Pit Bull: Lessons from Wall Street's Champion Day Trader [ペーパーバック]

I think some people here missed the point of this book altogether. There is no doubt that this is one of the best trading books ever written. This book ranks among the top trading books ever including Reminiscences of a Stock Operator, not because of the technical trading secrets it revels, but because of the insights it offers on the mindset of one of the greatest traders ever. This book elevates itself above almost every other trading or financial book out there for that exact reason, the author made his living (and it was a very good living) from trading the markets. He didn't have a website that offered trading ideas for fifty bucks a month. He didn't fly around the country giving seminars on how to trade at a thousand bucks a head. He didn't have a radio program where he would solicit money from listeners and call himself a money manger. He trading his own money and made a fortune.

Marty started out with a hundred grand, but his seat on the AMEX cost him ninety thousand dollars, so he was left with ten thousand dollars of trading capital. With only ten thousand dollars he made over eight grand on his first trade. In his second year of trading he made six hundred thousand dollars, and in this third year he made 1.2 million. Unbelievable!

The book is full of insights into how Marty spent all of his money, which can become a little uninteresting, but the rest of the book is pure gold. The last chapter of the book details (for lack of a better word) some of Marty's trading ideas, but that's not valuable information. The valuable trading insights are found throughout the context of the book. Much like Reminiscences of Stock Operator doesn't outline Jessie Livermore's trading strategies; however, it does give insights into how Jessie thought about the markets. Pit Bull is written in the same manner, in that, it doesn't outline Marty's strategies but offers insight into his mindset. For instance, at one point in the book Marty discusses how he likes to trade the S&P 500 futures. This information is just glanced over by ninety-five percent of people who read the book, but it is some of the most valuable information the book has to offer.

This book is underestimated because most people just see Marty Schwartz as a self absorbed, egomaniacal jerk. I'm not going to make a judgment on Marty's attitude; instead I'm going to say that this book does one thing: it offers insight into the mind of a great trader. Notice throughout the review I've been using the word trader. If you're unclear on the differences between traders and investors you probably won't like the book. If you're a trader, Pit Bull should definitely be part of your trading library.

"Pit Bull" is the trading memoir of Martin "Buzzy" Schwartz, multimillionaire stock and futures trader who won the "Champion Trader" title in the 1984 U.S. Trading Championship, the "Most Money Made" title in 1983, and conquered the futures division in 1992. He made a lot of money too, but Mr. Schwartz loves the limelight and a good competition. The book starts in 1979, when Schwartz abandoned his 9-year career as a securities analyst to trade his own money on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, and progresses through his tumultuous, exciting trading career until the mid-1990s.

Schwartz sometimes digresses to relate incidents of his childhood and youth, illustrating that he was always a gambler by nature, so "Pit Bull" has some qualities of an autobiography. Schwartz' story is peppered with trading advice, and many of its best moments are when he describes his experiences during specific market events, such as his losses when the market surged after the 1980 presidential election, the idiosyncrasies of trading on the Merc, and October 1987's Black Monday and its aftermath. Martin Schwartz has a big personality and a frank sense of humor that keep the reader entertained. It seems he was both a success and a failure, having succeeded in making himself quite wealthy but not always wealthy enough for his tastes. But he gives the impression that he enjoys trading immensely most of the time.

"Pit Bull" concludes with "The Pit Bull's Guide to Successful Trading" in 30 pages, for those seeking insight into Martin Schwartz' success on the markets. It's a pretty handy guide in which Schwartz lists the trading tools and market analysis services that he uses, outlines his techniques for using moving averages and some chart patterns, and summarizes how he plays stocks and futures. That's followed by a description of "My Typical Day". "Pit Bull" is fun, I instructional, and easy to read. I was surprised that Mr. Schwartz sometimes tries to anticipate -or bet against- the market instead of following it. But sometimes he got burned. No surprise there.

Pit Bull gives a good and entertaining insight into the mind of a Market Wizard. "Buzzy's" book makes you sometimes laugh out loud.

Particularly interesting; anyone who considers managing other peoples money should read this book. Buzzy shows the dark side of this business and how negatively it can affect the money manager.

Don't expect another Remiscence of a Stock Operator, for that Pit Bull lacks depts on the psychology of a trader and focuses mainly on short term trading (the author is basically a scalper).

All in all a worth-reading book on the life of a top trader.