DVD Review: PennyStocking by Timothy Sykes

Timothy Sykes is nearly impossible to slap a conventional label on. He has managed to achieve what some people take a lifetime to achieve in just 26 years. He has been trader, hedge fund manager, reality TV star, publisher, author and now an educator. Sykes most notable achievement was his great trading gains made from 1999-2002, where he turned $12,415 to $1.65 million trading penny stocks. After reading Timothy Sykes book I was very interested in watching  DVD series on Penny Stocking.

There are four DVD’s in total and each runs for approximately an hour and twenty minutes. For the purpose of this review I will go through each DVD separately and then summarize the package as a whole. The DVD’s are formatted Region One however I had no trouble playing the DVD in my laptop and DVD player, most modern DVD players are multi region. It would appear the DVD’s have been duplicated rather then replicated using a glass master. This is completely understandable due to the small production run, however you may have trouble playing the DVD in some gaming consoles. The DVD package also comes with a 220 page printed manual. The manual consists of all the slides that are presented throughout the DVD presentation. You will also receive an autographed copy of Tim’s book American Hedge fund. I would strongly recommend that you read the book before going through the DVD series.

Penny Stocking Disc One

The first DVD consists of 13 chapters the titles of these chapter are shown below:

1. Disclaimer.
2. Timothy Sykes.
3. Investment Types.
4. Stock Market Terms.
5. Stock Market Terms cont.
6. Wall Street Players.
7. Penny Stocks.
8. Play Penny Stocks.
9. Corporate Events.
10. Penny Stock Basics.
11. Chart Types.
12. Chart Patterns.
13. Chart Patterns cont.

This first DVD starts out with the basics and introduces us to Timothy Sykes. The materiel is presented in such a way that only the most relevant details are highlighted. This is very helpful to new traders, as often they become quickly overwhelmed with all the terms they need to know. The Wall Street players section has a great overview of the different individuals that take part in trading Penny Stocks. The DVD quickly moves on to Penny Stocking Basics, you are not just given the standard text book definition you are given the real world introduction.

My favourite chapters: 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13.

Penny Stocking Disc Two

The second DVD consists of 5 chapters the titles of these chapter are shown below:

1. Messy.
2. Supernova.
3. Stair Stepper.
4. The Snore.
5. The Crow.

This second DVD is were it gets exciting with price action, price action and more price action.  You will learn some of the methods Tim uses to make his trading decisions. He has uniquely named the patterns that he trades, watch out for the Crow. As the patterns are introduced they are analysed as a medical condition would be. First an overview of the pattern is discussed then symptoms, diagnosis and treatment are examined. Several different companies charts are looked at for each pattern that is introduced, this allows you to see how the patterns form in differing market conditions. You will need to pay close attention during this section and you may need to watch it twice to fully grasp the principles that are presented.

My favourite chapters: 2 and 5.

Penny Stocking Disc Three

The third DVD consists of 6 chapters the titles of these chapter are shown below:

1. About Me.
2. 1999.
3. 2000.
4. 2001.
5. 2002.
6. 2003.

In the third DVD we return to Tim’s trading experiences he takes us back to his early trading days. This section gives us valuable tips hints and real world examples of trading these penny stocks. One great things about Timothy Sykes is he can readily admit when he is wrong and he openly reveals not just his success but also his failures. As each year is explored chronologically a structured approach is taken and the following factors are looked at:

• Environment.
• Education.
• Trading.
• Lessons.
• Charting.

My favourite chapters: All.

Penny Stocking Disc Four

The fourth DVD consists of 6 chapters the titles of these chapter are shown below:

1. 2004.
2. 2005.
3. 2006.
4. Mainstream Publishing.
5. Learn from my Gains.
6. Learn from my Mistakes.

The final DVD looks at the years from 2004-2006 much in the same vain as the previous DVD. Each year investigated has unique characteristics and some very important lessons. The fourth chapter looks at Tim’s foray into the publishing industry. Even though this had nothing to do with penny stocking I found it to be an interesting perspective. The final two chapters highlight important lessons that Tim has learnt during his trading journey.

My favourite chapters: 4, 5 and 6.

Criticisms

I really have to draw at straws to find negatives with this product as it was so solid. On the final disc there is a error with a title that reads 2003 and it should read 2006 but there is nothing wrong with chart itself. The only other things that would make this product better would be the use of a few intra-day charts and a list of penny stock newsletters that one should subscribe to to monitor hype.

Do I get my monies worth?

This is a hard question to answer and for a large part comes down to individual expectations. This package really would pay for itself with one maybe two good trades. If you are new to the trading game however this might seem unrealistic.

Ask yourself this, are you motivated enough to:

• watch these DVD’s a few times paper trade the setups presented ?
• Build a watch list to identify stocks in play ?
• research potential plays ?

If you are prepared to take action and implement the concepts that are presented, this product is definitely value for money. This is not a get rich scheme it takes hard work and dedication. These DVD’s will save you many hours trawling around the net looking for information.

12 Hours of screen time

In putting together this review I have watched these DVD’s twice and taken countless pages of notes. I would recommend that you watch no more then two hours in one sitting. It is also very helpful to take notes. I am sure I will be hearing these Tim sayings in my sleep:

“Have fun with that”

“Boom, Supernova”

“Just kidding”

“Go for it!”

“It’s all in the charts”

Putting it all together

This is a truly amazing education package for the beginning penny stocker. It is almost impossible to compare this product as there is nothing on the market like it. A lot of educational products will give you a text book based view of the market or present a theoretical model. This DVD is real world trading, there is no such thing as a sure thing. Tim’s conversational tone and no frills approach make it easier for a non trader to pick up the concepts presented.

There is a strong undertone throughout the DVD on adaptability and taking opportunities when they arise. There is also emphasis placed on not limiting your opportunities to just one field. This is exemplified by Tim’s move into publishing and education.

There is no all encompassing strategy presented rather a introduction to price action and a thorough look at breakouts and breakdowns. This materiel is very well presented but will require diligence on the viewers part to understand the concepts presented. It is definitely worth paper trading these setups to get a feel for what trading would be like. As the saying goes practice makes perfect.

These DVD’s give the viewers a solid foundation and Tim goes to great lengths to stress the importance of continued education.  Penny stock trading really has been written of as to volatile and a waste of time by most people and I have to admit before watching this DVD I had similar views. My eyes have been opened to the to the wonderful world of penny stalking, bring on the supernova’s. I personally enjoyed the price action and charting sections of these DVD’s. His analysis of the Wall Street players was also a highlight.

This is a great trading package and I would strongly recommend it to anyone looking to trade penny stocks.I am just waiting for the Timothy Sykes Guide to Short Selling or whatever his next project is.

Check out a sample chapter of the PennyStocking DVD.

About the author

Mark - Is a 28 year old form Australia. He has a Bachelor in Economics and a Major in CS. He is currently working towards his CFP. His interests include algorithmic trading systems, artificial intelligence, game theory and poker.