He learned to read the tape as it came in at the bucket shops, just as stock traders, I only trade futures, read the tape as it comes in one the screen.
"Tape reading was an important part of the game; so was beginning at the right time; so was sticking to your position. But my greatest discovery was that a man must study general conditions, to size them so as to be able to anticipate probabilities." Reminiscences of a Stock Operator
I'll summarize the book for you. Jesse Livermore made a lot of money, lost a lot of money, made a lot of money again, lost a lot of money again, made a lot of money once again, lost a lot of money once again and then got a real bad headache which ended his trading career. Use an orange highlighter to mark the italicized stuff. Re-read the stuff you highlighted each year between Christmas and New Years Eve.
Time and Sales is related to tape reading. It shows what have actually happened. Level II only show you what might happen.
I suspect everyone reads the tape differently. I can not figure out exactly what tape reading is. I think, after reading "Reminiscences Of A Stock Operator" many times that Jesse Livermore notices certain stocks are actively traded, that the trading shows significant size, and that the price is above some important price level such as the high price one hour ago or historic record high price. Jesse Livermore day trades, short term position trades and long term position trades. Mr. Livermore appears to have trouble sticking to his system. I am not able to find any reference to stop loss order placement or how much risk to use when trading in either "Reminiscences Of A Stock Operator" or "How To Trade In Stocks". Possibly a poor understanding of risk contributes to Jesse Livermore's boom and bust experience. In his book "How To Trade In Stocks" Jesse Livermore mentions losing money in Florida real estate, airplanes, and oil wells (page 41 in my copy). The book does not say if Jesse Livermore's final trading years are profitable. Perhaps Mr. Livermore lost all his money in losing real estate, airplanes and oil exploration deals, not by speculation. I read about Jesse Livermore to learn from his failures. His method is not new: buy high sell higher, follow the trend. Do you remember the part about Percy Thomas and the cotton market? The story reminds me of how convincing some people can be. The story is one reason that I disregard the opinions of everyone and use my own judgement.