Is there a discount for the new Brooks Trading Course for Big Mike members ? $249 is full price . . . for 25 hrs of material = $10/hr . . . brookstradingcourse.com
Does anybody knows when it comes out? I am very interrested in his trading course. I read one of his new books, but I am not a native speaker and it was really hard to read.
The developer has the site up but is still working on building it. I wish that he waited until he was finished. He said that it should be ready by the end of the week. Sorry about that.
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I e-mailed Al after purchasing the course, he wasn't too happy with his hosting site and gave me direct links that worked fine, hopefully you've received your course. I am enjoying it very much and I think the price point is fair.
I bought it and will start studiying in the weekend. Got some problems in downloading, but Al was really kind and supportive. From a quick overview of the first modules, I share somebody's else impression that 249$ is good value for money
I finished with the course today. It is a hugh different to his books, it is much easier to understand. I read his books also, but since I am not a native speaker, this was a big endevour.
I liked it very much. And the price was also very fair.
Thank you Al.
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I thought that might be the case. I've always found his webinars on futures.io (formerly BMT) to be far easier to understand than his books. Thanks for sharing your feedback.
Yes but with the webinars on BigMike you get only a part of the whole story. The good thing with the course is, you don´t need any understanding of his method, he starts from zero, and goes very deep into detail, but very structured. Again, I would everybody who is interrested in Price Action recomend this course. There is so much to learn. Thank you Al, thank you .
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I was a bit surprised you said you finished the course already in one week. How many hours per day did you do this? You were able to absorb everything? Make notes? etc? Or was this just your first run through, of many yet to come?
I read his books allready, and saw the videos on BigMike, so I had allready an understanding of his method. But this is not neccasery for the course. But I watched every days a couple of hours.
Sure I will watch it again, but everything is very clear und easy to understand, totaly differnt to his normal approach.
So it was not a hard thing.
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Having gone through some of materials of the course, I am planning to study with a digital bloc notes on my side (stuffs like OneNote or similar) in order to keep notes with attached screen shots of the most critical topics of the lessons.
As per my habits, i went through the content list and apparently the way Al put it down makes sense, so my notes will be momentarily taken according to the same order, with the possibility of making any changes to the order, should I will deem them useful.
will be happy to share them, should the results are acceptable, with anybody who bought the course.
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Back to my original question ? Could or would you negotiate a "Big Mike" discount for the course ? Somewhere I saw mention of a $50 discount for past/present Brooks room participation, so thought since there is such a large audience here you might be able to get us a deal ? ? ?
i too had the same problem.But my own i think ,is worse because now it is three days since i had wrote to Brook about the missing link but no any reply, yet.
But i think for you to advise me well, i have to tell you how i have bought the course;
I am residing in Nigeria and my country is not within the approved transaction list of PayPal .However,i can not purchase the course from Nigeria,that is why i have sent my email and money to my brother in Russia to buy it for me.He did it and the confirmation email where been sent to my personal email,but unfortunately, the email doesn't have the link to download the course even-though it has claimed it to be inside that email.
i had instantly wrote to Brook by replying the confirmation email he has sent to me and still no response, i have done that three times but still the situation is the same. and to conclude, i had even sent him an inquiry via the course site contact-button but no response.
i have started to grow curios and worry because i want study the course as it is important to any serious price action trader.
finally, please advise me or help me to have a response from Al-brook.
After i have contacted Brook he has guided me on how to download the course and which i have done so .but still i have a problem with the downloading of those files,therefore i had gave him an email about that.
i know he will respond shortly and i will update you when i got the course completely.
panjm all the other downloads are working but only the module 12-22 had refused to load down ,and these is due to the fact that, i had try to download it twice as a result of the crash i had with my browser which has ceased my initial download and then refused to resume.
the error message it gives is 'Sorry but you have hit your download limit for this file'.
i told AL and i am still waiting for his response.
i too had initially used Google chrome but it was not resuming a download and that was why i had change to firefox too.
but have you re-download those file in the new browser successfully, without it has shown you the same error message it has gave me when i did the same ? ('Sorry but you have hit your download limit for this file')
Im seriously considering buying this course Al has put together.Especially if hes starting from the beginning.I already found a wealth of info on the futures.io (formerly BMT) webinars.
