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Tape Reading & Market Tactics
"New conditions will arise. A new trading public will be born. However, the old cycle of rallies and reactions will roll on." Although originally published in 1931, this classic work remains the benchmark in tape reading and price and volume analysis in speculation. Historically one of the best selling titles on this topic, Tape Reading is a testament to the real genius of Neill and his grasp of human nature. A true pioneer in contrarian thinking, Neill is steadfast in his advice to break away from the unknowing and invariably unsuccessful "Beware of the crowd. When everyone thinks alike, watch out. They're probably wrong." Neill's philosophy pushes the reader to study hard and pay his or her dues. He insists that the successful trader is an educated entrepreneur-one who can make reasoned decisions based on the movements of price and volume. For Neill, only proper and continuous study equals success. In today's technologically complex trading environment, Neill's simple advice still rings "Mechanical forecasting will never take the place of intelligent judgment." Neill made a statement to his generation and to all that have don't follow the crowd, learn the tape.
- GenresFinance
131 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 1984
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
April 21, 2020
Excellent quick read. Picked up this book to hopefully learn more on the nuances of tape reading but the chapters on tape reading were rather brief. However, the one thing i've picked up from this book is to always confirm the tape with volume and price action. The second part of the book is superb. Many unique ideas on market philosophy, psychology, etc. Highly recommended.
Some of my favourite excerpts from the book:-
-Wild price movements during a rally indicate a meager supply of stocks. those who have stocks for sale quite naturally revise their selling prices when they see a rally start; offers are withdrawn and buyers are forced to bid sharply for stock.
-Indications on the tape which would tell the tape reader whether the buying or selling is important or not, are difficult to make out. The important time to look for them is following either a substantial reaction or rally. What the volume alone tells us is not always a dependable index; so we have to look at price action as well.
-Speculations in stocks, to be successful, must include judgement, common sense, and market perception; whereas stock gambling is nothing more than guessing upon the tick of the quotations.
-Remember; it is not the price you pay for a stock, but the time at which you buy it, which counts in trading.
-To determine the trend of stock prices we must interpret the market's opinion of values, not the judgement of any one group of experts.
-The greater the number of traders, the more necessary will it be to study and to know market psychology and have a market philosophy.
-In an irregular market, buy when action confirms the trend, and sell early.
Some of my favourite excerpts from the book:-
-Wild price movements during a rally indicate a meager supply of stocks. those who have stocks for sale quite naturally revise their selling prices when they see a rally start; offers are withdrawn and buyers are forced to bid sharply for stock.
-Indications on the tape which would tell the tape reader whether the buying or selling is important or not, are difficult to make out. The important time to look for them is following either a substantial reaction or rally. What the volume alone tells us is not always a dependable index; so we have to look at price action as well.
-Speculations in stocks, to be successful, must include judgement, common sense, and market perception; whereas stock gambling is nothing more than guessing upon the tick of the quotations.
-Remember; it is not the price you pay for a stock, but the time at which you buy it, which counts in trading.
-To determine the trend of stock prices we must interpret the market's opinion of values, not the judgement of any one group of experts.
-The greater the number of traders, the more necessary will it be to study and to know market psychology and have a market philosophy.
-In an irregular market, buy when action confirms the trend, and sell early.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 10, 2010
excellent book. reinforced volume driven market principle ( which could basically be broken down into (i) high volume on price increase (ii) high volume on stagnant price (iii) low volume on price increase).
basically a leisure read
basically a leisure read
October 6, 2019
Great book on how to read market volume trends which still apply today even though it was written around the great depression. Volume is still one of the most important aspects of trading stocks.
It's not only about volume though there is a lot about basic supply/demand mechanics, how to identify tops/bottoms, the importance of technicals vs fundamentals. Basic market psychology.
If you know anything about Mr Neil is that he is a contrarian and his thoughts about being a contrarian on the market makes a lot of sense when he talks about how trends start, when to get in one and when to get one.
He also gives a lot of basic do's and donts. Should you use a stop loss? Should you average down or average up? What timeframes should you trade? There is a lot of wisdom in this book. It reads very quickly as well and there is basically 0 fluff.
It's not only about volume though there is a lot about basic supply/demand mechanics, how to identify tops/bottoms, the importance of technicals vs fundamentals. Basic market psychology.
If you know anything about Mr Neil is that he is a contrarian and his thoughts about being a contrarian on the market makes a lot of sense when he talks about how trends start, when to get in one and when to get one.
He also gives a lot of basic do's and donts. Should you use a stop loss? Should you average down or average up? What timeframes should you trade? There is a lot of wisdom in this book. It reads very quickly as well and there is basically 0 fluff.
May 8, 2024
EXCELLENT READ for the traders. I find it sometimes ridiculous to consider that a book written in 1931 about stock trading is applicable today, but pretty much everything that is talked about in this book still applies today! Some concepts are outdated (and some language too, ahem), but the general ideas are pretty much spot on.
I love his simple language that he uses when describing public's behavior in the stock markets and the moves that we make as individuals under stress, or when we see opportunities, or when we are going through with fear. The emotional control was key then, and is key today. Ignoring the stock tips, working on finding your own approach to stock trading vs jumping from method to method, or blindly taking someone's strategy without understanding it are all examples of excellent advice given out in this book.
I love his simple language that he uses when describing public's behavior in the stock markets and the moves that we make as individuals under stress, or when we see opportunities, or when we are going through with fear. The emotional control was key then, and is key today. Ignoring the stock tips, working on finding your own approach to stock trading vs jumping from method to method, or blindly taking someone's strategy without understanding it are all examples of excellent advice given out in this book.
December 20, 2007
Tape reading died when the hybrid market took full effect at the NYSE. The theorem is still sound, and the ideas of volume-based trade entry/exit identification is still vital to the intraday trader.
March 27, 2008
A good review on volume patterns and the "why" behind them. A must for any trader's library.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews