Product Description

In this revised and expanded second edition of the bestselling Encyclopedia of Chart Patterns, Thomas Bulkowski updates the classic with new performance statistics for both bull and bear markets and 23 new patterns, including a second section devoted to ten event patterns. Bulkowski tells you how to trade the significant events -- such as quarterly earnings announcements, retail sales, stock upgrades and downgrades -- that shape todays trading and uses statistics to back up his approach. This comprehensive new edition is a must-have reference if you're a technical investor or trader. Place your order today.

"The most complete reference to chart patterns available. It goes where no one has gone before. Bulkowski gives hard data on how good and bad the patterns are. A must-read for anyone that's ever looked at a chart and wondered what was happening."
-- Larry Williams, trader and author of Long-Term Secrets to Short-Term Trading

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #45874 in Books
• Published on: 2005-05-02
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 1032 pages

Review
"Trading Classic Chart Pattern ist zusammen mit Encyclopedia of Chart Pattern der erste wirkliche Fortschritt seit der Basisarbeit, die von Edwards und Magee vor mehr als 50 Jahren geleistet wurde."
Der Aktive Trader, Nr. 10, Oktober 2002

From the Inside Flap
The Encyclopedia of Chart Patterns, recognized as the premier reference on chart pattern analysis, extends its lead with this Second Edition. This definitive text includes new bull and bear market statistics, performance sorted by volume shape and trend, more than a dozen additional chart patterns, and a new section covering ten event patterns. Significant events—such as earnings announcements, stock upgrades and downgrades—shape today's trading, and Bulkowski gives readers the best information on what happens after those events occur. He also shows you how to trade them and uses reliable statistics to back it all up.

In each chapter of Encyclopedia of Chart Patterns, Second Edition you'll learn the following about each pattern:

• Results Snapshot—A statistical summary of pattern behavior, including its performance rank, breakeven failure rate, average rise or decline—all separated by breakout direction and market type (bull or bear)
• Tour—A broad introduction to the pattern
• Identification Guidelines— Characteristics to look for
• Focus on Failures—What failed patterns look like, why they failed, and how to avoid them
• Statistics—The numbers and what they tell you, separated into bull/bear markets and breakout direction, including average rise or decline, failure rates, volume shapes, performance by size, and busted pattern performance
• Trading Tactics—Strategies to increase profits and minimize risk
• Sample Trade—Puts it all together, showing the chart pattern in action, with hypothetical or actual trades using real data
• For Best Performance—A table of selection tips to boost performance

Encyclopedia of Chart Patterns, Second Edition also includes summary tables ranking chart- and event-pattern performance for easy reference; a glossary; a chapter on methodology explaining what each statistical table entry means and how it was calculated; and a visual index to make chart pattern identification a snap.

The result is today's most comprehensive and valuable technical analysis reference—one that will save you critical time in identifying chart patterns and increase your likelihood of buying near the price bottom and selling near the top.

From the Back Cover
Praise for encyclopedia of chart patterns, SECOND EDITION

"The most complete reference to chart patterns available. It goes where no one has gone before. Bulkowski gives hard data on how good and bad the patterns are. A must-read for anyone that's ever looked at a chart and wondered what was happening."
—Larry Williams, trader and author of Long-Term Secrets to Short-Term Trading

"Chart patterns are the basics behind most trading methods, and this book is a great achievement in a highly useful format. Bulkowski has taken an intelligent and thoughtful approach to producing a practical guide to understanding and trading chart formations."
—Perry Kaufman, author of New Trading Systems and Methods and A Short Course in Technical Trading

Praise for the First Edition

"Not since Edwards and Magee has someone put together so comprehensive an assemblage of market behavior expressed graphically. No chartist should be without this book."
—John Sweeney, Interim Editor Technical Analysis of Stocks & Commodities

"Encyclopedia of Chart Patterns . . . is a valuable contribution to the existing literature on charting and should be considered an indispensable reference by any serious chart trader."
—Edward D. Dobson, President, Traders Press, Inc.

"Meticulously researched, complete, and insightful, the Encyclopedia has earned a permanent place on my trading desk as a highly valued resource."
—Thomas A. Bierovic, Manager, Strategy Testing & Development, Omega Research, Inc.

Customer Reviews

Regarding inaccurate statistics
I don't even know Mr. Bulkowski, but I felt compelled to write this review. One particular reviewer points out a few apparent discrepancies in this 672 page volume of research. It does not matter whether you are an author or have been published in trading-related magazines.

The reviewer sarcastically poses that since the "rectangle bottom" stats on page 659 portray a zero faulure rate, that traders can get rich and never lose money!

If you truly read the entire text, including Mr. Bulkowski's opening remarks that define his fresh statistical-analysis approach, then everything falls into place.

Furthermore, the author addresses the "zero loss stat" for the rectangle formation on pages 440 and 444. He states that the "sample size" was small for this pattern and said: "Let me emphasize that because I did not find any failures of rectangle patterns with upside breakouts does not mean there are none."

This is a good and comprehensive book with a very fresh statistical approach for analyzing classic (and newer) bar chart formations. There is a wealth of information addressing each of the many patterns. It is offered up to the reader as copious amounts of quantified data that any trader/investor can draw from to incorporate into his or her own trading.

I too am an author, and I trade stocks full-time for a living. This book is a great resource and fits in the top 15 T.A. books of which I own roughly 300.

Yeah, he called a "dogi" a "hanging man." To me that doesn't detract from the other 671 pages.

Buy it, read it and use it!

Essential, an authentic classic
I have been using statistical techniques for many years and thought most "patterns" are mostly in the eye of the beholder. I have yet to see a head-and-shoulders. But some patterns are so obvious that recently I have looked for definitions and explanations. This author not only provides them, but also has done the heavy lifting of testing 500 securities over 5 years in order to say how often each pattern is successful, how much you are likely to make from it, etc. This has never been done before and is very useful. "Encyclopedia" went to my top 10 technical analysis list in the first ten minutes I had it. It will be the most dog-eared book since Edwards and Magee.

A stunning achievement, a classic
This book is a must-have for anyone interested in technical analysis, whether just starting out or more experienced. It is a thorough review of patterns not seen since Edwards and Magee (1948) and deserves the name "encyclopedia". The author takes a scientific approach and does not make "claims" for one pattern or another, as a critical reviewer states. He clearly acknowledges that patterns, as with any technical method, only indicate, they do not dictate, and we are always working with probabilities. The back-testing that yields statistics on pattern performance (failure rate, average gain, etc.) is useful, but best of all is the absolutely clear description of the patterns with identification guidelines. Of the 100 or so books on technical analysis on my bookshelf, this is far and away the most-consulted. I have been using statistics-based technical analysis for over 20 years (moving averages, stochastics, and the like), but increasingly see patterns like double tops, triangles, etc. This book is an invaluable adjunct to software-generated statistics-based technical analysis. I am a professional financial writer on technical analysis as well as a money manager.