"Markets. They go up. They go down. How difficult can it be?"
Sally Nicoll begins her spread betting journey with magnificently misplaced optimism. Join her on this rollercoaster ride to hardened pessimist - and wised-up realist.
Funny, frank, factual
Should we be afraid that in the digital era, anyone with a broadband connection and a few hundred pounds can gatecrash the elite world of City traders - even if, like Sally Nicoll, they are numerically dyslexic?
Sally is looking for a source of extra cash to fund a sabbatical while she writes a novel, and decides spread betting is the answer. She tries to open an account with Finspreads - "their web site has the best colour scheme" - only to discover she's been credit blacklisted. Instead of being thankful for divine intervention, she complains to the marketing department and is hired to write an online trading blog.
Bets and the City is based on Sally's enormously popular column for Finspreads. In between the funny bits, there's some really useful information:
- Never take a holiday in Cornwall when you're speculating on sterling against the dollar
- Why you should resist the temptation to be kind to your mother
- Sensible advice from the man who lost $10 million in a single trading session
- Why women make better traders than men
- The simple trade that enables you to turn your computer into a cash register
Sally's romp through the City, combined with her anecdotes of hanging out in celebrity-studded Primrose Hill, will appeal to investors, gamblers, and anyone who enjoys playing with money. And prepare to be entertained by Sally's spread betting accomplice, a Jack Russell called Dow Jones...
This is a great book for Christmas. Well written, highly enjoyable and full of wisdom, hidden behind frivolity and Bridget Jonesesque wit.
The book is a diary that describes the journey author Sally Nicoll takes from her introduction to trading, in the form of spread betting, through the losing phases, which we are all familiar with, until she starts to make consistent profits.
Experienced traders will smile when they relive their early days in the markets. Those starting out will enjoy and benefit from the experiences of one of their peers.
On her journey Sally encounters five "gurus" (her words not mine) one of whom she says has good legs - although modesty forbids me to reveal the identity of this fine figure of masculinity. Each guru completes a piece in the trading puzzle and from her initial random and chaotic spread betting forays Sally Nicoll slowly develops a methodology and the discipline to operate it.
The book is unique in its style and is certainly the most enjoyable "trading" book I have read. It may well make the jump to the mainstream and I could even see a film coming out of it at some point.
It is also interesting how Sally progresses down the road of fear and greed.
Here are a few quick samples to set the tone:
- Sally discovers chart patterns (page 49)
"...I know I should be reporting that I have achieved this after careful study of the chart patterns. I'm meant to be able to identify:
-- Double Tops - This doesn't mean you have scored 40 playing darts. It's when you look at the chart and see what looks like two mountain peaks. Or the price moving in a pattern like the letter M. This means the price is likely to fall. Apparently.
-- Double Bottoms - Nothing to do with our obesity epidemic. They're the opposite of double tops. So either you spot them by standing on your head or you're looking for the letter W. This signals that the price is about to go up. Allegedly.
-- Head and shoulders - Not the shampoo to banish dandruff. If you peer carefully at the chart..."
Sally discovers what trading is all about (page 85)
"...A couple of hours later I'm 67 points up.
-- I adjust my stop-loss to lock in some profit, and ensure that the worst that can happen is I end up with a tenner. (FEAR)
-- But, then again, why take the risk. I sell the trade with a profit of £33.50. (GREED)
-- Next time I check, the price is still rising. (PISSED OFF)
I place a new buy trade..."
However Sally remains in "greed" mode until she hits her "wipe out" trade.
"...Back in London I am now down a total of £1700 (34%). I realise I am now locked deep into the Ostrich position: head in the sand; not wanting to know, and starting to experience something very like morning sickness whenever I check the status of my trades."
We have all been there - we all know that feeling. If you are a trader and you haven't yet then it is a joy yet to come. One of the great things about this book is that it's written by a trader as she develops her skills. The only other book written in that way that I know of is my own.
Most books on trading are written by those who have reached the pinnacle of their career and they tend to skip over embarrassing trades that may have wiped them out. This is a disservice to their readers as such trades are the building blocks of risk control and money management which become the foundation stones of any successful trading approach.
In 'Bets and the City' you get warts and all - you get to see what it is really like when you start out.
Now that is worth a lot, but one of the best things about this book is the price: it is only £9.99. What's more, if you buy the book, a well known spread betting company will top up a new account with £50!
Sally Nicoll has also produced a web site that includes a witty, animated book trailer plus a blog. Take a look at www.sallynicoll.com
Bets and the City is published by Harriman House Cr Hawthorne
Contents of Bets and the City
1. In which my dad teaches me the Golden Rule of gambling
2. To make £1 million, all I need is a computer and an Internet connection
3. I am rash, but not stupid
4. I trade my entire knowledge for one cup of coffee
5. The meaning of stop-loss leverage And an offer I must refuse
6. Thirteen advantages of spread betting - but only one company for my account
7. An inauspicious start - I am accused of a criminal past
8. I prove my innocence, open my Finspreads account and win something for a rainy day
9. The Welshman invites me to write about my new life as a novice spread better
10. Mr. Big's Top Ten Tips And why you should never be kind to your mother
11. My first trades reveal if I am a chicken or a pig
12. Random trading for less than the minimum wage
13. Commonsense spread betting wins me pretty new underwear and two free tanks of petrol
14. How my next spread bet is prompted by a Japanese fighting dog
15. In which I almost make £900 - but it all goes horribly wrong
16. Behind the scenes in the dealing room - so near yet so far from the customer who's £750,000 in profit
17. Trader's block and a four-legged Dow Jones
18. Expert advice takes me in a new direction
19. What happens when I ignore expert advice?
20. Why I decide to dump my biggest winner
21. There's a market worth $1.5 trillion a day I'll have some of that!
22. A series of unfortunate events
23. Making money from the Government
24. Is this the darkest hour?
25. I give up spread betting and make a new friend
26. The Welshman's final words of encouragement help me back to winning ways
27. I have nine winning trades. Does it really matter if we don't know what's driving the market?
28. Do women make better traders than men?
29. My New Year Trading Plan And tragic news about the Google share price
30. I do well enough to start dreaming about villas in the South of France - and a yacht
31. Pride comes before a fall
32. I am commanded from beyond the grave to continue my trading education
33. I finally get the hang of spread betting And make nineteen successive winning trades
34. Pride comes before a fall (Part 11)
35. Sensible advice from a man who lost $10m - in a single day
36. My spread betting secret is out!
37. 40% profit in six months
38. In which I have my head examined
39. I find my spread betting methodology tattooed on human flesh
40. Madness in my methodology?
41. In which I turn my computer into a cash register
42. The Four Pillars of Trading Strategy
43. I attend Traders' University
44. I break the Traders University rules - and the promise of imminent wealth is dangled before me
45. In which I stop gambling and begin to trade
46. Sex, lies and Paul McCartney
About Sally Nicoll
Sally Nicoll has a ready-made fanbase, and the word is about to spread a whole lot wider. Before squandering her fortune on financial trading and novel writing, she spent many years as an advertising copywriter, persuading people how - and where - to spend their money.
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