159 of 165 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Poor editing but a great book, June 9, 2005
This review is from: ForeX Trading for Maximum Profit: The Best Kept Secret Off Wall Street (Hardcover)
Okay, first some background: I am new to trading forex but have been trading stocks and options for over 5 years. Aspects of the forex market are very intriguing (24 hour trading, a small 'universe' of currencies to watch vs. thousands of stocks/options, leverage, etc.) so I was looking for a book that would tell me more about the forex market and provide a good foundation to trade successfully.
Let me state from the outset that the editing indeed leaves much to be desired. Typos, letters or spaces left out and smallish charts that forces one to bring out a magnifying glass at times. But none of this has anything to do with the value of the content of the book. Anyone dismissing this book simply due to editing are 'missing the forest for the trees,' as the saying goes. But the minor editing blunders are unfortunate and are the reason for only 4 stars instead of 5.
Content pros:
a) Very bite-sized chapters help encapsulate topics nicely. You can focus on one thing at a time to insure that you 'get it' before moving on. And everything builds upon the preceding chapters fairly smoothly, so it works.
b) True to her premise, this is NOT another missive on all the possible technical indicators available to use. (If you want that, I suggest Murphy's tome on Technical Analysis.) Instead, she is clearly outlining some of the key tools that she uses to trade forex and provides adequate reasoning for her choices. She does not dismiss other indicators as not being useful - she simply seems to have found that following a simple system with these tools works for her. And I would have to agree that it is easy to become bogged down in 'indicator paralysis' and I find her simplicity refreshing.
c) For those commentators below that question whether she is a 'real' trader or whether her system can work, I would happily point out that the forex market uniquely offers a wonderful, NO COST way to find out for yourself! Unlike any stock broker that I know, you can open a demo account (or 3 or 5!) with any online forex broker and 1) learn how to execute a trade (it is different than stocks or options in some ways), 2) see whose `trading platform' you like the most AND, most importantly, 3) you can 'play along with Raghee' (or anyone else's strategy) as you read the book!
d) She does a very good job of defining trading styles (scalping, swing, momentum, etc.), links them to what markets that best apply (trending, sideways, etc.) and to which indicators fit each style and market the best. I have not seen any other author put the style, market conditions and tools together in such a clear manner.
e) She does a very commendable job in covering trade and account management. With the high leverage issues in forex, these issues become very critical, more so than with stocks and options. This is typically a boring area for most readers, but ignore it at your financial peril!
Content cons:
a) Other than the known gripes about small charts and some editing gaffs, I really do not have any significant `cons.' (But ask me again in a year once I have traded in a 'real' account for a while! The demo account is doing too well to leave unfunded!)
As you can tell, I highly recommend this book. If you are new to forex, you can buy many books for half the cost of this one, some that are a lot thicker, too! But I doubt that you can find a better book to help you become comfortable with the market, the 'whys' and 'hows' of trading forex, and perhaps most importantly, how to manage your trades and money in differing market conditions.
1. Buy this book.
2. Open a demo account (if you are not already active in forex)
3. 'Play' until you are ready!
What could be better?
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32 of 33 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Mixed Review of Horner's "Forex Trading for Maximum Profit", January 17, 2005
This review is from: ForeX Trading for Maximum Profit: The Best Kept Secret Off Wall Street (Hardcover)
After all of the hype that I read surrounding this book, I was pretty disappointed with its content. The charts too small to be read easily, and the spelling and punctuation errors were more than I cared for.
The book does give a brief overview of the Forex market, but I was hoping for something more. The author does do a good job of describing her method of trading the market. I must admit that while I was reading the book, I was thinking that her methods seemed just too simple to be effective. However, the day after I finished reading the book, I found and successfully traded both a swing trade and a momentum trade using her techniques. The results were a gain of 30 pips on the swing trade and 75 pips on the momentum trade! This book has definitely given me another way to look for trades and I will continue to follow her "Three-Step Setup".
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104 of 118 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Simple vs. simplistic, January 2, 2006
This review is from: ForeX Trading for Maximum Profit: The Best Kept Secret Off Wall Street (Hardcover)
Different traders have different styles. Some want a zillion confirming indicators before placing a trade, some prefer playing with indicators to trading, and some indulge in the fantasy of finding the "holy grail" system.
Personally, I've never found anything that beats good ole support and resistance, trendlines, and entering the "zone" by watching candlesticks form and candlestick formations. I pay my bills with Forex, and I trade against the indicators only slightly less often than I trade with them. I often forget to look at them at all because I'm focused on what is happening with the ... PRICE!
The problem with indicators is they tell you what has happened but they make you believe they can tell you what WILL happen. There is a world of difference between looking at a historical chart and watching one develop in real time. If you don't believe me, just place a default slow stochastic on a chart and watch the crosses develop. You'll lose a heap of money in no time at all. Then knock yourself out tweaking it according to any number of holy grail systems. You'll lose another heap of money.
Raghee's system is no different. It looks great on historical charts, but often fails to predict the future in real time.
Actually, it is fairly easy to predict where prices will go in general - assuming no strong support or resistance and no big news, they will usually continue merrily on in the direction they are going. Consequently, it's easy to get into a trade.
Getting out is the trick. And that trick is about experience, psychology, and money management more than prediction.
IMO, the truely reliable tools for trading Forex are simple -- S&R, trend, candle formation, PRICE PRICE PRICE. The systems based on indicators -- Raghee's included -- are simplistic, which is quite different from simple.
Kids, there ain't no free lunch. That's the bottom line.
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