Rating: 
- Below average, disappointed
Was looking forward to this book since I found some systems using BBs. However, was less than impressed. Nothing new, especially for someone that the indicator is named after. Lots of references to his websites too. Squeeze play-expect a move after period of low volatility, yep, nothing new. But, no good discussion on how to implement strategy to capitilize on squeeze. You'll learn more from the following tips than this book,
1. If price touches a rising lower Bollinger Bands (long) or a falling upper Bollinger Bands (short) in the traded time frame, that is a safe entry point.
2. If price touches a lateral (flat) Bollinger Bands and is also touching (or nearly touching) a lateral Bollinger Bands in a higher time frame, that is safe entry for trade in opposite direction.
3. If price touches lateral lower Bollinger Bands (for long) and lower Bollinger Bands on higher time frame is distinctly rising, that is a safe long entry (reverse for short).
4. If price touches lower Bollinger Bands and MACD and/or stochastic on higher time frame is showing long, that is safe long entry.
Rating:
- Who Better to Explain Bollinger Bands...
Of all the main stream technical indicators, it is safe to say that Bollinger Bands are perhaps the least understood. But they can become part of an arsenal of highly useful technical tools for those who have learned how to properly apply them and one good way to get a running start is to read his latest book, Bollinger on Bollinger Bands. Not only does the book provide some very useful background information on how they came to be, it is an opportunity to hear from the master himself how he uses the bands to best effect. According to Bollinger, one pattern that he calls the Squeeze (a topic on which he spends a whole chapter) draws more questions than any other aspect of Bollinger Bands. As he describes it, his bands "are driven by volatility, and The Squeeze is a pure reflection of that volatility." (Excerpt from Investopedia.com with permission.)
After reading the book, I developed a scan to find stocks that are getting the Squeeze and it works pretty well. Sure enough, a stock that has shown a period of declining volatility, generally breaks out with a bang shortly after reaching a low extreme. The trick is then trying to determine which way. Bollinger includes a number of tips and indicators in the book to help the trader figure that out too.
This book is for anyone who has ever looked at Bollinger bands and tried to understand how to use them as well as those who do use them now but want to get some more great ideas. It is not a difficult read and is actually very well written (I am always surprised by traders who have been steeped in mathematics and technicals like John B. who can also write well.) He is obviously an excellent communicator and this fact comes through loud and clear in his book.
Bollinger on Bollinger Bands is well worth the money. It is also a chance to hear the master who we see on CNBC and in the Wall Street Journal express his ideas and views on markets and how to profit from them. That alone, makes this book worth reading.
Matt Blackman - Technical Writer/Reviewer Email: matt@tradesystemguru.com
---------------------------------------------------------------
Contributor to Stocks & Commodities Magazine, Working Money, Traders.com Advantage, Active Trader, Traders Mag (Europe) and SFO Magazine
Rating:
- Best book ever on technical analysis...it really works
I've been using this book's theory to trade options online and I am averaging 67% per month. A key component of his book is to use fractal market analysis ...different time frames.
Bollinger Bands work better than any other indicator around.
Rating: - First Rate
An excellent book on both trading in general and the construction, logic, and use of Bollinger Bands.
Rating:
- The meat is missing
Bollinger gives a very nice historical perspective of the evolution to Bolly Bands but how he made the jump from incorpoating the internal daily range to externally applied stdevs isn't really discussed other than he 'felt so'. Well I think is an important part of the story and withtout that tidbit it looks like was just trying to find a shortcut for his spreadsheet & do something unique.
The ideas he has are valuable but throughout the book one wonders why Bolly Bands & not StdError or Projection Bands? Why Bolly Bands and not Channels with their implied daily range of volatility? Putting Bolly Bands with indicators is helpful in explaining this though I think it woulb be more valuable to see some of the applications.
In the end though, I felt that Bollinger was trying to sell me his website ...& not really give me all the information I needed to make my own decision. Bollinger did make a good case that some type of bands might be valuable but he did not make a strong case that it should be Bolly ones. The book is of limited use though it could expand your horizons on the whole Bands/Channel topic.
