This book presents you with a new and fresh approach to the usually very technical and boring subject of direct-access trading. The Author's "Keep It Simple Stupid" approach enables you to learn about the Securities industry and, more important, the life as a professional trader with ease. You receive an entertaining insight on the Author's perspective. To round things up you are introduced to the very strategy that gave this book its name Hopscotch, of which the Author claims that it so easy to apply that even a child could be successful with it. A brief excursion into various other trading strategies and an extensive Appendix with explanations about Technical Analysis and Industry lingo give the book a neat balance between entertaining and educating its reader.

Matthias Thoma, born in Germany in 1968, has been involved in the financial industry since 1988. In 1997 he left Europe and severed his institutional ties to the industry to explore new opportunities as a trader in North America. To this day he is actively involved in direct-access trading, one-on-one training, and development of decision-support software for the industry.