The Simple Strategy - A Powerful Day Trading Strategy For Trading Futures, Stocks, ETFs and Forex

As someone who just started learning Options trading as of last summer and trading stocks for over 4 years, I have been buying books and scouring the internet to gain better knowledge on Technical Analysis, Options Mechanics and just sharpening my trading, this has got to be the best and most simplest book i have ever bought. Now I graduated undergrad as a Business Admin-MIS major, some emphasis in Computer Science and now studying my MBA in IS and Computer Science, i'm pretty sharp in the mind. So when I decided to start learning investing I bought a few books, which I thought were pretty good but I started to search more and more and really needed something along the lines of learning specific strategies for Intraday/Swing/Momentum trading. This book did it. Like i said I am now a more focused options trader and just bought this book two days ago, back tested the strategy and its clear, cut and straight to the point...just how I like it. I studied the strategies in this book separately and have done moderately well in Options trading but as I am writing this and testing the strategy in the market as we speak, the strategy works. I wish I would have bought this book a few years ago. I highly recommend this book if you are looking for a simply strategy as the book is titled, so you can actually help consistently increase your portfolio. I am about to update my trading plan today!! Update: So I decided to come back and write an update review on this book. This book has done wonders for me. I updated my trading plan to incorporate this strategy in my trading and I've consistently had winning trades. The market, of course, will have its own direction but using this strategy will help follow that direction and snag some profits. For example, since I day trade options I make sure all my positions are flat by EOB and usually only trade securities that have a large daily swings, I tested this strategy with JC Penny which usually swings between a 10 - 30 cent change daily on the stock, I was able to get a 100% return on an Options trade because of this strategy. Now I maintain a set watchlist (about 10) of companies I trade using just this strategy. It works people. It's very simple, takes a lot of the confusion and noise out of the trading and the strategy makes sense because of the type of investment you are working with (read the book to find out what I mean by that). I am always looking to sharpen my trading strategy and this book did the trick. I actually started to learn other indicators and pair with this strategy and it's paying off. Get this book!!

I definitly would reccomend this book to new and advanced daytraders. I have been daytrading and swingtrading for 4 years and I like the ideas behind Heitkoetter's strategy. I especially like the riskt to reward setup and the mindless trading rules that leave all emotion out of each trade. I already impliment some of these strategies before I have read this book and I wont be changed anything with my strategy based on this book but for traders who are struggling and need a base and simple strategy this is the book for you. This book only takes about an hour to read which is very convienent for busy lifestyles so you really can not go wrong with this buy. -CodysTrades

I consider myself an intermediate-level trader. I've been trading with some degree of success over the past couple of years but not yet in that "ready to retire" mode, so I'm still tweaking some of my better strategies and getting rid of the stuff that's just not working. This book is a great reminder that sometimes it's the simple things and the basics that are the most effective. I think just going back to bollinger bands and MACD might make some big improvements in my trading. I have at least six new things to try (or old things to return to!) after having read this book which makes it worth the price. In some webinars I've spent an hour and only learned one or two new things, and sometimes none. I also appreciate him putting in the links to websites with some low-cost and free indicators and education within this book. Well worth it!

It's okay. My review is based on numerous backtests of the strategy outlined in this book. I trade stocks on a 5 minute bar. Backtests were conducted using Wealth-Lab Pro on 400+ common stocks on NYSE, NASDAQ, and AMEX exchanges with at least 1MM shares traded daily. I read the book several times and referred to it many times to ensure backtests were coded in a way that matched the author's intent as accurately as possible. However, my tests were conducted using time bars which the author says are acceptable, but he clearly recommends range bars. Pro - The book does outline a strategy with many of the required mechanics. Both long and short strategies are described. - Straight to the point. Easy read. 1 hour max. - Reasonably priced. - Reviews some very common indicators that we should all be familiar with. Con - The strategy is not profitable for my target market based on above backtests. - The book is ambiguous in a number of areas. Words like "at or near" leave the reader wondering what the exact rule is. - There is not enough info on market selection. The book says that the strategy is universal, but it also says a trend is required. Does the MACD qualify the stock as having a trend? Is a mid or long term trend required? The reader is left guessing. In summary, don't expect to implement the strategy outlined in this book and start making money if your trading profile is similar to mine (above). However, there is some good info in the book that can't hurt to learn or refresh yourself on. With some modifications it is conceivable that a strategy similar to "The Simple Strategy" could be profitable.

This is an excellent "all in one book" for a beginning trader of any financial instrument --- emphasis is on futures but all markets are covered in a general sense. The writing is clear and easy to read and understand. Reading this book avoids all the confusion and fog of the many, many methods to trade and all the different directions a new trader can be steered into. A beginner should just focus on this book, follow it carefully and actually DO all that is suggested until he/she is consistently profitable for 6 months. Then, and only then, should the new trader look for other strategies and method. If you are experienced and all mused up and not making money, then, get this book and put away all your other stuf and what you have learned until you are consistently profitable for 6 months.

I have been forex trader for a couple of years now but sadly, I have lost in many of my trades. I started to look for an uncomplicated strategy which could enable me to regain my losses.... and I bought "simple strategy" . The author is quite honest. His strategy is simple as the title shows but it may not be a way for big fast profits or maybe I am expecting too much in a short period of time ( as I have lost thousands of dollars already !) I have no doubt to recommend this book to everyone who wishes to make steady progress in this business as it is easy to understand, helpful and very clear. Thanks to Markus,the author and all the other viewers! Hedi

Warning: you will likely lose money if you trade the strategy recommended in this book. The book describes a "simple strategy" based on a combination of basic indicators (RSI, Bollinger Bands, and MACD). Although the book claims that the book has "clear entry rules," some of the "rules" are actually rather squishy and ill-defined. For example, the instructions are to set up a stop order when the close of a bar is "AT or NEAR the Upper Bollinger Band." How near is "near"? This is a case of "I know it when I see it," not a clearly-defined, unambiguous rule. From the text of the book, it is clear that the author has never properly backtested the strategy using automated techniques. Instead, he recommends a manual form of so-called "backtesting" that involves simply looking at old charts for prior trading days and determining by hand (with the benefit of hindsight) where you would have made entries and exits. This approach leaves a huge risk for subconsciously fudging the results -- you will tend to see trades where they would have been successful, while overlooking trades that would have turned out to be losing trades. I set out to test this strategy more rigorously, by coding the rules in the programming language EasyLanguage and testing it against historical data for the S&P 500 e-mini using the MultiCharts trading platform. The results: on average, you will lose about $33 per trade (including commissions and slippage). I tried the strategy on some other symbols, as well, and it was similarly dismal.

I thought this was an excellent little trading book because it describes a real-life day trading strategy (most often used on futures markets), explains everything clearly, and gives lots of examples. I've read many dozens of trading books, and very, very few actually describe a real life trading strategy in such detail. Other reviewers unfamiliar with range bars seem to have issues with them, but I've been using them for many years for both manual and computerized algo trading, and they are my preferred bar style, for sure. So if you haven't heard of them, take it as an opportunity to learn about them and try them out. The author mentions the Genesis FT charting software (among others), and I can also vouch for Genesis. I've been using their software for many years, and have not found any other charting package that is so flexible. And their support is excellent, like the author's website support. There are no gimmicks or omissions in this little book. It's very well written, and easily worth the price. Many years ago I had the experience of working with the author's company and trading rooms (live web trading rooms) where users were guided through making trades in real time using the strategies in this little book. So it's all very, very real. I would easily recommend this book to anyone who is interested in trading.