This is by far the best statement I've read on this thread. People read the above statement and really think about what has been said...
Er that statement is something a week old trader would know, not that it is relevant to a small retail trader who is trading a discretionary system. Can I ask anyone who does not intend to read and trade based on Al's Brooks to stop posting. Thanks.
First of all, I dislike "true" price action trading being equated to a 5-minute chart with a squiggly line (!) on it. The best books on price action trading were written over a century ago. All these new guys are just regurgitating old words of wisdom on the art of speculation. Secondly, Mr. Brooks doesn't even do a good job of capturing the essence of price action. In fact, the title, "Bar by Bar", itself shows a fundamental lack of understanding the underlying principles. I find it quite odd that a (presumably) successful trader has the time to write 4 books in 4 years, operate a chat room and have time for workshops at various trading expos. However, I can't claim to know anything about what Mr. Brooks does with his own trading account. Assuming he even has one, of course... When one has a clear understanding of something, it is usually easy to explain it in a straightforward manner. Livermore's book was about 100 pages, yet Brooks needs to write four volumes? His book(s?) are not difficult to read because the concepts of price action are difficult to grasp, that has to be said. The fundamental principles are very simple, being able to execute them in real-time is where the problem, for most, lies. I think there are two different discussions here. Some, I think, claim that price action trading is impossible in itself, others are arguing that Brooks' book is not the best way to learn such trading. As price action trading is an intuitive process, most will never succeed at it. It might be easy to some, but it is disingenuous to claim that just reading Brooks' book is all that it takes. In fact, I would claim that for those suited for this kind of trading, reading books are hardly necessary at all. It's all about how the brain processes information. A few books on general financial theory and market microstructure might be helpful, though. I simply find it funny that (relatively) new traders try to establish Brooks as the go-to source for price action trading, when many have traded based on PA for years before anyone even knew who Mr. Brooks was...
that's where you are mistaken..I OWN a copy of "reading price charts bar by bar"...and I HAVE read the book front to back However, I'm done here as I have lost approximately 10 worthless minutes of my life that I will never get back..
No one "holds" the highly effective price action method of trading. The reason it works through all market conditions is because you're learning to interpret the meaning of price bars (hence the phrase "bar by bar") and the context in which they print so that as an individual retail trader you can ride the coattails of the institutional money that moves price. Institutional traders/investors (investment banks, mutual funds, and hedge funds) have to accumulate, distribute and hedge large positions over relatively long periods of time. This creates price swings in many short term time frames (from several minutes to several hours to several days). Retail day traders and short term swing traders aren't trying to enter and exit positions consisting of millions of shares or tens of thousands of contracts, so price action will always work because they're looking to capture pieces of price swings or trending moves in a short time frame and these swings are created by the big players looking to accumulate and distribute very large positions over longer time frames. Anyone who's studied price action, put in the research to develop and test his or her own detailed trading plan understands this and is benefiting from it consistently. This is no delusion (though the consistent profitability often seems surreal). I've posted on ET many live trades, charts/explanations and trade blotters demonstrating price action trading using a 5-min time frame with a 1-min cross-reference. I also spend hours on the phone with price action traders sharing ideas and if we're all sharing a delusion I've no problem with that because it's a delusion that pays the bills.
I have no problem with the above, but I will tell you what I have a problem with. Explaining what must be done does not take hundreds of cryptic pages. In fact it does not even take thousands of hours to understand it either like so many claim. It might take tens of thousands to actually find out what must be done but to explain it is a much more easier feat. Teaching proper execution and discipline though, now that's an odyssey. Crazy A
Are you talking about his latest books? Everyone agrees and Al himself admitted his original book was hard to read. His new books are not cryptic, but from what I have read of the first one, they are very very detailed. I prefer too much detail then not enough as you have less chance of missing something.
I think he is talking about anyone complicating the explanation of Price Action but could be wrong. FoN