the guy makes his living writing books about traders who trade for a living. in that respect, he's very much worth reading, just so you can see what other traders went through on their path to becoming consistently profitable. jake himself has never successful earned his living as a trader a single day of his life ... he's just play'in the game with his seminars
"Frequently, the range will be 10 basis points or more. In e-mini S&P (which is one-fifth the size of the full S&P contract), this translates into a $500 daily range. Most daytraders new to the game are laboring under the false impression that a small stop loss will protect them from big losses. Think about it. If the daily trading range is $500, then a $250 stop loss is likely to be hit, unless your timing is almost perfect." OK, let me get this straight. Jake is going to teach me to daytrade, and half the average daily range is too tight for a stop??? That means on an average day the odds MUST be stacked against me making a profit. So Jake interviews the world's top traders, and his conclusion is half the daily range is too tight for a stop?? Oh boy!
Jake B's article mentions starting out with e-mini contracts etc. OK for the well off starter but for most people who want a bit of the action and learn over a longish period I would suggest a much cheaper method. For an opening account of $500 one can have months of practice and fun. I think most people are terrifed of losing their starting fund in one or two deals. This can easily happen to the unwary. A busted account often means the end of the trading dream, a huge dent in ones ego and recriminations from wife, self etc. Be sensible and get loads of practice and fun ( no sleepless nights etc.) by opening an account with a spreadbet firm and betting say $1 a point on the S&P500. Finspreads.com is the lowest bet size company I have come across. They even do a specially small deal for beginners - about 1 penny ( 1 cent ) a point.Wins are small but so are losses. This is most beginner's most vulnerable time. Imagine small cubs in the wild and you start to get the picture. When you have found your trading legs then up the bet size or go for more exotic instruments like options, online brokers etc. Good luck and good hunting
u are better off tradin' etfs; those companies are run by crooks determined to make u lose at all costs and the spread is stuck against u big time. i see no good reason to trade against 'em, cuz that's what u do when u open a pos at a bucketshop.
I welcome all comments about Trading, even Jakes. A Confident Trader should be like a sponge when it comes to perfecting your system. You have to decide on how much you want to spend in time and money to become a Trader. If $4600 fits your budget and your spinning your wheels, go for it. Eventually, you will have to develop your own system to trade that is reflective of your Trading Profile. Personally. I think he probably does have some good ideas, but for $4600, he should stay in my guest room for a month and trade with me during the day.
The following link should shed a little light on this type of predator: http://www.nfa.futures.org/basicnet/Case.aspx?entityid=0001782&case=96BCC00015&contrib=NFA Or you could go to the National Futures Association web site and under the "Compliance" drop down chose "Firms Disciplined for Sales Practice Fraud" and scroll down to Bernstein's firm "MBH Commodity Advisors Inc" Thought you should know...Cramer's site must be desperate to grab folks like this for commentary.
---------------------------------------------- The following link should shed a little light on this type of predator: http://www.nfa.futures.org/basicnet...015&contrib=NFA ----------------------------------------------- Wow paulae: If this is one and the same, sure reads bad. Are you sure it is the same man? "Use of Deceptive Promo Matter - MissStatement of Fact - BERNSTEIN'S CONDUCT IS INCONSISTENT WITH JUST AND EQUITABLE PRINCIPLES OF TRADE- Fraudulent... etc.- Fine $200000".
He is one in the same...these jokers reappear every time the market getting juiced...I guess one could use it as some sort of indicator. What's more Jake has a follow-up in today's realmoney.com...this time subtly promoting his products... hmmm
I doubt his 5pt SP stop will be able to get him back in the black any time soon, but judging by the NFA advisory I'm sure we haven't heard the last of Ol' Jake. The article was hilarious to start but the NFA website made this thread more than worth it.