Trading The Tape Review
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Honesty
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Quality
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Verified Trades
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User Experience
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Summary
Vendor refuses to disclose whether he even trades. If questioned, vendor responds with disdain and disbelief that anyone would question his integrity. Low user experience, trader receives no feedback or help during trading session.
User Review
( votes)In depth review of Trading The Tape
Trading The Tape is owned and operated by a single trader named Scott Maxie, working out of Toronto Canada.He offers an educational course at a cost of $1750 for three months. The course includes access to a library of training videos, and each day users can read a quick review of the bond futures markets via a rudimentary chat software. After three months, if the student wants to become part of, “a closed private group of serious professional traders” then student can pay an additional $750 per quarter to “receive unlimited training and be part of the synergy within the winners group”.
Scott Is A Tape Reader
What is tape reading? First let me say what tape reading is not. Tape reading cannot be quantified. Its not something that can be back tested and scientifically validated. It cannot pass the null hypothesis. Is is an art form. It is the art of looking at the auction order book and divining the future. If you have ever seen a live order book, then you know that a massive amount of information can pass through the order book and this can generate a lot of visual stimulus. With lights and numbers quickly flashing, some traders claim that they can notice patterns that other cannot notice. Sort of like seeing a ghost, or having a strong intuition about future events, or mind reading. I personally believe in ghosts, but I am just not sure I believe in tape reading. But I am willing to listen and keep my mind open to the possibility that it exists and it works. But I am also a believer in science, and many psychologists that specialize in helping traders overcome mental mistakes also claim that Tape Reading is just Visual Release Hallucinations, or Charles Bonnet Syndrome. I wont spend an hour explaining what Visual Release Hallucinations are, but I will give you a simplified explanation. Suppose that you watching grass grow very, very slowly. Suddenly you see a plane flying overhead, and then you look down and see that the gardener just moved the grass. You quickly surmised that the plane flying overhead has a causation effect on the growing grass, and the plane actually triggered the gardener to mow the lawn right before your very eyes. Lets get back into the review, and the next section on Scott’s claims that he trades with nearly zero risk.
Trading With Zero Risk?
In additional to training videos, the student also receives access to a proprietary indicator on Ninja Trader, that shows the trader what the smart money is doing. Scott also claims that success is possible with 0 to 1 tick risk with his trading methodology. Yes, you are reading this correctly…0-1 tick risk on each trade. In the 400+ trading products that I have reviewed, this would be the first and only trading product that claims success with basically zero risk. Is this sounding a bit too good to be true? You can make up your own mind.
Digging Deeper For The Truth
Several weeks prior to writing this review, I contacted Scott with an alias name and asked a few questions about the education service. I started off my emails explaining that I was a complete newbie to trading. He responded nicely to my newbie questions. But on the ensuing days, I started to ask deeper and more probing questions like how long have you been trading? How much do you typically earn each month trading? Would you be willing to show a monthly account statement of trading activity? Whenever I began to ask these uncomfortable questions, the conversation would immediately turn defensive and cold. He became offended that anyone should, or would ever question his credibility and honesty. I even asked him if he would be willing to verify a single trade, I never even got a response for this single and simple request, I just wanted to verify the existence that a single trade had ever occurred.
You Want Me To Trust, But Not Verify
In truth, I have no idea whether Scott Maxie is really a professional trader or just another trading charlatan and or an outright fraud. Maybe even Scott Maxie is not sure. But one thing I am sure of, is that if you are going to give him $1750, then you are doing so on nothing more than hope and a promise. Perhaps after reading this, you will even work up enough courage to ask Scott to show you his trading statement. You would be surprised at how many people will not do this, because they don’t want to seem rude.
Anyway, there plenty of trading educators out there, and plenty that have specialized order flow indicators. And plenty that disclose trades, provide statements, and provide a live interactive training environment. Don’t waste your time or hard earned money on educators that refuse to verify that they have ever made even a single trade. Its just not worth the risk.
Scott, if you are reading this and you have a change of heart about being more forthcoming with your trading, then please reach out to me. Nothing would make me happier than to eat crow, and give my readers access to great trading product. I would love to rewrite this review!
Thanks for reading. And don’t forget to leave any comments or questions below.
