The 95% rule is about right but you have to do the reading to figure that out. Do as much as possible free. I trade highly liquid futures intraday contracts and options, no stocks yet. My trading style is to focus on just a few markets that are easier to interpret direction and trade successfully. I used to trade the emini S&P but it lost alot of liquidity and good 5 min patterns after '98. So I switched to oil and Tbonds. When I first started trading I borrowed a relative's copy of Ken Roberts basic futures trading book, (free). What I gleaned was the mechanics of futures trading and the idea to never follow anyone's trading advice. I think Ken made enough money on books to dispense with learning to trade. I spent 3 days at his Oregon conference room for new traders asking his counselors lots questions and listening to everything. I spent 6 hours daily for 2 years reading every trading book or article at all the bookstores in town. Browse alot, don't always buy. Read 95% of everything about trading and complete some trades with real money. You'll learn to throw 95% of what you read away and you'll get a sense for the difference between good trading info vs garbage. There is alot of free good material by some of the best traders on the net. Trading isn't easy but its not rocket science either. Success leaves clues and so do loosers who are cons..........Do your due diligence BEFORE you spend money by at least doing basic net (Google) research on the person or product. Ask for opinions on a few traders forums. I read through this forum for an hour/day and I just joined 3 days ago. There are many good traders here with "wisdom" about trading and biz matters in general that you can't find for sale. The best traders learn to use just a few tools every day very well and they keep learning. Like any business, it will cost some money to learn to trade. I spent thousands for real estate seminars and buying fixers in my early 20s and lived like a pauper to save for down payments and education. You'll need frequent motivation to become driven enough to make money at trading or any other independent endeavor so be sure and visit Wal-mart weekly to observe the employee workforce alternative. Now take some action !!!
Green: I agree with you. It takes effort, a thoughtful approach and patience to learn this game. A little luck wouldn't hurt as well. If you are interested, you may want to look at some of the charts I have posted. They show a method for trading the ES, that I continue to use today. Also there are several good threads from other ET members. If I remember correctly a thread called "ES Divergence" posted by an ET member whose handle was "nopmplease". You will find that it is worth you time to use the search function for items of interest. Good luck, Steve
STEVE46.... Thanks I will look at it. However, the market is indicating that trading oil futures is where one favored opportunity is. The Stock futures indexes have appeared to have been so choppy and directionless for many days at a time over the past months. But any trade that is profitable is the goal and I'm constantly observing many markets.
I didn't read the whole thread, but I'm very familiar with litigation and the trading industry. My honest advice to you is to lick your wounds and move on. You have paid a hefty price to learn not to buy a promise when it comes to trading. What you can buy, however, is a detailed agreement detailing your responsibilities and the trainer's as well as expectations and severance terms as well as waivers on both ends. Once you pay someone their full fee up front, there remains little incentive to give you 100% because his part is already in the bank. In the future (mainly for others reading this thread), if you happen to want to take this path, you should work out a payment schedule over time, if possible. Nobody would probably go for that and that is your hint to just learn it yourself. A lawyer will cost you more than twice what you paid to get your case through discovery and in front of a judge. That money could be spent just learning how to trade. Also, the trainer might have done his job but your failure to follow through has stopped you or your expectations couldn't be met. Good luck.
if you refuse to post the web site after all the assistance you have received on this thread, it says something about your charcter. if you fear retribution just admit it.
If what the thread-starter said was real, it would only be appropriate to warn your fellow traders so they don't make the same mistake and purchase the mentoring also. A possible reason is that maybe the course was real but he didn't have the discipline to follow it. And due to his own inability to trade, he needs someone to blame for his failure.
Questions and Comments: 1. In what State do you reside? 2. Where is the Seller located? If the Seller is a corporation or other legal entity, where is its place of incorporation/registration and its principal place of business? 3. Post a copy of the contract that you signed (if your contract was verbal, then state the EXACT promise made to you, and identify any evidence that you have that may support your statement of this promise). 4. If the Seller has a website, post the link. 5. Has the Seller modified any of his/her advertising since you made your purchase? 6. Exactly how much money did you pay the Seller? 7. Exactly how much money have you lost in the market as a direct result of following the Seller's advice? 8. Do you have evidence of your payment to the Seller (i.e., a check or statement or receipt)? 9. What EXACTLY did you receive for your money? You are continuing to be mislead at the moment. Just because you may have signed a contract releasing the Seller from liability, does not necessarily mean that the release is enforceable in court. If you are told by the Seller that you will absolutely make money using a system, and you can prove that the system did not make money, then unless the Seller can prove that the system does, in fact, make money, then any contrary promise is a misrepresentation of a material fact, intended to induce justifiable detrimental reliance, and causing damages, and you are entitled to seek rescission of the contract and restitution of all of your losses. Even if you release the Seller from liability for the system's failure, a release is only applicable to those things within the contemplation of the parties to the release. Being defrauded into entering into a contract is NOT one of those things that is contemplated by parties to a release (unless the release itself releases the Seller from any fraudulent act, and even then, such a release would need to be CLEAR AND CONSPICUOUS, otherwise it would almost certainly be deemed unconscionable and unenforceable by a court). Therefore, the release is not enforceable and it will not protect the Seller. I could go on, but, depending upon the number of people who may have been conned by this person, you may actually have a very viable case -- or you may not. You may also have a criminal fraud complaint, depending upon the nature of the promises made by the Seller. Of course, if the Seller has no assets to obtain restitution from, then you may have to be satisfied with having the person found guilty of fraud and imprisoned -- but, without knowing all of the facts of your case, no one can give you any reasonable advice.