I bought Flag-Trader at the beginning of September '09 and started virtual trading with it on 11 September.
My first impressions were that the method was easily understandable, logically sound and emotionally manageable. I had emailed Guy Cohen and his team beforehand, and they were enthusiastic but not pushy. The method relies on finding clearly identifiable (or "clean") flag patterns with the software, then following a strict trading plan as taught by Guy.
For each prospective trade, the plan's most important elements are a "breakout" entry point, together with an automatic "stop loss" exit point (if the market moves against you), combined with a two-stage profit taking strategy (if the market moves in your favour). Knowing in advance exactly what action to take at any time, removes the element of emotion from the trading, and the first-stage profit taking effectively turns the trade into a "risk-free" one.
For the first two months I only made a very small profit, and my frustration was echoed by Guy who was commenting on the steep retracements in the markets being counter-productive. This was mildly reassuring as at least I had avoided major losses, and my account had made a slight profit, even in those tough market conditions.
Then in late November I attended Guy’s webinar where he introduced a small adjustment to his first-stage profit target. I followed this to the letter, and in the next two months (to Friday 22 January), my profits have soared - even with the markets being choppy.
I have to say I'm impressed, not just because of the method itself, but also because of the fact that Guy is prepared to introduce adjustments in line with the market’s behaviour. Yet he stays completely true to the method.
I’ve also introduced another way of exiting my trades using a combination of the 5 and 12 period Exponential Moving Averages, which seems to work very well in determining the trade's final exit point, and thus the second-stage profit.
Overall I'm very pleased, and I'm managing to be utterly mechanical with it.
J.