- Below average, disappointedWas looking forward to this book since I found some systems using BBs. However, was less than impressed. Nothing new, especially for someone that the indicator is named after. Lots of references to his websites too. Squeeze play-expect a move after period of low volatility, yep, nothing new. But, no good discussion on how to implement strategy to capitilize on squeeze. You'll learn more from the following tips than this book,
1. If price touches a rising lower Bollinger Bands (long) or a falling upper Bollinger Bands (short) in the traded time frame, that is a safe entry point.
2. If price touches a lateral (flat) Bollinger Bands and is also touching (or nearly touching) a lateral Bollinger Bands in a higher time frame, that is safe entry for trade in opposite direction.
3. If price touches lateral lower Bollinger Bands (for long) and lower Bollinger Bands on higher time frame is distinctly rising, that is a safe long entry (reverse for short).
4. If price touches lower Bollinger Bands and MACD and/or stochastic on higher time frame is showing long, that is safe long entry.
Rating:
- Who Better to Explain Bollinger Bands...Of all the main stream technical indicators, it is safe to say that Bollinger Bands are perhaps the least understood. But they can become part of an arsenal of highly useful technical tools for those who have learned how to properly apply them and one good way to get a running start is to read his latest book, Bollinger on Bollinger Bands. Not only does the book provide some very useful background information on how they came to be, it is an opportunity to hear from the master himself how he uses the bands to best effect. According to Bollinger, one pattern that he calls the Squeeze (a topic on which he spends a whole chapter) draws more questions than any other aspect of Bollinger Bands. As he describes it, his bands "are driven by volatility, and The Squeeze is a pure reflection of that volatility." (Excerpt from Investopedia.com with permission.)
After reading the book, I developed a scan to find stocks that are getting the Squeeze and it works pretty well. Sure enough, a stock that has shown a period of declining volatility, generally breaks out with a bang shortly after reaching a low extreme. The trick is then trying to determine which way. Bollinger includes a number of tips and indicators in the book to help the trader figure that out too.
This book is for anyone who has ever looked at Bollinger bands and tried to understand how to use them as well as those who do use them now but want to get some more great ideas. It is not a difficult read and is actually very well written (I am always surprised by traders who have been steeped in mathematics and technicals like John B. who can also write well.) He is obviously an excellent communicator and this fact comes through loud and clear in his book.
Bollinger on Bollinger Bands is well worth the money. It is also a chance to hear the master who we see on CNBC and in the Wall Street Journal express his ideas and views on markets and how to profit from them. That alone, makes this book worth reading.
Matt Blackman - Technical Writer/Reviewer Email: matt@tradesystemguru.com
---------------------------------------------------------------
Contributor to Stocks & Commodities Magazine, Working Money, Traders.com Advantage, Active Trader, Traders Mag (Europe) and SFO Magazine
Rating:
- Best book ever on technical analysis...it really worksI've been using this book's theory to trade options online and I am averaging 67% per month. A key component of his book is to use fractal market analysis ...different time frames.
Bollinger Bands work better than any other indicator around.
Rating:
- First RateAn excellent book on both trading in general and the construction, logic, and use of Bollinger Bands.
Rating:
- The meat is missingBollinger gives a very nice historical perspective of the evolution to Bolly Bands but how he made the jump from incorpoating the internal daily range to externally applied stdevs isn't really discussed other than he 'felt so'. Well I think is an important part of the story and withtout that tidbit it looks like was just trying to find a shortcut for his spreadsheet & do something unique.
The ideas he has are valuable but throughout the book one wonders why Bolly Bands & not StdError or Projection Bands? Why Bolly Bands and not Channels with their implied daily range of volatility? Putting Bolly Bands with indicators is helpful in explaining this though I think it woulb be more valuable to see some of the applications.
In the end though, I felt that Bollinger was trying to sell me his website ...& not really give me all the information I needed to make my own decision. Bollinger did make a good case that some type of bands might be valuable but he did not make a strong case that it should be Bolly ones. The book is of limited use though it could expand your horizons on the whole Bands/Channel topic.