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Book Discussion: Reading Price Charts Bar by Bar by Al Brooks


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Book Discussion: Reading Price Charts Bar by Bar by Al Brooks

  #1 (permalink)
 
cunparis's Avatar
 cunparis 
Paris, France
 
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In the Holy Grail thread Garry recommended this book:

"Reading Price Charts Bar by Bar: The Technical Analysis of Price Action for the Serious Trader (Wiley Trading)"

Amazon.com: Reading Price Charts Bar by Bar: The Technical Analysis of [AUTOLINK]Price Action[/AUTOLINK] for the Serious Trader (Wiley Trading) (9780470443958): [AUTOLINK]Al Brooks[/AUTOLINK]: Books

After reading the description and the reviews, I decided it was exactly what I was looking for. Well I got it this week and I must say it's way more than I was looking for. The author trades ES on 5min chart with 20 EMA as his only indicator. And he does exactly what he says, he introduces some concepts and then goes by by bar through the chart looking at the bars. I have not seen a better book on trading without indicators.

He starts out with a story that's familiar to many of us, I know BigMike & I have taken the same path: He learned all the indicators and then spent years writing indicators and strategies to use them. He finally concluded that it doesn't work and that one has to learn to trade the price action! If only I had found his book 2 years ago! But seriously I think everyone needs to start down that path (indicators & strategies) so that they can fully understand what's going on and the limitations of the indicator approach.

Two weeks ago I started trading currencies "naked" (without any indicators). Last week I added CL. So far it has been two profitable weeks for me. I'm never going back to indicators!

I read the first chapter and to be honest, it's quite a lot to take in. I followed his examples but I found myself just reading trying to finish the chapter. After I finished I realized that one needs to spend a lot of time really understanding the material and then try to apply it to your own charts. I think it could easily take over 100 hours to learn the information in this book and if you want to master it then I think thousands.

That's a big commitment so I plan to go little by little. And that gave me the idea of starting a thread about it so that people reading the book can ask questions of each other and post examples. I always find the best exercise is to learn a new concept and then find examples from my real charts. This way I know if it really works or if the examples in the book were cherry-picked. Often it's the latter, but once in a while you find something that really works.

A slight warning, the way the book is written could be a bit better organized. The guy really jumps in head first, talking about patterns he hasn't explained (he explains them later on) so you have to be on your toes. He isn't spoonfeeding anything, this is clearly a book for advanced traders who do not use indicators.

So if you're interested, get the book and then we can get this discussion going. One more note, I do not plan on attempting to teach the material in the book (I'm totally incapable of that, it's mostly new to me). So reading the book will be mandatory. My idea for this thread is we discuss it, answer each others' questions, and most importantly try to find examples of the setups and patterns on our own charts so that we can incorporate his ideas into our trading. Learning the material in the book will be a lot of hard work. This is not a book for bedtime reading. So if you want to participate, you must commit yourself to doing the work. No one can do the work for you.

Thanks Garry for the recommendation, I think you found a gem.

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  #2 (permalink)
 
RodS's Avatar
 RodS 
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Yes I picked up his book a couple of weeks ago. I agree and believe that price action is the only way to go.

His book is extremely hard to follow. I have finished it for the first time now I am starting to go through for the second. I believe I will get much more out of it this time.

I look forward to this thread.

Rod

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  #3 (permalink)
 
cory's Avatar
 cory 
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somebody wrote Al bar label for faster reading.
LegHL indicator - [AUTOLINK]NinjaTrader[/AUTOLINK] Support Forum

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  #4 (permalink)
 
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 Poocher 
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Impressive looking just from the feedback here and the little I read at Amazon.

Did the author qualify his technique as being best for the ES, other indexes or just price action in general?

I'm trying to stick to the eurusd spot and know I should have an underlying bias based on pa alone.

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  #5 (permalink)
 
wh's Avatar
 wh 
Neubrandenburg, Germany
 
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for good old germans

read the book "das große buch der markttechnik" ... a very good price action explain book
all my knowledge came from this ...

i read this in 2 weeks and after one year too and learned too.

wh

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  #6 (permalink)
 
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 websouth 
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Poocher View Post
Impressive looking just from the feedback here and the little I read at Amazon.

Did the author qualify his technique as being best for the ES, other indexes or just price action in general?

I'm trying to stick to the eurusd spot and know I should have an underlying bias based on pa alone.

There are some discussions on this over here


Along the lines of having a permanent long or short bias but pick one and stick to it. The rest is money management. That way you don't try to guess the market. I also trade the spot forex...

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  #7 (permalink)
 bermarti 
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I too purchased the book and am in the process of reading it. There is a tremendous amount of great information, I only wish I could remember and apply more of it. It will take at least two readings but well worth the time and effort IMO.

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  #8 (permalink)
 GarryM 
Tucson AZ
 
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Cunparis,

You are right, when you say it's not light reading. For me, it has been the most difficult trading book I have ever read.

For those who learn better by listening to Al Brooks, try this:

Futures I-Trade Show Now On-Demand!
[IMG]http://www.nationalunderwriter.com/html/amexgiftcard_sm2.jpg[/IMG] The I-Trade Show uses the latest technology to bring the insights and lessons from real traders directly to you! Visit with the hottest companies and exchanges in the exhibition hall where you can browse the newest products, presentations, and tools available
to you today.



EVENT DETAILS
ON-DEMAND: May 21- August 19
HOW DO I REGISTER? Click Here to register or visit FuturesMag.com
COST: FREE
AGENDA: Click Here to view complete show agenda [IMG]http://www.nationalunderwriter.com/html/iTrade_register-now.gif[/IMG]


What You Will Learn:
  • A Month of great trades, presented by Al Brooks
  • The Natural Number Method: A breakthrough strategy for capturing market profits,
    presented by George Kleinman
  • Using the "smart money" to your advantage, presented by Larry Williams
  • Futures 101: Understanding the building blocks of trading, presented by Dan Gramza
  • Using options to curb risk and protect profits, presented by Tom Sosnoff
  • Trader Profile: Jamie Charles, Trading forex with force

[IMG]http://www.nationalunderwriter.com/html/virtualtour_09.gif[/IMG]
These events happen a few times a year and Al gives some great ideas in his presentations. He is one of the most popular of the presenters.

Al also suggests that beginners start with the most important chapter, number 15.

In reference to Poocher, Al scalps the emini and then catches an occasional swing day trade on some of the more popular day trading stocks.

Bermarti, I read it once, and really didn't have a clue, it's that overwhelming. I went back and just picked up some tips, that meshed with me, at the time. I am getting ready to start working on it again.

Garry

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  #9 (permalink)
 
TheWizard's Avatar
 TheWizard 
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Thanks for the recommendation. I, too, found a copy on Half.com today for $44.00 (plus $3 or $4 shipping). Look forward to expanding my knowledge.

After all, it's what you learn AFTER you know it all, that counts!
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  #10 (permalink)
 
Poocher's Avatar
 Poocher 
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Thanks Websouth





websouth View Post
There are some discussions on this over here


Along the lines of having a permanent long or short bias but pick one and stick to it. The rest is money management. That way you don't try to guess the market. I also trade the spot forex...


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