5 Responses to “ESSENTIALS OF FOREIGN EXCHANGE TRADING”

1. Haritasha Says:
   November 14th, 2009 at 12:10 am

   I have to assume that all the 5 star reviews are either from Mr. Chen’s friends or from total newbies to trading. I was shocked at how extremely basic the concepts in this book were. If I was totally new to forex and spent about 2 hours going through free forex sites I could write a book more comprehensive than this. Mr. Chen has to have more knowledge than this about trading(I certainly hope he does!). Not only can you get all of the information in this book for free on the internet, even the most newbiefied and basic free sites have more advanced concepts than this book. If I were Mr. Chen I would be embarrassed in front of the trading world for putting out this book. Makes him look like a newbie himself or at least totally lazy copout that just wanted to crank out something to sell. Maybe he should have titled it “Forex for Toddlers” because anyone over 4 years old would throw this into the trash can labeled “superficial”. Total disappointment. Since I have to rate this at least 1 star, that 1 star is for 0-4 year olds.
   Rating: 1 / 5

2. Timothy Salem Says:
   November 14th, 2009 at 12:14 am

   Mr. Chen has done a superior job here concerning a Task that is certainly more than meets the proverbial Eye…

   Transitioning my own Trading Work from Equities in the late 1990′s, I, like most, found the Foreign Exchange Markets to have distinct advantages that were somewhat seamless to transition to… but how about the New Trader?

   The early part of the Decade the Industry was lacking in qualitative Resources for the newer Trader looking to learn about these Markets.

   James has presented a Resource that is full of Institutional Perspectives that are clearly those of an Institutionally-Seasoned Trader.

   The Text and Cohesion of the Chapters are concise enough to be comfortable reading for the Novice, while at the same time providing comprehensive and useful information that can be applied in a progressive fashion.

   Having known James for a while in a Professional Climate simply reinforced my View of the Quality of Work seen here, and my thoughts certainly will not detract from the Content in any manner whatsoever.

   The Work speaks for Itself, and I recommend the Book to anyone interested in learning about the true Mechanics of Foreign Exchange Work
   
   with the utmost Sincerity.

   Do not take my Word for it… See for Yourself.

   Tim Salem ( CVJ )

   UltraMax Group

   Rating: 5 / 5

3. Marc Stern Says:
   November 14th, 2009 at 12:54 am

   I got this book as a present and I love it. I had been thinking of changing careers from systems analyst and business unit manager at a top “global” bank to self-employed forex trader. This book has been a tremendous help in getting me going. Before this I felt I was dabbling, but this book helped put structure around how I trade. It is a fine introduction to the field, but what was best was the practical advice on how to think about forex strategies. Thanks in part to this book, I am up and running with a few trading programs, and it’s early, but so far so good. I feel confident enough to add a few of my own ideas to some of the trading frameworks in the book. The book is a terrific shortcut to get going quickly trading forex.
   Rating: 5 / 5

4. James A. Hyerczyk Says:
   November 14th, 2009 at 2:31 am

   In his book, “Essentials of Foreign Exchange Trading”, James Chen hits all the major technical and fundamental points necessary to become a successful Forex trader. This is a must read for both the novice and professional trader.

   James A. Hyerczyk
   
   Author: Pattern, Price & Time, Using Gann Theory in Technical Analysis
   Rating: 4 / 5

5. John Forman Says:
   November 14th, 2009 at 3:20 am

   I’m a bit mixed on Essentials of Foreign Exchange Trading. In terms of a basic overview and description of the retail forex market I think it does a pretty good job. Chen covers all the bases from a brief overview of how we got to where we are in terms of market structure, the basics of forex pricing and trading mechanics, and overviews of technical and fundamental analysis. This is something you would certainly expect from someone who works for a broker.

   There are also a number of different trading strategies discussed. That ranges from the different timeframes (day, swing, position) to the broad styles of trading (trend, range), and incorporates some of the methodologies (breakouts, chart patterns, Fibonacci, pivot points, Elliott Wave, etc.) as well as discussions of topics like carry and news trading. While some basic strategies are introduced, this is not the type of book which outlines a specific strategy or set of strategies. Instead it provides an overview of the different approaches one could take to trading forex.

   I do have a few issues with the book, however, some folks may consider them a bit nitpicky.

   First, Chen discusses “stop loss” and “profit limit” orders in a way which suggests they are somehow different than stop and limit orders, which they aren’t. This could confuse some new traders.

   Second, the subject of margin isn’t covered quite as fully as I’d like to have seen. Margin call is explained, but the actual margin requirement (initial and maintenance) are not well defined. Given how frequently this confuses new traders, it would have been good for there to have been a more thorough discussion of the subject.

   Third, Chen actually talks about “hedging” in a way which suggests it can be a useful strategy. The book was written prior to the NFA’s rules in opposition to this practice, but that is only for US brokers. Those in other countries can still employ “hedging”, which is a strategy that”s at best something which has no bottom line impact on one’s account and at worst actually costs the trader money for no net advantage being provided.

   I’m also not that keen on the way the author categorizes news trading as being a fundamental approach. It really isn’t. News traders are merely trying to profit from the market’s reaction to data releases. They don’t really care about the meaning of the release in the wider fundamental picture, just how it compares to market expectations. Call it basically a play on market psychology.

   I do like the way Chen includes sidebar type boxes introducing and explaning important people and topics in forex trading (or just trading in general). One of them even covers one of my favorite set-ups, the narrow Bollinger Band one he calls a “squeeze”.

   I also think the author does a fairly good job of talking (at least in brief) about important subjects related to developing a strategy and implementing a trading plan, and the pitfalls traders can fall into. I don’t care for his discussion of risk/reward, because it presents an overly one-sided view of trader performance, but otherwise I think Chen has done a reasonable job of hitting the major high points.

   Overall, I found Essentials of Foreign Exchange Trading a pretty quick, easy read.
   
   Rating: 3 / 5

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