I bought this package a few days ago (still looking at it).
Why I bought it ?
* I use 3 techniques, among them simple price action, and consider you must master the few techniques you use (rather than know a lot and master none).
* After reading a lot of documents/forums/books I believe price action is mastered by most succefull traders (any time frame).
* Al brooks is a price action master. And, I liked his futures.io (formerly BMT) webinars.
* His books reputation : good but very detailed and hard to grasp, at least for a newbie.
* Price : 250$...
* Website : clear, modern, very good quality, samples (seems silly
Buying :
Used paypal, worked fine.
Downloading :
Got the links immediately, downloading worked ok but took few hours (Al Brooks servers have low bandwidth or many clients...). Download is time limited. No DRM (Bravo).
Course :
I believe you should start with the website, not the course. A lot of useful information : Brooks Trading Course - Price Action Trading
Course is divided into ~50 modules 10-40 minutes each, a total of ~26 hours.
It is clear, well divided, and should probably seen completely and then go back to specific modules of interest. All modules are real topics, are named very clearly and are very dense. I believe it can take a lot of time to really understand all he is showing/teaching/giving.
Some slides should be seen more than once especially when they lack some graphical illustrations (for ex : setups signals criteria s on a slide with no graphical illustration).
The course seems focused on technical aspects, though importance of psychological aspects are mentioned.
I would appreciate a PDF version of the slides. I don't think it is provided.
General opinion
I think Al Brooks sells a great package at a bargain price.
His method is great but hard, he is teaching a way to look at the markets, not a magical indicator. Like all good teachers it is probably difficult, among other things because we tend to over complicate our trading with useless tools.
The impact on my trading/seeing the market was immediate. Great stuff !
For newbie+ traders, I believe it can help those that want to reduce the number of tools they use (spagheti screens..) and see you can trade with a simple chart and a mobile average. Many say it is possible, he shows you how to do it.
For those that already have have the books, I think at 250$ you should not even think twice and get it. Better, maybe go to his room for a month/two (I have not, but intend to).
The best deal, IMO, is for those that have not yet read the books and are interested in the method, before going to the room and reading the books.
My 2 cents.
-- The rest is silence
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250 is a cheap price for something that is legit. I have been to seminar where the speakers (sales) swears that MacD make them millions and they are selling you the indicator/method for a lower $2500.
I too have read Al's books few time and like other have said, hard to digest all the info. The video will be a great supplement to the books.
For the file, it is hosted by Amazon. I think futures.io (formerly BMT) host it's seminars there as well. It is fast. Use a download accelerator or something. I use DownThemAll (Firefox plugin).
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I wanted to say before seeing this thread on futures.io (formerly BMT) I stumbled on to the Al Brooks Price Action videos on the MOO TRADER site, watched some of Mark's video showing his own learning of Al's material and went ahead and bought them. I used FIREFOX and DOWN THEM ALL too as I have for a couple years now and did not have a hitch.
Anyone wanting GOOD SOLID TEACHING on what moves the market and how to trade it will think $250 was some of the best money they have spent on learning. BUT, You must watch and absorb the material.
HINT: right click Windows Medea Player screen, a menu will pop up. Choose ENHANCEMENTS > Play Speed. A neat little tool will allow you to adjust the video play speed. You can easily crank Al up to 1.7 or beyond and understand him. This expedites viewing and allows you to note things you want to camp out on in the videos. I also find that speeding up viewing keeps me more focused and attentive.
I have now plowed through 12 of the 53 videos and am shocked at how excellent Al's course is. I still can not believe I bought it for only $250. cw30000 is right, there is so much less sold for so much more everywhere.
'Nough said.
Chuck T
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I am reading the third book in the Al Brooks series at the moment. One thing I have found that has really helped me is drawing what he is saying out on the side of the page as I read it. Without doing this though, it would be very hard to follow. I am really enjoying the book, and I am thinking about purchasing the course. Has anyone that has already taken it had any experience with implementing what they learned in the course? Did the course help to solidify some of the information that was taught in the books?
