Today was the final day of my trial at Level5 and following are my observations and personal opinions:
1) They have only been operational for a few weeks.
2) Very friendly and eager to help you learn, utilizing voice, chat and pop up graphics to illustrate the setups. A very good tool indeed, since a picture is worth a thousand words (especially when the setups are PUPS, MINI PUPS, NOODLES, KISS, COIL, INVERSE PUP, INVERSE MINIPUP, etc). A lot of hand-holding and ATTEMPTS TO KEEP STOPS AT .10!!!
3) Since I am still a member at UT through the end of this month, I have the luxury of comparing both rooms. Now I hope BH, the host of Level5 forgives me for my candid review, but hey thats me I don't like sugar coatings as I approach the big 50, so I do have concerns to talk about. It seems that Jay at UT gets you into a position earlier, which means more profit potential. Now this may very well be BH's attempt to reduce risk for his members, so it may have no reflection on his ability to recognize setups and initiate a position. My observation also leads me to believe Jay is a little stronger on "reading" and interpreting the "noodles." This perception on my part may again be a bias, since I know Jay is the teacher.
4) Jay does call more trade alerts, but you also will take more stops. The stops are also a little larger, but Jay does instruct you on the proper way to take a stop, which helps to minimize the damage. It is based on a concept he calls "backfill" and not panicing like a "pig."
To be fair to both rooms, these methods require volume to produce the anticipated results. As we all know for the past couple of weeks the post open volume is weak, at best. I have to wonder if any available method is producing great results under these market conditions.
I may be expecting too much from chatrooms in general. Today was my first day at Trendfund, and frankly I was disappointed. The chatroom shows over 300 members, the dialogue is a hodgepodge of market statistics and I could not see one clear trade alert. They email the alerts, and they did not seem to be called in the room. The recommended stops are $1.00, and many of the stocks are low-liquidity unfamiliar names. I obviously need to give it more time, but my first look under the kimono was less than exhilarating.
Now let me state that I have not taken a trade in two weeks, from any room. The reason being I have not seen a strong enough setup on which to place my bet. What I am seeing is a lot of weak moves and too many stops being taken. It is no wonder that so many daytrading resources have disappeared over the past few months. Most stocks are range bound and there is no volume. I remember one recent post here on ET "Damn....this is too easy!" One day out of how many? Well I have to get back to reviewing the calls and comparing them to the charts in an attempt to be stronger at recognizing the setups on my own. I am looking forward to the day when I don't need these damn crutches!
Good luck and good trading!
--arky