I’m quite surprised by the inaccuracies of this review. I do appreciate what the author is doing, as there are billions made each year by people selling trading education and the latest ‘magical indicator’. And I ahve fallen prey to a few of them. But the first time I read the home page of Trading the Tape my initial reaction was, “This is so obvious! Why doesn’t everyone trade this way?” I am now starting my second month with Scott and am thrilled with my education and the personal time Scott has spent teaching me. To clarify a few things: TTT is not $1000s/per month as has been said in the comments, we are not ‘left alone’ in the trading room–Scott calls the market in detail during the trading session and we don’t use the order book. To give Scott Maxie 1 star for honesty because he refuses to give you, a non-subscriber, any free information is naive at best.
Hi Pamela,
Thanks for the comment. At the time that I wrote the review, Scott was not broadcasting a live trading room. Perhaps he has made some changes?
Emmett
“To give Scott Maxie 1 star for honesty because he refuses to give you, a non-subscriber, any free information is naive at best.” Just like Nancy Pelosi told the Congress that they have to vote for the ObaminationCare in order to find out what is in it, he has to pay to subscribe before he knows that for which he is paying?
Such ridiculous illogic never ceases to amaze me.
The guy basically says why bother with performance and evaluation then goes on ranting about this review and later TTT’s vendor review thread on Big Mike’s.
tradingthetape.com/performance/reviews/
It looks like the “chessbase” guy was an old plant. TTT has been around. many vendors join Big Mike’s early on as sleeper plants later.
https://futures.io/vendors-product-reviews/30031-tradingthetape-com-5.html#post553255
https://futures.io/vendors-product-reviews/30031-tradingthetape-com-4.html#post415465
https://futures.io/vendors-product-reviews/30031-tradingthetape-com-2.html#post405311
Total waste of money. Could not stand his condescending attitude towards his subscribers. Makes you watch his old videos (from Feb 2014) over and over again. Total BS… He gives only vague answers when asked for performance history and actually becomes angry.
I signed up with tradingthetape.com a year ago, you get training and software, plus a method that offers 0-1-2 ticks stop. Focus on risk control and let profit come in your way. If I did not love it, then why would I have signed up 4 times! Two words great stuff.
There is nothing more that I would love to do, than to sit down and write a new review. Unfortunately, Scott refuses to verify any of his claims of success. And I mean nothing. As you might not be aware, there are hundreds of trading educators, and they all claim to be honest and successful. If this were the case, then everyone would be rich.
My job is to ask the tough questions. And write tough, hard hitting reviews of trading products, in hopes that all of us can get closer to the truth. Scott should open up, and trade live for everyone to see. If he refuses to trade live, then a simple .pdf of an account statement works just as well. Scott avoids me. Please have him contact me. I would be more than happy to write a glowing review, but I need proof that he trades. Do you have any proof?
Thus far, I have written several other reviews that were tough on the educator. A few have come clean and shown account statements, and trade live so that we can track real time performance. But most hide from me (Scott), a few take their website down and then reappear only a few days later with a new name. Amazing stuff.
I do appreciate your advocacy for people like us. Now you do wanna distinguish 2 things, the program / education on one hand, and the trader performance on the other hand. There are a lot of systems out there, however, success will depend on the individual trader. Scott Does not claim get rich quick plan, He offers a solid educational program. He does not promise that his students will make money quick, he offers them tools to help them increasing their chances of success. I am a professional sales person/ Marketer, and I assure you that based on my several conversations with him, he is not interested in mass marketing.
The question is : does his educational program has value? the answer is yes. Does he make millions of dollars from trading? It’s not our business.
Let;s say he only makes money from his teaching and software, then what is wrong with that?
If you are only interested in performance, maybe you should pay attention more to mutual funds performances.
If I wipe off my funds, which I did, it is not because of a system, it is because of me. Let’s take ownership of our actions and decisions, In my humble opinion, it’s a first step for advancement.
There are many good systems out there, are their all crap? No, are they all suitable for all traders, no. Each one of us feels comfortable with a different style/method. i personally like instant gratification.
Finally, I understand your persistence in getting his statements, However, it is not a good metric/indication to assess his program. He might be a good mentor / programmer and not a good trader, he might be a good programmer but not a good trader, and he might be both.
Another example, You can graduate from a good university, but it does not guarantee you millions of dollars.