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Glad you got a smile out of it. Its good to be happy. I actually threw that in because some people (like me) are not so tech savvy and I would have really liked knowing how to speed things up early on. And my attentiveness does improve immensely taking a slow speaker and speeding them up... not like Alvin and the Chipmunks or one of those ridiculous disclaimers on the end of a commercial, but reasonably
By the way Mike, thanks for such a great site. And the rest of you, thanks as well for all your help along the way.
Chuck T
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berbeshter
I think that his course would be great for a beginner if you have any question . i would think Al would answer them he seems to be a nice person to deal with.
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Can someone please highlight the pro's and con's of the books vs the videos?
Al has mentioned the difference (primary, secondary?) between the books and the video to him was being able to hold a book in your hand. I'm thinking he's basically saying the same as ncsutrader "drawing... on the side of the page..."
Understanding that as well, I guess my question is are the videos easier to glean/ absorb/ understand/ grasp/ comprehend information than the books?
Bill, in my experience as a learner and as a pastor/teacher people learn in various ways. Personally, it has been very helpful to me over the years to get a comprehensive dose of whatever I am learning. As an example, I read my Bible, I listen to my audio Bible. Sometimes I SEE things i didn't hear. Sometimes I HEAR things I didn't see. Sometimes I read aloud to myself to help clarify and cement ideas.
I have found this with Al Brooks' materials as well. I like having both the books and the videos. If you are struggling with the book, go to the appropriate video presentation and let Al walk you through his slides verbally. Sometimes that makes things "click". Another advantage to the Videos is that you can speed them up in your media player and listen to the entire presentation, make a note of things you want to understand better, then go back at reduced speed, pause, think, and absorb the material. If you buy the videos and wish you had the slides to print out and annotate, well let me just suggest going to the source and seeing if that is a possibility :^)
I am 50, don't learn as fast as I used to, and find all approaches helpful. I have never regretted the money spent on Al's materials.
His teaching on price action is helpful whether you trade "naked charts" or with a few indicators that are back up reinforcement to what you think you see in the price. Al helps you understand what moves the market and how to make choices with higher probability based on those movements. The videos were very helpful in my case.
Hope this helps.
Chuck T
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I only trade intraday /6E and with very few indicators - moving averages and an RSI length 34 and 55 (more weight on the 55) set at cross of the 51 or 48 line
It seems the most important piece of the puzzle is price action, of which I'm somewhat good at
So I guess my question was pointed at are the videos more efficient for encompassing/ learning his method?
Watching, listening, writing notes vs reading, writing notes
Bill, I find that the videos are most helpful because I can print the chart Al is using and make note on that chart as he talks. I am not a fast writer so the ability to pause, write a note and then listen is great. I like the books, but the videos seem most efficient in my case.
Hope this helps.
Chuck
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I'm about halfway through the video course and so far it is fantastic. Al points directly to the bars he is talking about so there is no confusion and the commentary has more practice than theory. The videos are like attending lectures (though without questions) and the books are the texts for a graduate level course in price action.
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It's politically incorrect to laugh at your ADHD challenged brothers. Personally, I use the speedup feature all the time. Hell, I listen to audio books while simultaneously reading another book.
In all seriousness though, it's estimated that ~30% of people are auditory learners. For them, listening to a course will have much more benefit than reading the books.
~65% are visual learners. They will still benefit due to the slides in the course, but maybe not as much as reading the books.
For those interested in the course, ask yourself what learning style fits you best.
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First an opinion on Price Action Trading: Over the last year I have used several trading approaches (Fibs, tick Charts, using Internals, Stochastics, Divergences, etc). Am sure that if you master any approach to trading you can be profitable. However, Price Action - Al Brook's style goes better with my personality than any of the others.
Video Course: I purchased the first book and was having trouble following, since I am rather a new trader and even newer at Price Action Trading. So I decided to spend the money on the video Curse. It is the most value I have gotten for the money of anything that I have purchased in the past.
I decided to Master Price Action trading. I will not trade any other approach, or read any other material until I master this approach. I have gone through all the 50 videos for a first time. It took me 45 days, as I was making notes and taking snapshots of the key slides, and studying before going to the next one. I am now on my second viewing on Video 20. My plan is to watch the videos at least 5 times.
