects of trader discipline and psychology, to provide a highly readable and particularly useful guide to trading. MUST READING!"

Jacob Bernstein

The Three Skills of Top Trading: Behavioral Systems Building, Pattern Recognition, and Mental State Management HANK PRUDEN

PART ONE Systems Building and Behavioral Finance.

CHAPTER 1 Systems Building for the Three Skills of Top Trading.

CHAPTER 2 Behavioral Finance.

CHAPTER 3 The Life Cycle Model of Crowd Behavior.

PART TWO Pattern Recognition and Discretionary Trading.

CHAPTER 4 Wyckoff: The Man, the Method, the Mystique.

CHAPTER 5 The Basic Elements of Charting for the Wyckoff Method.

CHAPTER 6 The Wyckoff Method of Technical Analysis and Speculation.

CHAPTER 7 Anatomy of a Trade.

PART THREE Mental State Management.

CHAPTER 8 Trader Psychology and Mental Discipline.

CHAPTER 9 The Composite Man.

CHAPTER 10 Putting It All Together: Ten Principles for a Trader to Live.


SMI course contains 5 units of study
takes 9mths to work through

So all books can only be in a sense introductions and/or very condensed.


motorway
 
Hi all

Could someone explain the different trading styles between

Livermore and Wyckoff

Cheers
SG

Hi,

I don't know to much about Wyckoff.

But I know a little about Livermore, He did not use charts that much at all.
Thought they where confusing with all there averages! - From How to trade in stocks - Livermore)

He used a system which is known as the Livermore market key. He had a mathematical formula for working out what he called pivotal points not sure if any one apart from him knows what formula he used.

From what i have read he would read / see the prices coming in off the tape and divide them and work out patterns in the numbers, strengh or weakness.

He kept running price records on a book from his records he could work out the pivotal price for a long or short. He was a excellent tape reader.

He also believed in stacking winers so he would test the market and add to it as it went in his favor.

Also from his works that i have read he was a very strong range follower and break out trader. One of the best things I read him say is: There are only a few profitable times in a year to make money from a market.(from How to trade in stocks, Livermore) So I can guess he would wait and then buy and hold for some time, consistently adding to his winner.

But one very weak point of Livermore he had little self control and did not follow his rules with devastating effects!

I value him much more over a lot of other great trades cuz he could come back even when he was in over 1 million dollars debt at one stage.

I my opinion he was a true market genius in the top 3 of all time.

Another funny point, I think Gann also lent him cash when he went broke once as well.
 
Wyckoff thought highly of Livermore..



Pruden in the 1970s read and was captivated by reminiscences of a stock operator... He wished someone had built a systematic method from the insights with in it..

When He found Wyckoff he found that someone had and more.

In 1908 Wyckoff wrote the first complete technical approach to mkts
coining words that became common usage ( eg point of resistance )


livermore Did not use charts
His market Key is a type of Point and Figure chart in tabular form
( like a 6 box reversal chart )


But that book is much after the fact
And was an attempt to attract money into a type of managed fund he hoped to earn fees from running ( he was broke I think for the eight time )

Much more to Livermore than that book..

IF you bet that big with that much risk
You either become famous or you disappear without a trace
double or nothing..



motorway
 

you can get the book from Amazon (united states) delivered for approx 33$AUS
 
But that book is much after the fact
And was an attempt to attract money into a type of managed fund he hoped to earn fees from running ( he was broke I think for the eight time )

Motorway,

What book are you talking about? the Smitten version? Where did you get that info from?

I read the 1940 original by Livermore. How to trade in stocks.
(his son Jesse Jnr told him to think about righting a book about how he thought people should trade stocks.)

It is amazing how many of his teachings are common place trading now!

Also read Reminiscences of a Stock Operator.

He shot himself after fourth time he was declared bankrupt, just after his book was published. From what I have read he was in deep depression at this point.
 
I have seen those statements made in various places

One source is.
Jesse Livermore Speculator King By paul Sanoff

Here is the true story of a man once blamed for causing the 1929 crash, a man blamed for every market break from 1917 to 1940. Here are his trials and triumphs, told with empathy and forthrightness. Here is one of the most legendary figures ever to haunt the annals of the stock market-Livermore brought startlingly to life.
1967 (paper). 136pp

( This book paints a very different picture from the smitten material )


There were two versions of the 1940 book
I have read the one with the Family crest on it..



When Smitten published His books the originals seem to no longer be available


motorway
 

Jesse Livermore


Jesse Livermore




Some quotes from Jesse Livermore
around the time of Reminisces..

Come as a surprise to some maybe

He was a formidable Tape reader..

Some chapters in Reminisces are Very Good

Ch XV11

For example... That is very Wyckoff a number of good themes in that chapter

motorway
 



Sounds like something out of Livermores 1940 book

IT is is out of Wyckoff's first published in 1908


markets make opinions .. That is why there is oversold and overbought
peril and opportunity..

Wyckoff advises Us to be in harmony with the trend , But to identify the forces of accumulation and distribution and the pivotal points where the other side starts to enter..

These are the Buying and selling climaxes

From these seeds in 1908 flowered the Wyckoff/ SMI course and much that is known today as Technical Analysis..



motorway
 

Motorway, I've just come across some of your posts on ASF.

