| Foreword | xi |
| Preface | xv |
| Acknowledgments | xxi |
| Part 1 | How to Develop a "Laser-Guided Rocket" to Trading Success | 1 |
| Chapter 1 | The Journey to Trading Mastery | 3 |
| The Mind of a Master Trader | 3 |
| Is a Master Trader inside You? | 12 |
| The Most Important Steps to Trading Mastery | 13 |
| Knowledge Keys | 17 |
| Chapter 2 | Prepare Yourself for Trading Heights | 19 |
| The Power of Commitment | 19 |
| The Truth inside You | 22 |
| The Mission You Must Accomplish | 23 |
| I'm Starting with the Man in the Mirror | 26 |
| The Most Powerful Trading Questions You Could Ever Ask | 27 |
| The Belief Dynamic | 29 |
| If You Don't Believe It, You Can't Trade It | 29 |
| To Get Clear on Your Goals, Link Your Beliefs to Your Mission | 31 |
| Turn Your Goals into Action | 34 |
| How to Develop Powerful, Action-Oriented Goals | 36 |
| The Most Critical Goal-Setting Secret | 38 |
| Knowledge Keys | 39 |
| Calls to Action | 39 |
| Notes | 40 |
| Chapter 3 | Design a Plan Even Goldman Sachs Might Envy | 41 |
| How to Create a Dynamite Plan | 43 |
| Stepping through Your Own Business Plan | 44 |
| Show Me the Money or Why Have a Trading Plan? | 54 |
| Make an Inventory of Your Market and Trading Beliefs | 55 |
| Ya Gotta Have an Edge | 57 |
| Choose Your Trading Styles and Time Frames | 58 |
| Does Size Really Matter? | 66 |
| The More Tools the Merrier | 68 |
| Final Countdown | 69 |
| Effectively Marshaling Your Resources | 80 |
| Sample Business Plan | 85 |
| Sample Trading Plan | 91 |
| Knowledge Keys | 96 |
| Calls to Action | 96 |
| Notes | 97 |
| Part 2 | Putting the "Laser-Guided Rocket" Together | 99 |
| Chapter 4 | The Trader's Toolkit: Essential Secrets for Getting the Most from Your Hardware and Software | 101 |
| How Much Computer Do You Need? | 102 |
| Sweat the Small Stuff | 103 |
| Internet Connectivity--Get a Big (Broadband) Pipe! | 106 |
| Where Can You Rent That Big Pipe? | 109 |
| Keep That Connection Connected! | 111 |
| Technology Risks--The Dirty Little Secret of Trading | 112 |
| Integrated Trading Software--The Heart of Your Trading Platform | 113 |
| Reading the Gauges--The Most Important Trading Screens | 115 |
| Knowledge Keys | 131 |
| Calls to Action | 131 |
| Chapter 5 | Understanding the Golden Rule of Trading--R Multiples and Expectancy | 133 |
| The Golden Rule of Trading--Cut Your Losses Short and Let Your Profits Run! | 134 |
| Knowing Your Initial Risk: Begin with the End in Mind | 135 |
| Knowing the Expectancy of Your System--Will This Dog Hunt? Or What Kind of Return Can You Expect for Your Risk? | 138 |
| Defining and Calculating Expectancy (Relax, the Math's Easy) | 138 |
| The Opportunity Factor | 148 |
| Knowledge Keys | 149 |
| Calls to Action | 149 |
| Notes | 150 |
| Chapter 6 | Position Sizing: The Key That Makes It All Work for You | 151 |
| Positioning-Sizing Techniques That Work | 155 |
| Simulating Your System to Determine What's Possible | 158 |
| Position-Sizing Mistakes You Must Avoid | 160 |
| Answers to the Position-Sizing Problems | 163 |
| Knowledge Keys | 164 |
| Calls to Action | 165 |
| Notes | 165 |
| Chapter 7 | Prelaunch Preparation--Your Daily Routine | 167 |
| The Power of Simplicity | 167 |
| Start Your Day the Evening Before | 168 |
| T Minus 2 Hours and Counting | 169 |
| Applied Behavioral Finance--Know Thyself | 171 |
| Knowledge Keys | 175 |
| Calls to Action | 176 |
| Notes | 176 |
| Part 3 | Launching Your Trading Rocket | 177 |
| Chapter 8 | The Trading Day Liftoff: Navigating Trade by Trade | 179 |
| NASDAQ Level II--Your Booster Rocket to Trading Orbit | 179 |
