• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Trading Heroes

Forex Trading Education

  • About
  • Articles
  • Resources
  • Shop
  • Login

Forex Patterns and Probabilities is a Trading Book You Must Read

If you are tired of trading books that only give you part of a trading method in order to sell you a more expensive course, then this book could be for you. This post will share what I liked about this book, what I skipped over and how not to go from trader to high school teacher.

Home / Trader Life / Forex Patterns and Probabilities is a Trading Book You Must Read

Last updated: August 11, 2022
By Hugh Kimura

fx-probabilities-patterns

As I am writing this, I don't remember where I first heard about this book. What I do know is that it has been on my Amazon Wishlist for a long time.

A really long time. 

The reason that I didn't pick it up right away was a combination of three things:

  1. Having my hands full with testing other trading methods.
  2. Let's face it, $50+ for a book (especially the Kindle version) doesn't put it at the top of most people's reading lists.
  3. An ever present fear that it might be another crappy trading book that will consume two hours of my life, that I will never get back.

But I have recently become better at automating things in my life and that has freed up some time. So I started looking for some new trading ideas one day.

As I scrolled through my Wishlist, there weren't any books that really jumped out at me…until I hit the last book on the list. This book had been there for so long that I completely forgot about it.

So I downloaded it and I was pleasantly surprised. Books like Forex Patterns and Probabilities by Ed Ponsi are my favorite Forex trading books.

RELATED: Positive affirmation tracks to reprogram your subconscious

More on that in a bit. But first, I'll share with you what I didn't read in this book.

What I Skipped

The beginning of the book was the standard introduction to currency trading. I did skim a couple of the sections and this book does a good job of explaining the fundamental concepts in a clear and well-structured way. If you are a beginner, then I certainly recommend reading this introductory information to get up to speed.

I also skipped his section on Fibonacci retracements. It does work for some traders, but I find Fibos a little too arbitrary for my taste. Maybe I will learn to appreciate them one day, but for now, I ignore them.

There are also a couple of short-term trading strategies that I skipped over because they don't fit my personality. But other than that, I actually read through many sections several times and took notes in Evernote.

What I Read…And Reread

forex-patterns-and-probabilitiesKarma is a bitch. That was one of my favorite trading lessons in the psychology section of this book.

He tells a story of two coworkers that were rooting against him after a winning streak. They were really happy when the hot streak came to an end and Ed started losing.

When it was all said and done however, the joke was on them. They ended up working in a restaurant and teaching high school, while Ed is still trading.

So while there might not actually be such a thing as karma, having negative thoughts about others ultimately contaminates your own psychology and leads you to make major mistakes. But if you are trading full-time and you really do want to teach high school, then this is something you should try.

I know that I'm a much better swing trader than a day trader. So I only concentrated on the swing strategies in this book. Luckily, they are a few to choose from.

About Ed's Trading Methods

Now we come to the big question…are his trading strategies any good?

Remember that a trading system alone does not make a good trader. Ed emphasizes this in the book. You could have the best trading system in the world and still lose money. Also avoid the Trading Silodrome and don't jump to a new trading system just because you want to try something different.

With that PSA out of the way, if you do have room in your trading quiver for a new strategy, then there are two reasons why you should read this book and start testing his strategies.

First, the systems that he gives you in this book are complete systems. He doesn't hold anything back.

Some books are simply lead generators to upsell a more expensive course. That is not the case with this book, you get the complete systems.

Second, the methods are simple and explained very clearly. This may seem like it is easy to do, but you will be surprised how much some authors can complicate even the simplest trading system.

The method that appealed to me the most was the Fx-Ed Trend Technique and that is what I'm currently testing. Before I move on to another system in this book, I'm going to get comfortable with this method first though.

So to come back to the question at the beginning of this section, these methods are only going to be as good as you make them. Ed lays out everything you need to get started. He uses standard indicators and measuring tools. It is up to you learn them, test them and figure out if they work with your personality.

Rockstars Make Good Traders (and authors)

One interesting thing that I learned about Ed from this book is that he used to be a rockstar…literally. I don't know why that caught me off guard, but it did. Maybe it was because every picture that I've seen of him shows him in a suit and schoolboy haircut.

But once I learned that fact, things started to make sense. It may have even contributed to making me like the book more. His humor and his more conversational tone was refreshing, compared to other trading books that I read.

Conclusion

Forex Patterns and Probabilities is one of those books that you will probably keep in your library for a long time. I know that this will be the case for me. If you are looking for a well written, actionable book that will teach you exactly what you need to know, then I recommend picking up this book.

What is your favorite recent read? Share your pick in the comments below…

 

 

 

Disclosure: I do get a commission if you buy through some of the links on this page. But it does NOT cost you anything extra, it helps pay for my hosting costs and a portion of the proceeds go to my charity partner.

Related Articles

  • 3 Reasons Why You Should Read The PlayBook By Mike Bellafiore
  • Trading, Sex and Dying: Book Review
  • Book Review: The First Billion is the Hardest
  • Trade With Passion and Purpose Book Review
  • Naked Forex: High-Probability Techniques for Trading Without Indicators
  • Excuses Begone! – Book Review

Category: Trader Life Tag: Trading Book Reviews

About Hugh Kimura

Hi, I'm Hugh and I'm an independent trader. Before starting Trading Heroes in 2007, I used to work at the trading desk of a hedge fund, for one of the largest banks in the world and at an IBM Premier Business Partner.

Learn more about me here and read more of my articles here.

Primary Sidebar

Trading Guides

How to Backtest a Trading Strategy in Any Market

The Heroic Guide to Forex Hedging for Beginners

How to Figure Out Your Trader Personality Profile

The Forward Testing Guide for Beginners

How to Create a Precise Trading Plan (with PDF worksheet)

About Hugh Kimura

 About Hugh Kimura

Hi, I'm Hugh. I'm an independent Trader and I started Trading Heroes in 2007.

Before starting this site, I worked at the trading desk of a hedge fund, at one of the largest banks in the world, and at an IBM Premier Business Partner.

Learn more
FREE Forex Hedging Guide
Forex Hedging Guide
Learn how Forex Hedging really works.

Download Now

Footer

Company

  • Trading Courses and Education
  • Trading Blog
  • About
  • Contact
  • Beware of Imposters

Articles

  • Backtesting
  • Etheric Finance Podcast
  • Forward Testing
  • Funded Trader Programs
  • Podcast
  • Trader Life
  • Trading Psychology
  • Trading Software Tutorials
  • Trading Strategies

Community

  • YouTube
  • X
  • Instagram
  • Facebook

Trading involves risk and can result in the loss of your investment. Invest at your own risk. Past performance does not guarantee future results. All information on this site is for informational purposes only and is not trading, investment, tax or health advice. The reader bears responsibility for his/her own investment research and decisions. Seek the advice of a qualified finance professional before making any investment and do your own research to understand all risks before investing or trading. TrueLiving Media LLC and Hugh Kimura accept no liability whatsoever for any direct or consequential loss arising from any use of this information. This site is reader supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. You are more powerful than you know, keep expanding.

 

Copyright © 2007–2025 TrueLiving Media LLC | Terms | Privacy | Risk