Trading is a life experience, it is not like any other business. As you become a better trader, you become a better person. But as you evolve it is difficult to look back at where you were. I believe this is why there are no other books which cover all the ground. Those traders who do make it often “forget” how they got there, not surprisingly, as a lot of the skills become subconscious. However, John has always combined his trading with writing about markets. This has given him a fairly unique insight and forced him to express personal matters which other traders just assume. It has also forced him to more carefully examine the precise process involved in becoming a successful trader. It is solely through this process that John Piper “discovered” the Trading Pyramid. This is the first attempt to create a model for trading success and traders will find it immensely useful. So not only does this book take the trader right through from the beginning to the end result (trading profits, lots of them!) it also provides a framework against which to work.

If you are an individual trader, whether a novice or experienced, you will benefit from reading this book because:

1 Trading the futures and options markets leads to a greater compounding of wealth than any other method available. Billions have been made in days on many occasions, and will be made again. Nothing else comes close.

2 It is possible to make money in the markets consistently. It is possible to beat the market. The author, John Piper, among many others, has done it. To do the same you need to follow a proven methodology which suits your personality. This book explains how.

3 This book also sets out a number of proven methodologies, giving you a head start in selecting the one which will work for you.

4 But it also goes a lot further. John Piper wrote this book because he had never come across a book which deals with the whole issue of trading. There are many books which deal with market analysis, and technical analysis techniques. There are many books which deal with psychology. There are books which deal with money management and all manner of other subjects, some even cover a range of topics. But no other book covers it all, from a successful philosophy of trading, through all the psychology, into the methodologies, the operation thereof, and the end result.

5 It is rare to find a book which appreciates that it is no good doing it “how I say.” We each have to find our own route to success. This book spells out why that is, and how to do it. That is what The Way to Trade is all about.

6 The futures and options markets offer the biggest potential for growth, far more than is offered by stock markets. The people who really make it big do so in these markets. Perhaps more importantly you can make money whether markets go up or down. In coming years this may be important.

Fascinated? You should be, and anyone who is into money, and wants lots more of it should check out this book. Rich or poor, working or retired, there is something for everyone in these pages.

I have been trading futures and options markets for over a decade. I now manage money and make good consistent profits. So what I have to say about markets has been forged in the fire of market action itself. I have suffered the highs and the lows which all traders experience on the road to success. This book is unique in that it takes the reader right through the trading process and it also uses a model, the trading pyramid, which explains the process and the inter-relation between the component parts. The key component for successful trading is the underlying philosophy of trading and this is what so many books and seminars ignore. There is so much written and spoken about analysis but that is such a small part of the game. Good trading is not a question of doing, it is a question of being. This book is dedicated to those who want to become good traders. Analysis and trading technique are useless to those who have not gone through this process.

Having dealt with the underlying philosophy, we then move onto specific trading techniques and the underlying analysis which builds those techniques. I do not believe that analysis is used correctly by the vast majority of those who risk capital in worldwide markets. Analysis is not for use on markets, it is solely to devise your methodology/ approach to the market. You must devise this methodology and then use it. Thus you become an expert in its application and then the money flows your way. But you must have your own methodology; it is no good being spoon fed something by the currently “hot” guru. This is very unlikely to suit your trading personality. This book tells you how to develop your own methodology and explains the feedback process within the pyramid that will make it work for you.

Most people lose in the markets for one simple reason – they trade emotionally. When traders understand the problem they improve by becoming mechanical. This is a big improvement but it is still not enough. To be truly successful you have to become intuitive, and this simply means you become an expert in what you do – something you achieve through experience. It is this path I chart in this book. I think you will enjoy it. Don’t accept anything in this book at face value. It is an essential part of a trader’s development to carefully consider all aspects of the market and his individual approach to it. Some of the statements made in this book are deliberately provocative and designed to ferment that process.

So don’t accept anything, think about it, draw your own conclusions, and thus create your own useful beliefs about markets and your methodology. The key word is ‘useful’; your beliefs and techniques must prove their usefulness in producing lots of lovely profits. Finally I must say that there are various lessons in trading which become particularly relevant at particular times during our progress towards success. For this reason you may find that parts of this book do not seem relevant to you the first time you read it. But they may well do so on a subsequent reading. This is a book which may repay frequent readings!