Cheers
Imad
Imad,
You really should write a review. You are a good writer. I will publish as a counterweight to the original review. You have purchased the indicators and education package, real people would love to know how your personal trading is progressing.
Another thing to consider, when you write a positive article and recommend a trading product, then people will use this information to purchase the product. Its a real responsibility.
A side note…a lot of people purchase systems and indicators that are flawed from the onset. For instance, during the 1980’s everyone flocked to a technical trading mentor named Wells Wilder. One guy even paid $1,000,000 for the exclusive rights to a system. Everyone was convinced that Wells Wilder was a real trader. He made a fortune selling indicators. He was written about in every major publication. Even quoted by a Federal Reserve Chairman. Eventually, later in life Wells Wilder finally admitted that he never had a winning year trading futures. He was broke and figured out that selling indicators, that were flawed from day one, was far more profitable than trading.
Some folks had the courage to question whether Wells Wilder could trade. But Wells had so many people that had purchased books, systems and indicators, that these voices crowded out the folks that had taken the time to question his authenticity.
I can only imagine the poor guy that paid $1,000,000 for a flawed system. How much did he lose chasing the rainbow? How many people lost money because they believed in this guy? The irony is that the folks that purchased his indicators and systems, and lost money, were the ones that defended Wells the loudest. Why? Were they ashamed? This is a mystery to me. And this is why you need to write down and document your own personal experience in trading with Scott. And, ask Scott to prove he trades. Make him show you. Why is this such an outrageous proposition?
Best,
Emmett
hi rob,
you’d have to ask scott for that. i am not affiliated with trading the tape.
“Unfortunately, the internet is clogged full of folks selling indicator packages that promise trading riches.” absolutely…and that’s why you have to do your due diligence. get all the facts and make an informed decision. Scott has never or will ever sell an indicator. setting up a website and blasting the guy for it is wrong. im not sure where you are getting your information from but its grossly incorrect. his system is pitt based order flow…period. you said in your comment…Lets be objective…..your review is far from that.
I am only being hard on Scott because he refuses to disclose trading performance. He would not even admit to having a trading account. I asked him if I could watch him trade, he said NO. I asked him to show me a trading statement for a month to show just a few trades, he said NO. I even went as far to ask that he just verify that he even has an active trading account, he said NO. Are we just supposed to send people like this thousands of dollars and hope that the purchased information is valid and useful?
And why does Scott refuse even the most basic courtesy of verification? I have plenty of reviews of other trading rooms and educators that are more than happy to trade live, will happily show an account statement, and will bend over backwards to verify that they actually trade. Why would anyone want to send Scott money if he cannot even extend the most basic of courtesy?
why do you need any of that anyway…they can easily be fabricated to sell a product. like you said snake oil salesmen pollute this industry. personally would want to test the hell out of a system for myself, get my own set of data to evaluate its value. after all its you that will be using it so your decisions (review) should be based on your own trading experience. i would never base my decision on someone else “track record”. i would never believe anyone telling me that they make trading..anyone that shows you a bunch of pay slips or highlighted statements is a salesman. go and test it (not this just this system but any)…let your own stats prove it..but give it your full attention. if it doesn’t live up to your minimum standards then that’s fine move on. unfortunately that’s the only sound way of getting through the BS that’s out there and finding legit traders and not just a salesmen . i would have wanted your review to show that. it would make your site more professional. i wish you the best in your trading endeavors.
Trevor(scott?),
The thing is the site asks for $1750 for the TRIAL.
At this point in my trading career I find that laughable – but then 10 years back I almost paid $4000 for practially the same sort of deal, promoted in a convincing way with lots of ” satisfied” customers etc. so i guess someone wil front up and probably learn something..
On the possibilty of someone sending fake broker statements: that is a very real possibility. It is also illegal and the CTFC would prosecute in a heartbeat if Emmett sent the statements in and they didn’t match with the brokers records ( they do check). On the other hand showing genuine statements is welcomed by the watchdogs and if a trader has them why would he not want to show them. You can read about one reviewed site (trading professor) who sent statements for the past 20 years ( not every year/ month profitable).
hi robert,
no im not scott. im just saying that a little due diligence on your behalf in order to see a system for what its worth should be the minimum. we are supposed to be professionals in what we do, as traders. before you get into a trade you go through checks and balances, shouldn’t it be the same to test out a system? no just bag it cause there is a disagreement with the owner. just saying.
