by Tom Hougaard is unfortunately another one of those typical trading books. Its authors report extraordinary success and claim to turn the conventional way of thinking about trading on its head. Tom Hougaard has won several trading competitions and, by his own account, regularly moves considerable sums on the capital markets.
His extraordinary thesis for this book is that normal thinking in trading leads to normal results. But to achieve extraordinary results, traders need to think differently and hang on his every word. Irony over.
Like many of his colleagues, he begins by questioning the usual trading books, which often focus on technical analysis and trading strategies. In doing so, he follows a common pattern in the industry: first, they "analyze" that everyone else is just spreading hot air. The respective author, however, drinks his elderberry juice from the Holy Grail every morning.
According to Hougaard, the key to success lies not in mastering indicators or chart patterns, but in mastering one's own psyche. Instead of looking for external solutions, he emphasizes the importance of inner growth and self-knowledge. Strictly according to the motto that all the answers to your question already lie within you. It is more than questionable whether this also applies to the course of the future.
The book is a mixture of personal experience, psychological insight and practical advice for aspiring traders. The author shares his own experiences as a trader and describes how he learned to deal with emotions such as fear and greed. He emphasizes that dealing with losses is crucial. According to him, the best trader is not the one who never loses, but the one who accepts losses and learns from them.
For him, it is clear that the way we think about trading influences our actions and ultimately determines our results. Through practical exercises and reflection questions, he encourages readers to review and adapt their thought patterns in order to trade more successfully. The emphasis on personal responsibility is not to be missed. Tom Hougaard argues that successful traders take responsibility for their actions and do not blame external factors. By questioning and reflecting on their own decisions, traders can improve their skills and achieve long-term success.
"Dear markets! Ever since I met you for the first time, you have held an incredible fascination for me. You could say it was love at first sight. Well, I was still too young to grasp the extent of this feeling, after all I was only ten years old. I read an article about you in a daily newspaper - you were all something like rivals. I was still too young to play with you, so I had to make do with the role of spectator. Time was against me. I was simply born a few decades too early and had no opportunity to get involved in stock market trading in the way that is commonplace nowadays. As a young man, I had to live my life and you had to live yours. When you had to go through the terrible experience of a bear market in 1973, I was just learning to walk. When you roared your anger during the 1987 stock market crash, I had just finished school. When you took the first steps towards the epic bull market of the 1990s, I was almost there. But only almost. So you sent me a message that would change my life. I heeded your advice and left everything behind because I was determined to join you. I dissected you at university and even got two degrees. I sat there for hours and hours, trying to see you through the eyes of ordinary economists, but also through the eyes of Nobel Prize winners and those of well-meaning journalists and experts, because I wanted to know exactly what makes you tick."
Tom Hougaard
At this point a few words about the author:
Tom Hougaard studied Economics and Finance at prestigious universities in the UK. He started his career at JPMorgan Chase before becoming Chief Market Strategist for a leading CFD broker in the City of London.
For over a decade, he shaped the financial landscape of the City of London. His charisma made him a sought-after interlocutor in the media. He analyzed the current market situation in countless television and radio interviews.
Determined to bring his knowledge and experience to a wider audience, Tom began operating as an independent trader in 2009. Through his educational videos and webinars, he has taught trading strategies to tens of thousands of people.
"The way my mind works alone makes it possible for me to trade the way I do. My knowledge of technical analysis is average at best. But what sets me apart is how well I know myself. What is your personal growth potential? Well, that is not determined by your level of knowledge, but by what you do with it. In this book, I want to describe how I became the trader I am today and how I managed to bridge the gap between my potential and my actual success."
Tom Hougaard
The book comes in a slightly larger format. The binding and cover are tastefully designed according to the publisher. There are no objections on my part.
The 25 euros for just under 300 pages is fine so far, even if it is not cheap. You can't expect a spectacular layout inside. There are no graphics, pictures or other highlighting, instead a surprising number of short paragraphs and lots of white on the pages. Not much effort has been put into the chapter transitions either.
The table of contents gives you some idea of what you can expect from the book in terms of language: in keeping with the target group, it is sometimes written in a coarse style, but at the very least it is crude. In my opinion, you can't even dismiss this with the US influence; it seems to be written in the typical "Macher" style.
The message of the book also becomes clear quite quickly:
"My book is the antidote, so to speak, to all the nonsense being spread on the trading field by charlatans who are 99 percent marketing savvy and only 1 percent trading savvy. They rattle out their message like a prayer wheel to unsuspecting listeners - who unfortunately buy their every word. But the worst part is that neither the speaker nor their audience realizes that they are only telling 10 percent of the whole story.
And now for the good news: my book is about aspects of trading that no one else will teach you, and I'll also tell you how to get to the top of the trading pyramid."
Tom Hougaard
In the end, it's always the same old story. One guru follows the next and they all call each other charlatans. Everyone thinks they have found the Holy Grail and is charitable enough to entrust it to us unsuspecting people for a certain fee.
For me, this is not only off-putting, it has become rather tiresome. Because anyone who reads as many books as I do is also familiar with the works of older supposed gurus who were bestsellers at the time. But now they have disappeared into oblivion. Perhaps because they thought they had found the Holy Grail. In the end, however, they have at least earned themselves a golden nose ...
You shouldn't expect too much in terms of content. The book covers a broad spectrum of trading, but does not really go into depth on any one point. Rather, it is a series of superficial and flippant descriptions. This can also be found in hundreds of other trading books. You will search in vain for a scientific foundation. However, you can feel the author's conviction for what he writes in every sentence.
In my opinion, a 5-page table of contents with less than 300 pages speaks volumes. It's all short and sweet and not very in-depth or analytical. In addition, the book only starts on page 31 after several prefaces and introductions.
Schlussendlich ist Best Loser Wins unfortunately a rather below-average trading book, so nothing that I can particularly emphasize, let alone recommend. You should only read it if you are resistant to delusions of grandeur and can extract the sometimes interesting content from it.