Jesse Livermore

The greatest speculator in history. Livermore made and lost fortunes multiple times, turning $10,000 into $3M by age 26. His pivotal point theory — buying breakouts from price bases on the right side of the market — predated modern technical analysis by decades. He shorted the 1929 crash for $100M profit.

“The market does not beat them. They beat themselves, because though they have brains they cannot sit tight.”

• Never trade against the line of least resistance
• Wait for the pivotal point — patience is the key
• Never average a losing position
• The big money is made in the big swings
• Sit tight once in a winning trade
• Markets are never wrong — opinions often are