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Richard Wyckoff was a pioneer of technical analysis. While Dow contributed the theory that price moves in a series of trends and reactions, and Schabacker classified those movements into chart patterns, developed gap theory, and stressed the role of trader behavior in the development of patterns and support/resistance, Wyckoff contributed the study of the relationship between volume and price movement to detect imbalances between supply and demand, which in turn provided clues to direction and potential turning points. By also studying the dynamics of consolidations or horizontal movements, he was able to offer a complete market cycle of accumulation, mark-up, distribution, and mark-down*, which was in large part the result of shifts in ownership between retail traders and professional money.
Wyckoff sought to develop a comprehensive trading system which (a) focused on those markets and stocks that were “on the springboard” for significant moves, (b) initiated entries at those points which offered the highest probability of success, and (c) exited the positions at the most advantageous time, all with the least possible degree of risk**. His favorite metaphor for the markets and market action was water: waves, currents, eddies, rapids, ebb and flow. He did not view the market as a battlefield nor traders as combatants. He counseled the trader to analyze the waves, determine the current, “go with the flow”, much like a sailor. He thus encouraged the trader to find his entry using smaller “waves”, then, as the current picked him up, ride the current through the larger waves to the natural culmination of the move, even to the extent of pressing one’s advantage, or “pyramiding”, as opposed to cutting profits short.
“Trading Wyckoff”, then, is more than just relating price and volume. It is a complete trading strategy, ranging from finding the most attractive opportunities through strategy development and trade management to the best moment to close the trade, all with the least possible degree of risk**.
Below is a copy of Wyckoff's Studies in Tape Reading(also called My Secrets of Day Trading in Stocks), which has been reformatted into The Day Trader's Bible and is as good a place to start as any. As for what to do then, see the Wyckoff Lite/Glossary Stickie.
*The accumulation:distribution cycle applies only to those instruments that have a float, like stocks. There is no accumulation in, for example, futures.
Nobody is Wyckoff himself now, we are all learning, we are all students, so nobody can talk "pure" Wyckoff at all except Wyckoff himself. We just pick up some good info from his method and combine with our own method. I don't believe anyone can say he understand pure Wyckoff.
Just out of curiosity of all the Wyckoffers here. Has anyone purchased the $1,200.00 SMI course or have you been studying the older Wyckoff course pdf files circulated on the internet? If you've purchased the SMI course, please tell us your opinion of it. I know you have an opinion about it, but only if you purchased it. How is the quality of the written materials and tests? Are instructors available by correspondence, email or phone? Unfortunately, their website isn't clear of how the course is handled, so I'm soliciting this information from traders who have purchased and gone through their course.
If you had watched the PnF video that I just posted, you'll notice just how fast that trader did his PnF count to project a probable target price. Just as with any skill, you may learn at a slower pace that when you have actually gained experience on the skill. I like that way you make reference to specific sections of Wyckoff's writings and I wonder if you would explain how Wyckoff's course part 2 goes beyond the 9 Buying and the 9 Selling tests.
My dad gave his copy of the course from the 70's. I copied off of tapes to mp3s and scanned the documents. I can't say anything about the current course or the amount of support provided. I think the incarnation of the course I have has enough provided to take money.
I will echo what DBP has to say on the subject - its not finding the right course, vendor etc. - its about putting in the work. You need a system to trade. Rules for entries and exits. These can be back tested on the markets you are interested and verified (not curve fit). They can be refined and improved as study and experience allow. Then they can be successfully applied.
If you watched the recent webinar by t123knight - it was clear to me that he doesn't have a well defined exit strategy once he enters a trade. This is costing him money. Everyone is obsessed with entries and setups. Exits are important.
So your saying that the SMI course is not the right course, because it can't be back tested or are your saying that there is no right course? Or are you saying that the SMI course cannot be successfully applied?
I think the SMI course (the version I have) is very good, detailed thorough. I don't know if its $1200 worth of improvement over Wyckoff's original free material. Plenty of people have had success with the SMI course.
My point about the courses available is that there are successful traders who have adopted all of them. There are professional Wyckoffians, SMItes, VSAers etc. What made these people successful was the secret recipe - it was there willingness to work hard at their craft.
So I'm not trashing the SMI course or any other course - there is just a lot of work someone needs to put in to be successful. The markets are littered with failed traders that never stuck to a course - hoping from one method, indicator or vendor to the next.
In the 70's there wasn't much out there so this course was a look behind the curtain for him. He got the course before he could afford to trade but he studied it diligently (it was a year long course I believe). He made some money in trading but moved on to real estate. This was all before the PC and charting software etc. so there was a lot of time in charting and it was all EOD so setups took a while. He had nothing but high praise for the course.
Yes, in the days before the PC and the internet it must have been a lot more laborious to do research. Non-professional traders would have to get their quotes from the local newspaper or Wall Street Journal and maybe have a subsription to ValueLine or Standards & Poors for the technical charts and fundamental data.
Anyway, it seems that no one here has recently purchased the course and there's no other feedback.
