I think his book is stupid as well, most likely not going to make you a better a trader. Very entertaining though. I still respect a man who had billion dollars from pure trading ability and won't call him a bad trader. None you will probably ever even smell 0.0007 of what he made in his life. I'd rather make a billion and lose it then make 35,000 a year grinding it out 8 hours day in front of a computer for the rest of my life untill I die of old age. You can make 35,000 a year working at McDonalds with a lot less stress and health benifits.
I would. And I'd have even less respect for a guy made $1 trillion and lost it all. That would be even worse way to be a breakeven player, which is all Livermore turned out to be. Fletch
Probably: Why a trader goes broke and kills himself: "A good trader must have a personality that is always honest with himself?" http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showthread.php?threadid=71024
Pablo Escobar also made more money in his lifetime than I will probably make in mine. He also held on to most of it till the end, and he gave to the poor etc etc. Should I respect him or the fact that he made a lot of money? I hope your reply is no. Livermore made his money trading stocks in a manner that if you or I were to try to replicate today would land us in Danbury as guests of our Uncle Sam for a few years. In the end Livermore died in a similar way to Escobar (a bullet) and he died broke. Hardly someone who's life I think contributed much value to the world.
"Although untouchable trusts and cash assets at his death totalled over $5 million," Having 5 mil net worth in 1940 does not sound like he died broke to me. As with the many lessons in roaso, one of the most important one's from livermore himself is that money does not buy happiness. "He owned a series of mansions around the world each fully staffed with servants, a fleet of limousines, and a steel-hulled yacht for trips to Europe. He married Dorothy, a beautiful Ziegfield Follies showgirl when he was about 40 years old." He had all that money could buy and still was not happy inside.
You are hitting the nail on the head. Most people do not distinguish issues from personalities. How the man was as a person, how he managed his money, how many times he went broke has nothing to do with his ability to trade which is the matter under discussion here. Similarly most people do not know the difference between technology and methodology. No wonder they'll be loosers. There is lots of value in his book but you'll only understand that when you learn to understand the markets and why they move in the way they do. Until that time most of his information is hidden from plain view. Which leads me to believe that most of those who critisize him have not yet a clue on how to trade. Maria, over and out. Am done with this stupid thread.
The most amazing thing is that people who read his book, didn't find any value in it. Some of his strategies still work today, I could mention it here,(I did in a similar thread already) but if one didn't get it from his book, wouldn't get it from my post either....