(I think this is an important and relevant topic so I've copied this over from ChitChat, I hope no-one minds!) On the contrary, it's extremely difficult to spot a fake statement. Apart from the non-chronological trade and order ID's (and of course trade sizes!) the CMC statement I posted could easily be genuine, no-one could tell unless they were able to verify it with the broker. If I had spent an additional 10 minutes this morning I could have put an extra 20 profitable trades on there, reasonable trade sizes, chronological Order and Trade ID's, and added a couple of finishing touches like obscuring the name and account details to make it look more authentic, voila, on paper I'm instantly the greatest trader since Jesse Livermore! 'Anyone want to buy my supa-dupa trading system, daily analysis, or signal service? Here's a statement to prove my trading prowess!' (Before anyone asks, no, I am definitely not selling, promoting, or endorsing anything, it's hypothetical!). Your journal relies solely on the authenticity of the statements you post. I'm not saying they're not 100% genuine but they need to be taken at face value. I'm slightly confused about the motivation behind your journal though (even more so since someone mentioned a link between you and B'n'B Analytics). Don't get me wrong, the journal could certainly be an inspiration to new traders and that's a good thing, but a new trader would not have developed the discipline necessary to be that consistent and it may make him feel inadequate and that's obviously not a good thing. You say your goal is to see if proper money management and discipline can turn a small amount into a large one. 'If'? I think we can all agree they certainly can, and the power of compounding has been demonstrated many many times, the 'Rule of 72' has been around for quite a while now
Is there really a link between allenhobbs and BnB Analytics? Would you mind providing a copy of the post, I never saw it. FTR, his journal appears to just be what it is, and while I agree with you that it is extremely easy to fake statements (paintbar and photoshop, anyone? ), I don't believe that is what he is doing.
Skepticism abounds, but I can't think of a better way then posting statements. If, however, at the end of the period anyone cares, I will post a letter from my broker attesting the results are authentic and anyone can feel free to call him and I will grant him permission to verbally confirm the results. (Of course, then some wiseguy will say that is a forgery also.) You are correct about my mission; however, I never represented it was an easy one and I even expressed some doubt myself whether I will get there. I think the reader can make his own conclusions whether or not my chances of success or the same as his. I don't think anyone in ET has done this before, so it does have some entertainment value as well.
Well, that's one believer. Thanks for going against conventional wisdom. Here on ET, you're damned if you do and damned if you don't.
Yes, the one Reaver created and is posting incessantly on any thread he can find. If you believe that is real and implicates me, then I would like to sell you a very special property at a bargain basement price--the Great Pyramid of Egypt and for a for bucks more, Ill throw in the Taj Mahal if India.
It's just the way the place is ... actually, it's how people are in all walks of life ... and I do mean all walks of life. Ultimately to me, trading is trading. So, good trading.
I totally agree. With the advent of photoshop and all the other programs out there, unless a broker verifies the info, then there is no point in posting a statement. It proves nothing. it is a total waste of time. There are people who have photoshopped pictures of themselves standing on top of the Statue of Liberty or jumping off a mountain, all kinds of things. Why would anyone think faking a statement would be any more difficult. You proved it yourself. That took you what, 10-15 minutes? Easily worth it for someone who is either setting up a vendor business (especially someone like BnB) or maybe is just sociopathic and wants attention in a meaningless world of internet message forums. People who act as if statements being posted on an internet forum amount to anything are either ignorant or deceptive. One of the two. On my journal trade ideas are discussed in advance and one can take the time to go back and see if they were correct if they feel like it. Hey it may not prove I took the trades, but neither would a photoshopped statement. You can't photoshop time, and posting your ideas in advance is about the best you can do when you don't have a broker available to confirm the trades. More importantly, the only reason posting statements, etc is necessary is if you're having a trading contest (which is definitely not happening with allenhobbs as we've seen how quick he is to run away from them), selling a service (Even BnB Analytics himself linked to his myspace page and now he denies it...hey whatever), or just sociopathic and want to garner attention from people you don't know from Adam (I have not ruled this out either). But even in the event that posting a statement is beneficial, it is useless without being audited by an uninterested third party. No way around it. I don't know of any other reason why posting a statement is helpful, or even remotely necessary. it certainly doesn't prove anything. Thanks for the post. Other should be aware of this, not even in regards to allenhobbs per se, but just in general of they are looking at other vendors, etc. Thank you for the great post.