I started to apply the approach a month ago trading demo. Also, 2 weeks ago I joined his trading room to get additional instructions and to see how the material is applied to live trading. It is working great.
Summary: If Price Action trading goes along well with your personality, this video course would be of great value. But you need to be aware that if you are a begging or intermediate trader, you will need to commit a lot of time to learning the concepts, and even more time to mastering and becoming profitable with the approach.
To me, this is exactly what I needed in my trading journey. I am 100% focused on it, and I am committed to mastering it. Because of that, this is the best instruction I have found.
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I suspect a lot of traders believe there's something to be learnt from PA and one of the names that naturally comes up is Al Brooks. I started by purchasing one of his books and found it an incredibly hard read (in fact I still haven't finished it) but I just had the feeling that there was some incredibly value information in the process and I suspected that if I could just understand it there's a good chance it would resonate with my style and personality type.
I took the plunge and bought the course (for those of you baulking at the cost don't - it's worth every penny and then some, even if you don't end up trading like Al). The course is infinitely easier to follow than the books and Al explains everything perfectly. Don't be daunted by the number of hours or videos that it contains because there are some double ups especially when it comes to the videos on trading the setups eg trading a strong bull channel and then trading a strong bear channel. Generally the second video is just the inverse of the first. Also as I finally twigged about 80% of the way through he keeps using the same charts (once I realised this everything got a bit easier it allowed me to reinforce previous learning).
There's still a lot to learn and it will take time, I am currently going through a second and third viewing of the key areas combined with some stuff I struggled with (call me slow but it took me about 5 views to start to get the hang of high 1's and 2's etc). Put in the time and you will be rewarded for your effort.
I'm probably coming off as a real Al Brooks fan boi (guilty as charged) but I can't think of a better way to learn PA and as I mentioned it suits me down to the ground.
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Just a quick note that Al Brooks is now on our Elite Partner Offer's page. You can get a free month of access to Al's trading room with the purchase of his trading course (new clients only). This is for Elite Members only.
Note: Big Mike Trading does NOT receive compensation for these referrals, we simply worked out these special deals to help our Elite Members who have chosen to support the site. Even though we believe these are great products and services, you should always do your own research before doing business with a company.
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Digging up an old post here but I also had a chuckle when you wrote about your 1.7 speed adjustment. I like Al's material but I find his voice hypnotic to the point where I find myself literally drifting off whilst listening. I would love to meet Al, he sounds very methodical and focussed. I can imagine him working in his previous career as an eye surgeon, if I was going to choose someone to operate on my eye it would be someone methodical, focussed and obsessed with details just the way Al clearly is. There is some really good stuff in his material I just cant stay awake even if I am primed with a triple espresso lol. no offence if you are reading Al, I genuinely like your stuff and approach and kudos for not being greedy with the price. I too had to tinker with the playback speed.....
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I have been reviewing the course material for a few days. I plan to go through quickly and review the material several times--concentrating on the portions that I feel I need to incorporate into my trading style.
Al's approach to price action is radically different from what I have been taught or read previously. He does not consider volume neither does use pivot points. Every trading day I see how these two things (volume and pivot points) play a critical role in my trading plan.
I have already recouped my investment in the course. It is an excellent investment and very well done.
You should note that the 2014 version of the material has be completely updated.
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Depends on your interpretation of pivots. Al uses and teaches measured moves and support/resistance lines drawn from various sources which are essentially pivots.
And yes, although Al does not refer to volume, if you ever attend his live trading room he will often comment on volume for a bar when it is of interest. So, he obviously keeps his eye on volume. Useful to confirm a buying/selling climax for example.
Just my 2 cents.
Richard
Hong Kong
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Brooks discussion on reversals is very interesting and I will deploy his methods going forward. However, I believe he misses a key component of reversals and that is divergence between price and volume. I find that this is the most accurate sign of a reversal and I always look for it. Buff Pelz's book, "Investing with Volume Analysis" is a must read.
The speed adjustment was a godsend! Maybe it's not a very nice thing to say but Al's voice tends to put me to sleep, even though I like his content and I have trouble not wandering off in my head when I have grasped a concept and the speaker is still explaining it, making me miss the next points the speaker makes. Speeding up to x1.3 made it much easier for me to follow the material. It's still not overwhelming, because the modules are short enough so that there are many breaks.
