Customer Reviews

Mastering the Currency Market: Forex Strategies for High and Low Volatility Markets

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I trade futures, stocks and options, with futures now making up the bulk of my trading. I am very interested in learning currencies and gaining additional flexibility in my trading. I came across this book and saw it was a new publication so I pre-ordered. I assumed it would have the latest inside information on currencies and how best to trade them. After the all, the title is "Mastering the Currency Market, Forex Strategies for High and Low Volatility Markets". I have to say that I was sorely disappointed.

The editorial review says the book is divided into these sections:

* The basics of trading currencies
* Fundamental analysis of price valuation
* Technical analysis and trading charts
* Trading philosophy and psychological discipline
* Volatility and risk management

The first 2 sections are the only parts of the book that offer anything unique to currencies. And out of a 292-page book, these sections end after only the first 48 pages. The rest of the book is a basic technical analysis indicator training manual with some candlestick signals thrown in the mix. Starting with simple candlesticks, covering basic chart patterns and looking at multiple time frames for trade confirmation. The book ends with a short treatise on psychology and trading journals, subjects that have entire works dedicated solely to them. There are no unique "Forex" strategies, just basic technical analysis education.

Chapter 1 discusses the basics, names of currency pairs, market times, etc.

Chapter 2 although seemingly lacking real depth may give the most insight to someone interested in mastering currencies. It discusses economic factors affecting currencies and the price movement. There is a handy chart showing economic reports and the usual effect they have on individual currencies.

There is no detailed insight to the individual currency trading instruments or to the Forex market in general. Interesting, the title suggests strategies for high and low volatility. Looking in the book's index, volatility is discussed on one page, in one small paragraph, and it is a less than an introductory discussion. Which Forex strategies work best in which type of market? Where are the high and low volatility examples? What are the best pairs to trade? How do we hedge? Is there any currency correlation? We may never know.

It would have been simpler for the authors to write the first 2 chapters and then add a page that says, "Apply standard technical indicator trading techniques to the currency market." and end the book there.

If you were a beginner trader, I would say you could add this to your library. However there are hundreds, maybe thousands of technical analysis books on the market, many better than this. We surely do not need another one.

Perhaps a better name for the book would have been "A Beginners Guide to Technical Analysis: With some Forex pairs used as examples." Had that been the name, I would have saved myself the return shipping. 2 stars for basic technical analysis, 1 star for any real Forex insight.

One thing to take in account on all Amazon reviews. Reviewers who have only reviewed the item you are researching should be subject to suspicion. Click on the username to see if the reviewer has any history on Amazon and make your choice wisely.

Great Book !!

This is a great Book for Forex Traders and anyone who wants to learn about Forex. The Book is straight forward and simple to understand. I've been trading for a while and I still found this book more than just a review. I like how the author pulls everything together in Chapter 9. Here, the book goes beyond just the technical's and shows you how to pull it all together. For me, the trade signals/triggers were helpful. The strategy was different from what I use and this book laid out a better way. I'm now using the new information in my trading and it really helps.
This book is not just about tech analysis. If you are looking for a book on "only" technical analysis there are others you might find more helpful. Personally, I think technical analysis is really simple. The hard part is applying the technical's to a moving market so you can make money. That is what I like about the last chapters in the book. The principals are sound and overall I would recommend this book to anyone looking to better their Forex trading.

I recently started studying with Jay Norris and his currency trading method. Previously I had 5 years of currency trading education but was not as successful with the methods I had learned and was using. What I found to be the most helpful with Jay's approach was teaching me what information I should DISGARD in identifying a set up. He really helped me refine my shorter time frame trading, which is very helpful in this market with these market conditions. I also found it extremely refreshing to not have to box myself into whether I traded fundamentally or technically. This method really focuses in on the price action on the right side of the chart and how to best identify a trade set up so you don't miss a great trade on ANY time frame. Jay has also helped teach me to look at "fact based trades" versus trading emotionally. I finally can discipline myself so much easier with this method. Best of all, Jay is very personable and loves what he does for a living.

after trading for a while, i'm sure intermediate to experienced traders would have settled down on a style or method that suits their personality, or have found success with. they would have customized certain chart indicators (or just price actions) and laid out their screen/s in a way that is consistent, and not likely to change from one new indicator to the next. for this group of traders, this book may not be useful in that it discusses the "traditional" method of trading using MACD(12,26,9), Stochastic(14,3,3), and RSI(14) using default settings as proposed by the inventors of these indicators. Chapter 9 is the main part that teaches actual trade setups using these indicators, and unless you also used the same combination of MACD/Stochastic/RSI in your own trading, this book would not be relevant if you already settled on other indicator systems.

