Hi Bond – Yes TA has been a hobby for me for more than a decade now. I’ve collected heaps of books and DVDs, and completed lots of on-line courses over the years. All the time looking for the one indicator or set of indicators that would give me the correct answer every time. Of course this perfect solution doesn’t exist. I finally came to the conclusion that what I needed was a system with a proven and measurable edge. And now I’ve discovered that just one system isn’t enough. So my hobby continues and I can’t at this stage really see an end to the learning and discovery that is still ahead of me.
With trading in low cap spec stocks I’ve found that the simpler and more basic systems that have been around for quite a while now seem to work quite well. So I looked back at some of the original and some of the more recent references that I have used and I asked myself the question of if I was just starting out in this game exactly which books and courses etc. would I focus on. My list under the relevant subject headings follows.
Trend Analysis:
Book – “Trend Trading” Daryl Guppy – includes all the multiple moving average theory along with determining trend lines etc.
Book – “Trend Trading Set-Ups” L. A. Little – includes the concept of “Anchor Zones” which I have found to be of high significance and application with low cap spec stock chart analysis.
Incorporating Other Indicators into Chart Analysis:
Internet Site – “Top Dog Trading” Dr Barry Burns – all you need to know about momentum and setup timing using oscillators. I can recommend the Foundations Courses 1 & 2. There is also heaps of free stuff that he posts on a regular basis.
http://www.topdogtrading.com/enter.html
The other indicator specific reference that I would recommend is an indicator called “WaveTrend”. I was only recently made aware of this indicator thanks to an HC Poster who used it in his charts. It’s a momentum and overbought/oversold oscillator that I would recommend everyone should use. There isn’t all that much info available on this indicator compared to the other well-known ones. I managed to obtain the Amibroker code for the indicator from an internet search and I have noticed that you can download the code for ProReal charts as well.
Chart Patterns:
There is heaps of good free stuff on chart patterns available on the internet. Just type in the pattern name and add “Pattern” to the search in Google and you won’t be disappointed. Pattern descriptions, rules and success rates based on backtesting are all available for free. Two examples of such sites are:
http://www.finvids.com/Chart-Pattern - this is a must have reference for anyone interested in chart patterns.
http://thepatternsite.com/BestPatterns.html - Bulkowski’s chart pattern info is another must have reference.
Price-Volume Action and Chart Reading:
Once again do a Google search on “Volume Spread Analysis” and you will find heaps of info on VSA and Wyckoff analysis.
Two references that I have used are:
http://www.tradeguider.com/ - I purchased their Chart Reading online course which covered all of the VSA indicators but it doesn’t seem to be available anymore. If you go to their site you’ll find that they are currently giving away their “Trading in the Shadow of the Smart Money” book and on-line video course.
The other FREE HC resource that I can highly recommend is
@Jako8557 - Jako’s “Weekly Charting” threads in the Charts Forum. Jako to his credit has documented and described most of the VSA and Wyckoff principles in HC posts and provides links to all of this info at the beginning of each “Weekly Charting” thread.
If you want to get a better idea of what may be going on, on a day to day basis, with a stock by reading the chart and price-volume action then VSA will help you a lot.
Trading Systems including Position Sizing etc.:
Book - “Trade Your Way to Financial Freedom” Van K. Tharp
I think this book is considered to be the bible of fundamental Trade System theory.
Internet Site - “System Trader Success” posts by author Jeff Swanson
https://systemtradersuccess.com
and his online course – “System Development Master Class” although it doesn’t seem to currently be available.
Advanced Trading System Development and Management:
If this is what you are interested in then you can’t go past all of the Howard B. Bandy books and free videos available on the Blue Owl Press internet site.
http://blueowlpress.com/
I can recommend his book “Quantitative Technical Analysis” but be warned it’s more of a degree level tutorial rather than an easy to read TA book, and it focusses on Python and Amibroker code.
So as to get back to the theme of this thread, I noticed that OGX closed at 3.8c today. That’s right in the middle of the 3.6c to 4c support zone that was identified previously. Given that today saw the XJO fall 1.1%, the XMJ fall 1.1%, and the XGD (Gold Index) fall 2.3%, the fact that OGX held in this support range must be encouraging to all LTH’s. As previously noted, I’d be watching the 3.6c level very closely.
I hope the above references helps those who are interested in learning more about chart reading and TA.
Good luck everyone – Wilf