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haha. yes Al should make some tracks to cure insomnia. I think his material gives a good overview of price action. I don't use his material for entries but found it useful.
Mack's base methods are covered in Al's course as (1) Major Trend Reversal (MTR) - breaking trendline, new high/low and then reversal, (2) Trading Range Reversals - fading the range, (3) Pullbacks - H2/L2 pullbacks in trend plus 2EL/2eS, and (4) Breakouts - breakout pullbacks only.
Al's 'Best Trades' course module covers the basics of Mack's method with further in-depth modules on each topic. Al then has many more setup and PA info on wedges, breakouts, etc, that Mack talks about but does not promote as they are more advanced techniques. Mack wants to keep it simple for those starting out, and as he covers 4 out of 4 of Al's 'Best Trades' he certainly achieves that. The more advanced topics that Mack will often mention (traps, strong/tight channels, strong breakouts, etc) are all covered by Al and more given the depth of Al's course and methodology.
So all depends on your needs.
Richard
Hong Kong
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They are different approaches, Nison's is easier to learn but I don't know what kind of actual trading he does. Brooks is an exceptional trader but his method was harder to learn.
My 2 cents.
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I thought Al Brooks video course was very comprehensive, I don't think you would need a primer before starting it. I couldn't comment on his books, having only done his video course. It was a good 55+ hours, and I have re-watched many since.
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i have al's books and videos and have watched 100s of mack's pat videos. Al's books are very difficult, and is not recommended, even by him lol. Al recommends (and i strongly agree) that the videos are much better than the books. There is no prework that needs to be done. In fact, i ripped the videos to MP3, and listen to them like a podcast/audiobook. Mack uses a very specific scalping approach on es, whereas half of the charts Al shows are daily or weekly charts, not 5min. I am a big fan of macks approach to price action, and it is 100% based on Al's approach. mack gives so much of his stuff away free, that you could really get away with getting hundreds of hours of content without paying a nickle. but it will be focused on techniques for scalping ES only.
When my friends come and ask me to teach them how to be a daytrader, i point them to Al's videos and tell them to come back after they have watched it 3 times.
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I agree that the books are difficult. However, the videos are a great way to start learning Al's approach. It all depends on learning style and the kinds of studying tactics you employ. Coming from a medical/science background, I think I understand his writing style and it is possible to absorb a lot from his books with the proper approach. To me, it's not any more difficult to understand than a medical physiology textbook. It requires organization through note-taking to really benefit. You can't simply read through it 10 times and hope to learn what he's talking about.
Though the video course is excellent, I don't think that it is as detailed, as they are more simplified and to-the-point. The book has way more interesting material, and goes beyond what the videos illustrate. I recommend the videos as a primer for the textbooks, and thorough note-taking should be utilized for the books. Perhaps reading them once front-to-back quickly to get a feel for the organization, and then reading them a second time in order to take full-blown notes.
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mack's stuff is highly specific to the sp500 futures. it would not work exactly on other things, although the concepts would be familiar. Al's stuff works well on stocks, and most of the books and about 1/3 of the videos are stocks, rather than futures.
and mango, i agree with you on the books having richer detail, i reread them after i finished the videos and picked up tons of little stuff. but i will say al was a doctor before he was a trader, and to your point, those books "not any more difficult to understand than a medical physiology textbook"
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We all know Emmett has a shady past and he will freely admit that himself. That isn't the issue here and his past has nothing to do with his discovery about Al.
I find it extremely troubling that Al Brooks wouldn't release any verifiable proof that he actually trades live for a living. We should remember Al has historically stated (website, books, webinars, trading courses etc.) that he is a full time trader. As if we didn't know that, right?
Al did give a reason why he wouldn't release them, but that doesn't make any sense especially when you are defending your reputation. So what does that say?
Perhaps I don't have all of the facts, but if this is true, it has blown a giant hole of disappointed through somebody that I essentially "trusted". I really thought that he traded for a living. Am I wrong in thinking that he did? Was I the only person that didn't know? Or does he? The truth would be nice.
If he doesn't trade live then fine! But everything in the past number of years has pointed to the fact he does.
