Reviewed by Ed Dobson, President, Traders Press, Inc.

Those knowledgeable about the history and background of the study of cyclical price behavior in the financial markets know full well the tremendous value of the pioneering research done in this area by the legendary J.M. Hurst in the 1970s. His seminal work, The Profit Magic of Stock Transaction Timing, is a classic in this area and is held in the highest esteem by cycles enthusiasts.

Few, however, are aware of the fact that Hurst, in addition to his classic book, also authored a full-fledged, fully comprehensive course, which teaches the student everything he or she needs to know to select and analyze data, produce trade signals, as well as enter, monitor and exit trades, based on the principles uncovered by Hurst's incisive research.

The Hurst Cycles Course exposes the student, whether veteran trader or novice, to a method of trading based on the cyclic waves that underpin market price action. The scope of the training encompasses the entire gamut of activities required to make any market trade in virtually any time frame. The fact that price charts exhibit visible price cycles only a relatively small percentage of the time does not militate against this approach.

In fact, it is precisely this reason that gives Hurst's methodology its greatest value. Even when price is in a hard trend and does not exhibit an obvious cyclic pattern, it is underlain by a host of waves of various lengths and amplitudes. The author shows how these can be winnowed out of the chart, revealing their interrelationship with the price action and providing a remarkable amount of information about the history of the market, its current status and probable future.

In developing this course as an educational tool, the author has pulled out all the stops. No effort has been spared in bringing to the reader a full and usable understanding of trading on the basis of a cyclic substrate. The clarity of Hurst's writing is no small part of the course's value, even in the face of the fact that the text is loaded with newly coined special terms and labels.

The illustrations are large (many oversized foldouts), cogent and truly necessary to the interactive style of teaching at the heart of this course. The student finds himself or herself repeatedly asked to perform learning tasks that clarify the material and will be used in actual trading.

Numerous reviews help instill the necessary concepts. Each lesson is accompanied by a glossary, an extensive summary and a self-administered test. The course is capped off by a book-sized chapter that reviews the entire text, a full glossary and a delineation of all the relevant formulas.

Those who have read Hurst's book, The Profit Magic of Stock Transaction Timing, might be under the misimpression that the course is merely a complex method of picking an entry to the markets. Wrong. The most outstanding characteristic of this course is that it covers virtually every important factor to be found in price charts and explains each in the compelling terms of composite wave activity.

If you have ever wondered why price bottoms routinely look different from tops, you will find the answer in the Hurst course. If you have ever wondered whether the cessation of a price move was likely to be a reversal or a slight retracement, Hurst shows how to know the probabilities and, importantly, how to take advantage of them!

The main concepts of the course are encompassed by the heading, "Cyclic Analysis", under which falls these categories: Complete Cyclic Analysis, Transaction Evaluation, Intratransaction Analysis and Transaction Termination. In other words, training is given in the complete management of a trade -- from an evaluation of the wave activity that governs current price behavior through a determination of the most appropriate entry point and an ongoing judgment of market activity while in a trade position that provides a projected exit point and culminates in an actual exit.

The course breaks down cyclic concepts into eight categories, each of which is specifically defined and is based on the well established observations of scientifically determined fact. The details of these are described, and the implications of each are detailed as they affect trading decisions.

As an example, that elusive animal, trend, is defined operationally. As with everything else in the course, the definition is based entirely on cyclic concepts. Also as with everything else, it is related directly to practical trading.

Review by
Edward Dobson, President
Traders Press, Inc.
Greenville, SC

Additional details are available on www.traderspress.com.