| The Supply and Demand Model | 180 |
| The Ax | 181 |
| Other Market Makers Know the Ax | 184 |
| To Save Your Ask, Find the Ax! | 184 |
| Who's Playing Poker? | 186 |
| Chippies on the Bid--What Does It Mean? | 188 |
| The Secret of Collapsing Tiers | 189 |
| Understanding ECNs and Order Routing-- Getting Filled When It Counts! | 193 |
| Execution Strategies--When to Use Each Route | 203 |
| Some Finals Words on Order Routing | 205 |
| How to Get Filled in a Fast Market: He Who Hesitates Is Lost | 205 |
| The Mystery of Hidden and Reserve Orders | 207 |
| ARCA Reserve Orders | 209 |
| Speaking of Edges | 211 |
| Develop Expectations for Your Trading Day | 211 |
| The Art of Interpreting News | 213 |
| Stock Selection at a Glance | 217 |
| Directional Bias | 218 |
| Deciding to Enter | 221 |
| Pulling the Trigger | 222 |
| The Weight of Your Decision | 222 |
| Getting Your Fill | 224 |
| Never Enter a Trade Without Knowing Your Stop! | 224 |
| A Secret for Keeping Your Stop | 225 |
| Profit-Taking Exits | 226 |
| Don't Forget to Reenter | 230 |
| Position Sizing | 230 |
| To Make Maximum Profits, Remain Flexible | 230 |
| Defending Against Whipsaw | 231 |
| Trading Day Quick View | 232 |
| Knowledge Keys | 232 |
| Calls to Action | 234 |
| Notes | 235 |
| Chapter 9 | Market-Making Strategies | 237 |
| You Can't Trade What You Don't Believe | 238 |
| Strategies and Tactics | 238 |
| Market Making--The Stealth Specialist | 240 |
| Profit Potential | 246 |
| NASDAQ Market-Making System | 249 |
| Price and Trading Levels | 250 |
| The Ax Revisited | 252 |
| Understanding the Market Makers | 253 |
| Differences between Market Makers and Specialists | 254 |
| Recapping Market Makers and Specialists | 255 |
| Market Making--The Channel Feeder | 255 |
| Knowledge Keys | 263 |
| Calls to Action | 267 |
| Notes | 267 |
| Chapter 10 | Momentum Strategies | 269 |
| Momentum Philosophy | 269 |
| Momentum Patterns | 271 |
| Market Makers during the Open | 275 |
| Market-Maker Manipulation | 277 |
| Detecting Market-Maker Manipulation | 279 |
| Possible Interpretations of the MM's Activities | 279 |
| Illustration of Fading the Trend | 282 |
| Key Momentum Concepts | 288 |
| Momentum Strategies--The Sonic Boom Dive | 291 |
| Knowledge Keys | 307 |
| Calls to Action | 307 |
| Part 4 | Feedback and Maintenance | 309 |
| Chapter 11 | Common Mistakes Everyone Makes--And How You Can Avoid Them | 311 |
| Knowledge Keys | 335 |
| Calls to Action | 335 |
| Notes | 335 |
| Chapter 12 | Getting Feedback and Refining the Process | 337 |
| Review Your Trades: Live and Learn | 338 |
| Debriefing the Trades: Rules Are Not Made to Be Broken | 340 |
| Correcting Mistakes on the Spot: Do It Now or Forget It Later | 343 |
| Take the 30,000-Foot View for Loftier Profits | 344 |
| Refining the Process: If It Ain't Broke, Fix It (a Little) Anyway | 346 |
| Knowledge Keys | 348 |
| Calls to Action | 349 |
| Notes | 350 |
| Chapter 13 | Peak Performance Trading--The Keys to Gaining Control of Your Trading | 351 |
| Commitment to Yourself and Trading | 354 |
| Psychological Awareness (Soul-Searching) | 354 |
| Overcoming Psychological Biases | 357 |
| Emotions and Trading | 360 |
| Knowing and Stating What Fits You | 362 |
| Knowing Your Objectives and Using Position Sizing to Meet Those Objectives | 364 |
| Rules and Knowing What to Expect from Your System | 366 |
| How to Correct Mistakes | 367 |
| Checklist for Peak Performance Trading | 369 |
| Knowledge Keys | 370 |
| Notes | 371 |
| Glossary | 373 |
| Bibliography | 381 |
| Index | 383 |