Sure, I have moved on from Al's methods, but I can't help feel like a little wind has been taken from my sails.
Am I offside here bringing this up? I know Al has many fans and Emmett has many enemies, but it seemed like such a simple option for Al to prove himself - and he chose not to take it. I just don't understand.
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I'm not a fan but this definitely throws up yellow flags. Specially his supposed response when asking for proof:
Does anyone know if this is actually true? It seems quite illogical for the SEC to go after people who disclose their individual trading performance, and ignore those who just state they are 'the best' with no proof.
Is Al a FIOer? It'd be interesting to get his take on things.
Yesterday's excellence is today's standard and tomorrow's mediocrity
When I dealt with the CFTC after reporting EminiTradingSchool, I asked them this very question at the tail end of our telephone meeting. They stated that it is not against the law to disclose any kind of brokerage statement for public consumption. As long as the brokerage statement is real, representative of the service being sold and above all verifiable (presumably via the broker). The more disclosure when selling a service the better as far as they are concerned.
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There is no correlation between a positive broker statement and whether you can successfully trade their system. They could train and teach you everything they know but you will never be able to execute it like they do.
Stop. Do the work, create a system that you believe in and then trade it.
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You say this with authority as if it is a fact TTURNER. Perhaps you can point us to the facts which makes you draw such a conclusion. Otherwise I will assume this is just your opinion. If that is the case then what are you basing your opinion on ? Thanks in advance.
Of course there is, if vendor can not trade profitably himself, what can he teach his students, the same faulty ideas he can not implement himself (not talking about Brooks, just generally about vendors)?
I guess my original point was that traders (including myself in the past) have fallen under the guise they were following a trader (Al Brooks in this case) and his methods that were actually traded on a live market.
There was no reason to believe otherwise.
So verifiable broker statements would cement the ideology behind the method(s) and perhaps make traders feel that if correctly applied they could be successful at them too. It doesn't mean they will be successful, but it gives something to shoot for.
It appears Al is unwilling to prove he trades what he teaches on a live market. That is disappointing, especially as he is promoted on FIO.
As I said I don't know all of the facts. Perhaps more will become available if Al is interested in doing so.
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I bought Al's course a number of months ago and also took advantage of the free month of his trading room via the FIO deal. I did not find the room helpful. I think I heard somewhere else he said the same thing, that disclosing his broker statement was against regulations. It struck me as odd. Now that I see it again I'm disappointed.
I was not hopeful when a thread in his forum was titled anyone here make money using this method and there were no replies. I moved on from his method because it was overly complicated. It did not resonate with me.
It's disheartening that he's in the scammer camp in this industry because I thought he was one of the genuine ones.
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Al Brooks course on price action has benefited me more than any other system. You can just watch the markets to verify that his descriptions of price action are correct. He also is coming out with a major upgrade to his course with modern graphical techniques and he is giving it to people who have already bought the old course for no extra charge. I don't think he should play this "prove it" game, as it only appeals to the base instincts of those who shouldn't be trading in the first place. If you want to know if a system works, trade it and find out. Al Brooks provides the best value out there. His old course was under $300 and provides a ton of information, unlike courses going for $5000 which say nothing beyond standard material.
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Yes, yes, yes. I have read all of his books and I get what you are saying. My point was if it turns out to be true that he doesn't actually trade live and can't prove that he ever has (which is polar opposite to what I have believed all of this time and what he has lead me to believe) then I find that deeply troubling. Some might not but I do and it seems others do too.
It doesn't mean he doesn't have valid things to say. Al has managed to collate existing methods and put them into digestible pieces (in his rewritten books anyway). I don't believe he has any new method or techniques that didn't exist before, he has just presented them all in a readable manner.
If it makes no odds to you then great, but surely the moral compass gets a bit skewed when we at FIO are promoting somebody that at the moment doesn't appear to trade what he teaches, after many indications to the contrary. That would certainly put the red flags up for me if I was new to trading.
More fact checking needs to be done as I am sure there are blank areas that need to be filled in.
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- Trade what you see. Invest in what you believe -
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That's more or less true for me, as well. (I also found Bob Volman and Lance Beggs pretty helpful).