Being a recent student of the markets I have to say that I'm very glad to have you for company. Your posts are concise and very educational. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and experience.

I have an interest is Wyckoff's work as well but I'm a long way from your level of understanding.

I was looking for some pointers on the best work on or by Wyckoff for study, you seem to have give some great pointers in this thread and elsewhere, time to hit the bookshops! If there are any online resources you recommend maybe you can post them in a new Wyckoff thread or in this thread. I would be interested to hear about how you came to practice Wyckoff's methods.
 
Here's a link to a description of a 'Wyckoff Spring' (the image and commentary shown in the link is included in this post), I'm no expert so I hope this is correct, it looks ok: http://bigpicture.typepad.com/comments/2004/05/wyckoff_spring.html

 

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From my studies of wyckoff one will only get a partial education in it if one does not do the EXPENSIVE course. Anything less would be doing injustice to the way. Material is hard to get in a complete manner.
The course anwers all the questions one has when studying the partial material. Missing the nuances will see FAILURE.
 
Well If anyone is interested in discussing stocks from a wyckoff Viewpoint
I think it would be worthwhile.. It has been said that 90% of TA is derived from Wyckoff.. The full course is available Something that has been going for
That long on zero hype.. Has certainly stood the test of time.

The best is not always of today.. The best has often been defined and had it's golden age in the past... The full course itself still is a living thing
It is a course as in a real course ,5 units of study with exams and I think life time support.. Said to take 9 mths of steady application.. cost I believe USD $850...

However It is OK to start somewhere. There is reasonable amount of material to look at and work with outside of obtaining the course..Which maybe end up leading one to acquire the course in any case.

motorway



And way back in 1908

Any one who can spot these points has much to win and little to lose, for he can always play with a stop placed close behind the turning point or "point of resistance"
 
Motorway.

Thanks again.

Interesting that Wyckoff speaks also of waves.
The combination and proficiency in BOTH Wyckoff methods and Elliot would seem advantageous.
The course I am taking.
There is some great software now days which can help the practitioner.
However a good understanding is definately required in bothe fields for best application.

Well thats my view.

Mind you both can stand alone as trading methods.
Joint application makes sence to me.
 
And way back in 1908
Any one who can spot these points has much to win and little to lose, for he can always play with a stop placed close behind the turning point or "point of resistance"
Nice quote & a very interesting thread...ty
 
Richard Wyckoff made the distinction between mechanical identification of patterns and the objective identification of supply and demand that might or might not make or produce a certain pattern.

The Father of the former is Richard Schabacker. He studied charts looking for patterns that would tend to lead to the
same result. eg Head and shoulders etc. We look out for examples of idealized models. We look at the artifacts left behind as the price activity unfolds.

Richard Wyckoff begins with a set of principles which He identifies at work and then responds to them with appropriate action in real time.

A principle is more than a pattern. It is a statement that is always true.

Wyckoff articulated three primary principles or laws:

1) The Law of Supply and Demand:

Markets go up when demand exceeds supply. They go down when supply exceeds demand. They form a trading range when the two are in a certainequilibrium.

(So this is always a starting point what are prices actually DOING)


Hence there are three types of active trends not just two.
Also a fourth state of nothingness.

2) The Law of Cause and Effect

The effect realised by a cause will be in direct proportion to that cause. To get an important move
(the effect), there must be a significant cause.

The cause as a potential is generated in an active trading range.

3) The Law of Effort and Result

What is important is not only price but also the character of the volume that is producing price. When volume and price are in harmony, there will be a continuity. When they diverge there will be a change.

These laws operate on all time frames. There is an interaction between time frames..


Wyckoff from these three laws developed a set of further principles for identifying how a market moves, how it terminates its trends and the appropriate trading strategies for the various phases and stages of market activity.


An extremely important observation Wyckoff makes is that markets move in waves. The magnitude of these waves their action in time and price determines the nature and character of the underlying trends.

(character, behaviour, change of behaviour, movement, ease of movement)

It is critical to always determine the trend of the timeframe we are
trading and it's context within the trends of the other time frames.
And in the context of the trends of the market, sectors and other stocks..

This must be determined in an objective manner...
directly From the price and volume activity .

Step 1:
Determine the trend and the position within that trend.

This step involves the use of certain trendlines
Both by their Use and by their reverse use.

Some of the things measured are the angle at which the trend is moving, the amount of progress being made on each drive up and drive down called the thrust and the measurement of the comparative strength, weakness and the adequacy of each correction.
Also position as defined by the Wyckoff concepts of overbought and oversold. (and He is Not talking about ANY oscillator like a RSI etc..)

At the heart of Wyckoff's method is the concept of Action and Test. Action and Response. If we see an Action We look to the response for the secondary test. A failed test a poor response Then a trade is doubtful. We look and wait for successful tests for positve responses..

We look for the line of least resistance to define itself and become obvious..
Such that after our entry
our real example explodes higher.

Wyckoff stated in the quote above that When We Judge that We should be making a long position We are looking esp at the down waves of activity
When you are looking for an opportunity to buy, watch for the DOWN waves in the market and in your stock.

By recognising That markets move in waves a Greater amount of insight is possible. We proceed from principles that are always correct in their application.. When We are clear We act, When We are not clear We wait ..

motorway
 
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