Al Brooks method

What's the general opinion on Al Brooks works?

I read Trading Trends and found it fascinating. He also describes the concept of trapped traders teaching you how to spot where stop loss orders are probably placed and could fuel a movement in the opposite direction, once hit.

He's not a guru, he just teaches price action.

Now reading Trading Ranges.

 

This won't end well when the usual cast of characters see this.

 

Tell me more.

 

For the past few years, there's been this super-aggressive and also continuous anti-TA assault taking place on here. Last year, it got even worse. The mods like to pretend that this isn't taking place, so if they're still in denial, expect for this thread to be overrun by people telling you that technical analysis is BS.

 

I think his work is about 20% trite and 70% bs. Print off lots of 5 minutes charts and you'll find the patterns aren't there or if you are trading them off 5 minute charts half the move is gone by the time the 5 minute entry bar closes.

 

At the end of the day, your job as a trader is to get from point A to point B. Point A being unprofitability and inconsistency, Point B being consistency and profitability. If Brooks helps you get from Point A to Point B in some way or fashion, then he has done his job.

 

DS, AB is a genuine character, but you'll find that over time there will be more traders that catch your interest, in turn helping you ultimately find out what suits.
Most pro's are minimalists, they end up using price action, patterns and "maybe" one indicator.

 

Indeed. So I'm gradually coming to learn (I haven't been here long).

I think not. Luckily, that appears to have changed, rather significantly.

This post's particularly interesting and welcome.

It depends whom you ask. I might not even be making a living at all, without his teaching (though Volman, Ross and a couple of others were also very helpful to me), but people like myself are under-represented in trading forums, so on this particular question "general opinion in trading forums" is probably significantly different from "general opinion among traders".

 

Well, if they don't believe it, perhaps they shouldn't go to a TA forum in the first place.

 

@Xela
How long did it take for you to become profitable?

I know it's different for everyone, but I don't resist asking it everytime some one claims to make a living from trading (not that I doubt it).