I can't pretend that I'd be making a living at all, without having studied Al Brooks' stuff, though.
I agree.
(I've never seen his trading room. I have no interest in trading rooms.)
I found his books not particularly well written, and very badly edited, but their content is outstanding for those willing to make the effort to get through them (and for me, that really was quite an effort).
His video course is completely different from his books in terms of approachability and comprehensibility.
My impression is that a lot of the criticism directed toward Dr. Brooks comes from people who have struggled to understand the concepts of price action, not been successful with it, and/or found his books unapproachable (understandably), and haven't actually seen his video course.
If I were Dr. Brooks, I think I'd be taking the view that those "challenging" him to produce trading/earnings verification aren't potential customers anyway and should be completely ignored. It's well known and adequately publicly acknowledged that he gave up a very successful career as an opthalmology professor and eye surgeon because he earned more from trading, over a very long period of time, before he was ever any kind of "vendor" at all. It's also evident that his income as a vendor is pretty inconsequential, anyway.
He comes across to me fairly unmistakably as a highly successful trader who likes doing some teaching as a sideline. I find that very understandable, given his background.
I see no reason for him to demean himself by responding to these silly "challenges". I wouldn't dream of it, myself, in his position.
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This juvenile insistence on seeing proof through brokerage statements and the like is quite ridiculous in my opinion.
Al Brooks has absolutely no obligation to provide anything. If you do not trust what he says or his books/videos/room without proof you should move along to something or someone else. Good luck finding anyone in this industry which provides verifiable statements.
Brooks is a genuinely good person in this industry and is widely well regarded. He is motivated to help traders not to make money from them, he is charging $250 for a video course which would be $5000 or more anywhere else. He provides free ongoing help and daily commentary on the markets and free updates to his course.
I personally have purchased his books and videos years ago (not his room as I do not believe in using trading rooms). His teachings have formed the foundation of my trading approach and I am a successful day trader making my living from trading (and no I will not provide you my brokerage statements). Brooks has helped a lot of traders learn the markets.
The Brooks books and videos are all about teaching how the markets work not providing a detailed trading system for others to follow as such his brokerage statements are irrelevant.
My point is if you are not happy with Al Brooks disclosures then just move on instead of whining about it.
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It seems there are those that find Al and his teaching good and there are those that find Al and his not choosing to release information as bad. There seems to be a slightly similar debate (albeit much smaller) with Grimes and his use of science regarding his most recent webinar. Just an observation.
I am enjoying Al's course a lot. He does a great job of analyzing charts in regards to what bulls and bears are thinking about. The ideas of exhaustion, micro gaps, micro double tops, stairs, etc all seem they could be useful. I do have a difficult time saying knowing his teachings would provide the ability to articulate an edge. I know the ideas in the course can improve traders, but how does that match up with providing an edge. Since I realize an edge is personal unique thing, I wonder if anyone can articulate how price action is an edge or maybe a component of an edge.
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This is a community and as such serves itself by looking out for individuals in the group. The only way to warn others of concerns is to post them and discuss, part of this discussion is necessarily going to lead to proof so I think that saying it's juvenile and ridiculous and whining is unproductive. No one is under any obligation to provide proof that they are a successful trader but that doesn't mean that it can't or isn't done, Big Mike posted his results for quite a while right here for everyone to see. I personally think if someone is selling something to traders based on they themselves being a profitable trader then they should have to prove it, not because someone in particular is being dishonest, but because it would weed out some of those who are and likely change the landscape for the better.
I too purchased Brooks course in my early days but soon learned that this was likely to be a journey more nuanced then jumping on someone else's path and trying to walk in their footsteps, I now think that many successful traders are that way in spite of much they've learned. Looking back the thing I'm most thankful for is that I chose such a cheap course to find out that I didn't want any more courses.
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On FIO there are many differences of opinions on a multitude of subjects. In 99% of cases, a degree of respectful separation exists. That is what is so great about having FIO set up the way it is. We can all have a say and we don't run the fear of being belittled like on some other well known forums. Well, in most cases anyway.
However, when it comes to the subject of what a vendor should be providing as "evidence" - this nearly always ends up a battle of words no matter whom the vendor is.