Chapters 1-8 are basic introductions to the world of forex (including the influence of fundamentals) and technical analysis. Chapter 9 ties all together in trade signals. Chapters 10-13 discusses trading philosophy and risk management. i gave the book 4 stars in that it is a complete manual for trading ....... if you use MACD/Stochastic/RSI combination. there are no new revelations about forex or trading in general, no special techniques or secrets, and nothing you would not have read elsewhere on the internet. However this does not imply the methods don't work, as the authors had successfully traded and taught the same methods for years to their clients and students.

for beginners and novice traders, this book is all-in-one manual and you don't have to read hundreds of internet articles only to find the same materials are covered comprehensively in this book. it will give you a good start in using MACD/Stochastic/RSI combination. i personally don't use MACD and quickly discovered in Chapter 9 that i would not be using the trade signals they taught (no 5 stars). however, i found the book very well written and had in fact gone back to finish reading the other chapters for the basics, no matter how experienced i may be.

This book taught me that trading can be simple if one is disciplined and patient. It is about patiently letting a candle close before taking the signal. Discipline entails for planning a trade and then trade the plan. What I take away from this book is that a chart gives away the whole story of the market. The way to allow the chart to tell its story is by looking at the candlestick bar, the support and resistance lines along with trend lines (which the markets respect) and the chart pattern formed. A crucial point in trading is always looking at a higher time frame confirmation of a signal before taking a trade from a lower time frame. Of the hundreds of indicators available, this book shows us how using two indicators; mainly stochastic oscillator and the MACD are good entry and trend confirmation indicators. On the chart itself, we need not clutter but have couple of moving averages and Pivot points. These need to be a trader's tools. I recommend this book be a must read for every trader whether experienced or noviceMastering the Currency Market: Forex Strategies for High and Low Volatility Markets
N. Jamani

This may be the best forex book I've ever read. The reason is it has practical, clear and straightforward techniques and examples. They also explain in detail not only strategies, but how to really use and understand the indicators.

I've been studying and trading forex for over 4 years and I have read tons of books and taken about every training course our there, and I think this is the most practical forex book on the market.

The reason I said not for beginners is that beginners won't understand forex is highly technically driven, and basically all strategies work on all pairs, so you don't need to disect each pair, or even present each pair in charts, but a newbie will assume that you do have to do that and is expecting that, so newbies won't understand how really good this book is. Also, someone used to trading stocks won't understand how important the technical aspect of trading forex is, and also will probably gloss over the detail and not understand just how subtle the difference between technicals on stocks and forex can be and think this book is too simple - it's not. I traded stocks before forex so I know just how important one teany weany subtle detail in the technical verbage can be when it comes to forex, where a newbie stock trader will miss it because stocks are company specific info first and technical second, and the technical side for stocks just has to be general and basic, but not so with forex, so newbies to forex won't get it, but to experienced traders in forex this book is pure gold.

I'm glad I took my friends advice and bought this book. I started out trading commodities over the phone in the 1980's and like a lot of other traders I moved to the screen, and then diversified into currencies because they trend better than most commodities and the corrections aren't as severe. If my experience were judged on how much commission I've paid over the years it could only be described as very extensive. Mastering the Currency Markets gets it right. It took me a long time to understand that fact based technical triggers are everything in trading and these guys do a great job of conveying that approach. Most books spend too little time on method and too much time on common sense subjects such as money management or psychology that only leads you down the path of being a long-term simulated trader. These guys packed a lot of info on specific tactics and methods into their book so I just have to say it again - These guys got it right. In my opinion this trading book is one of the best I've seen come out in awhile.

It was a good book and reminds me to stick to the basics of trend lines and candlestick behavior. The "Preface" was very good. Chapter 9 "Quantifying Trend" was good. The part on "buying strength and selling weakness" was something I should already know and do now :) Best of all was chapter 13 giving me a trading plan. I am going to back test for myself.

I thought this book was well worth the money. I'm just learning to trade and it seems to cover the basics very well, without being too confusing. It seems to focus more on technical analysis than fundamental analysis, but they also explain why that is their focus. I think this is a good guide for someone learning to trade.

Best book on trading Ive read by far. Was so impressed by the book that I also purchased the authors 101 training course, which has firmly put me on the path to consistent profitability. [...]