BestGuruEver, Glad to read that you seem to be open to look at the other side of the coin as well. But do not let the comments of the fine people here make you lower your guard. Your desire to get the most out of your money is legitimate, and is a good thing. I would also add that in this forum I would venture to say that there are mainly two types of readers (who will not be fooled): 1. Those who already make money. Their interest in educating themselves is to increase their profit margin. 2. Those who unfortunately burned their capital (and possibly their confidence). Such people do not have the capital and luxury to spend money on education, and will not be fooled even if they wished to. I started a blog in which I posted in real-time my trading calls. I have done it since June 08, and have some 200 trading posts in there. I did it to show people the possibilities and difficulties. Some asked me to enroll them in a trading signal because they did not want to wait a long time on the blog to see the trade calls done. I have not done the premium service because I am not sure that the readers are educated in trading, and I was not sure whether I want to be in this business in the first place. I put the topic to reflect on this coming year. Good of luck to you! Start in steps. Education, just survive, then some profits, increase profits, etc... Just like any other venture.
Top 3 worst Gurus and their storefronts. 1) Franz Shoar (Bulls Eye Traders) 2) Sam Baum (Edge Traders) 3) Alex Wasilewski (PureTick)
someone said: ............... Agree. There are all kinds of reasons that people teach, in some cases it can be pretty profitable, but in most cases the best teachers would do it for nothing. I think in the case of "trading systems" the very act of buying one of those done for you systems tells you how much the "trader" buying the product is actually willing to commit to the process of trading. Hog says: Sounds like someone is sending a subliminal message to buyers because said person is selling a product. Vendors are taking over this forum.
I guess I should provide a disclaimer for the blind, deaf and people who simply lack the ability to check into things for themselves: I'm not selling anything.
When I was learning to Box I had a 70 year old coach that was the best in the country. Just because someone can't trade doesn't mean they can't teach. That being said; I agree with OP that 95% of trading Guru's are bunk and fraud. The main problem is more a matter of styles vs. skill sets. There were MANY people that I learned from through the years, only to mesh it all into something that made sense to me.
I'm not buying any of these apples to orange analogies supporting the fact that unprofitable traders can make good teachers. The fact that someone can not make money trading would probably mean that they sure as hell cant teach trading.
Okay, I understand what you mean. But let's go a little further then what most people think what you need for being a 'good' trader. Most people think in "tell me what to do, show me how it is done, and I know I will do it in the same way and have succes" but reality is that 'learning' to be a trader (or any other profesion for that matter) is more then "show me what you do, and teach me so I can do it too". There are other aspects like how you think, what you believe, your experiences in the market untill now, and so on. All this makes that you will find succes when all parts are in line. Let me give you an example: Let's say that you are 'hurt' in the market, and that you do not want to lose again. You are searching for a 'guru' that makes money. You find somebody with a 'track' record. You use the method that you learned from the guru. You do your first trade, it hits the stoploss. You lose money. You think o well, this can happen. Next trade, it hits again the stoploss. Now you are thinking, because of your prior experiences in the market, sh*t, I followed everything the guru is telling me, and I still lose money. This is not good, I must find something else to 'learn'. But in reality you have a psychological problem about losses through your experiences with being hurt in the market. Instead of a trader you need somebody with a background in human thoughts and how to change them... And if the guru is not an expert in this field, you are lost... That is why 'good teachers' are different then profitable traders and vice versa. In my opinion, you are better of with somebody that can show you insights in yourself and help you understand how you think and how you act, then a guru that is teaching his 'method' to you with a trackrecord. What I'm going to say now can come to a shock for many future traders: 95% of every 'method' that is profitable, is known by the public. But most people can just not do it and think there is a 'secret' to it that they do not know. Well, the secret is you...
As I've always said the word 'mentor' used to mean something. Now it means NOTHING because it's been hijacked by the marketers.....