There is a rhetoric on FIO to stop chasing vendors. That has been mentioned numerous times on many threads. Yet vendors are allowed to present webinars and can actively participate on FIO. Whilst I find this somewhat hypocritical, there is an envelope in which the vendor has to operate if they choose to participate in threads.
That part of the transparency is great, but it falls apart when the credibility of the vendor is brought into question or they are asked to substantiate with evidence. Even a simple question such as "Do you trade from your own account?" is on occasion met with such disdain.
As an individual (and a community for that matter) we should be allowed to openly discuss matters such as this, but there seems to be no degree of respectful separation. You either strongly agree vendors should be able to substantiate their work with some form of evidence, or you strongly disagree and give the response to stop chasing vendors.
I believe as a consumer or potential consumer of whatever the vendor happens to be selling outside of FIO, there should be an opportunity to ask if the vendor trades the system/method/indicator, i.e. their Work. If they don't, like you said that is okay! We can respect that.
I believe it is the dead silence when this question is asked that tends to make people believe otherwise.
We know how downright swampy this industry is and have probably taken our fair share of lumps from unscrupulous vendors in the past. That is not to label Al Brooks's unscrupulous, I am just highlighting the reality we live in.
The fact of the matter is I have purchased Al Brooks's work. I have found use for it. If the review on TradingSchools had not happened, I probably wouldn't have even thought about Al's work.
My ache was that Al point blank refused to divulge any kind of trading history. My opinion therefore suddenly changed as he wasn't the person I had created in my head. That is just what I thought, nobody else, just my thoughts.
This is because I believed everything Al had written and spoken was the God's honest truth. I still have faith that it is and I have always maintained that there are two sides to every story and evidence is just around the corner in one way shape or form. If it happens, hallelujah!
If it doesn't I happen and this drags on, I will forever sit and ponder if I was sold a story. I sincerely hope not.
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- Trade what you see. Invest in what you believe -
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If I was in the market for a complete turnkey trading system I would certainly want verified proof of its performance with complete historical brokerage statements covering a reasonably long period of time and market conditions although I doubt any of these snake oil systems vendors provide any proof at all.
But if I buy a book(s) on price action (or in this case a video course which is basically an audio/video version of the book) there is no reasonable expectation for verified brokerage statements in my opinion. This is especially true for a video course at a $250 price point for which sample chapters are provided for free for one to decide if the material is useful.
I cannot imagine requiring all authors of books on trading to have to include verified brokerage statements with their books. Or maybe we could take it a step further and require all internet forum members responding to other members questions to provide verified brokerage statements to prove they really know what they are talking about.
The Al Brooks materials are not complete trading systems, they are materials attempting to describe how price action works in trading from one trader's perspective. No one could realistically watch the video course and with just that material become a profitable trader it just is not going to happen.
That was the context under which I made my juvenile, ridiculous and whining comments. In retrospect I see I was unduly harsh in my wording so I apologize to anyone who may have been offended by my remarks.
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Turnkey Al Brooks is not. I most certainly agree there.
It appears that Al did nothing to appease concerns he was actually trading in real time with real money vs. just talking and writing about it.
I think the brokerage statements were really the only means of "evidence" that would be considered "real" enough to address it.
But somehow (and incorrectly) I believe a substantial weighting got thrown behind the words "brokerage statement" - as in prove your millions Al!
No. I believe it was to verify if Al is actually trading. He has never said he doesn't trade anymore but he would do nothing to verify he still does.
If he isn't trading now, as I have said before that will be totally fine with many folks. Partly misleading but at least honest.
I believe this is a reasonable request if you are a purchaser of his Work.
For me, with all of what I have read, if it comes to light anything other than that my persona of Al will be shattered somewhat. As I said before, I thought he was just like us - that little guy behind a screen trying to make a few bucks each and every day.
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- Trade what you see. Invest in what you believe -
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Juvenile insistence on seeing proof! Did I read you correctly? You think that a common minimum standard of asking to see that the person you are paying for a service is capable of delivering a reliable, tested and safe product is juvenile? The reason that we don't see this in this industry is because of attitudes like yours. What is juvenile or so outrageous about a request or expectation that you can see that a vendor can trade their product profitably? No wonder this industry is so full of crooks.
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