Can I sell you a program for $2000. I promise it will teach you how to trade the market. But do not ask me for anything, even proof, as the individual result is your own, and any loss is not my systems fault. My system is great. Real great
Still
I would be happy to join his live trading room for a week – as a genuine free trial member- and if it looks promising I will write a favourable comment here . Heck i might even pay the fee for the full 3 months and give a solid review which i know emmett will add.
Let me know..
Robert
So we shouldn’t listen to Scott because he refused to show us his personal trading statements. Fair enough. But why don’t you post YOUR trading statement on this site, so we know who we’re taking advice from? I think it would lend more credence to your reviews. As you judge others’ website and methods, one could easily judge you. ie: having a site less than 6 months old with nothing more than affiliate links and Adsense, contacting vendors hiding behind alias names, etc Fair enough?
I appreciate that you are going to great lengths to defend your friend. I would do the same. However, your friend proclaims that he is a trading success (I am not), your friend wants people to send him thousands of dollars each month (not me), you friend is selling something (I am selling nothing).
This is a review site. An opinion site. This is not the United Nations. Furthermore, this site earns an average of 50 cents a day in revenue. As much as I would like to earn more, the truth is that I am only expressing my opinion and I am not paid very well.
Is my opinion useful or valid? Obviously, not to everyone. I wish you the best with your trading and I appreciate that you are vigorously defending your friend.
so you in depth review on this system is based on a few emails where you didn’t get what you wanted. i wouldn’t give you statements either. have you even spent some time actually testing out his method…where is your due diligence. your review is full of inaccuracies based on opinion not fact. how about you actually do a review that people can get a point of view that is informed or leave it to someone that can. your review sounds like a cry to mom.
Unfortunately, the internet is clogged full of folks selling indicator packages that promise trading riches. The problem with Scott and his indicator package is that he refuses to trade it live, in front of anyone. He refuses to verify his personal trading performance, his attitude becomes bitter and evasive once he is questioned about his personal trading.
Do you really want to spend $1750 on indicators and then risk your hard earned trading account on a method with zero verified history, from a person that will not even admit that he trades or maintains a trading account? Sure, my review is rough and deservedly so.
All of this arguing can be easily be put to rest if Scott simply reveals his personal trading performance. Surely we can agree that if the creator of said indicators can trade indicators with success, then we at least have a chance of replication. Conversely, if the creator of said indicators cannot trade successfully, then we can also assume that our own performance will probably mirror. Lets be objective.
You are wrong on this guy. He trades. I have worked with him and am a former student. Sometimes he does live trade for students, but mostly he likes to stay private and and focused on his trades.
I have also had good success with his indicators. You would redo this review. Its not fair.
Sorry you feel this away about the review. I am just trying to be as honest as possible. The bottom line is that neither you, nor myself knows whether Scott is really trading or just selling a course.
I would love to eat crow and shout from the rooftop how great this guy is. But he wont even extend the common courtesy of answering questions about himself.
The truth is that I don’t really know, but I have to lean towards BS. Also, there are a multitude of vendors out there teaching the same method and fully disclose results and are very nice and open. This guy is not particular nice, at least to me he was not.
Emmett,
While a website for reviewing trading vendors MIGHT be a valid concept, you’re clearly not qualified to be a judge of such sites. You obviously know nothing about trading and nothing about tape reading. Even worse your review of TTT is based on not getting something for free?
Can you not see you have been filtered/ignored based on your stupid/invalid approach?
Both my son and I have been trading the TTT method since last July. We trade with 0-1 tick of entry risk every trade, every day. Our winning trade percentages are 87% and 91% based solely on the TTT method. Scott is not only honest he is the only vendor if have found in 10+ years of trading that actually knows how markets work.
The best service you could do for traders looking for good vendors is to shut your website down. Not only is your method of review flawed you clearly have no trading experience nor knowledge on which to base your opinions. You are worse for the trading industry than the majority of vendors who mass market nonsense. Get a life.”
Should have added, the basis of WHY TTT clearly works is given away for free on the TTT home page for those intelligent enough to realize it. Those that do not ‘get it’ have no future at TTT. Don’t be a hater man!!!