The Art & Science of Technical Analysis: Market Structure, Price Action & Trading Strategies

Preface

The book you are holding in your hands is the product of nearly two decades of my study and experience as a trader, covering the full span of actively traded markets and time frames. I owe much to authors and traders who have come before me, for no one produces anything significant in a vacuum. I would not have been successful without the help and guidance of my mentors, but I learned many of the lessons here from my own mistakes. In some ways, this work represents a radical break from many of the books that have preceded it, and I hope it encourages you to question much of the traditional thinking of technical analysis.

This book does not present a rigid system to be strictly followed, nor a set of setups and patterns that can be assembled at the trader’s whim. Rather, it offers a comprehensive approach to the problems of technically motivated, directional trading. The book is structured to be read from beginning to end, but individual sections and chapters stand on their own. Through the entire work, deliberate repetition of important concepts helps to build a complete perspective on many of the problems traders face. The tools and techniques must be adapted to the trader’s personality and business situation, but most will find a firm foundation between these covers.

There are some underlying themes, perhaps not expressed explicitly, that tie this work together, and they may be surprising to many readers: Trading is hard. Markets are extremely competitive. They are usually ...