Option pricing is a mystery to most traders. They struggle to comprehend terms like implied and historical volatility or intrinsic and time value, or the "Greeks" (Delta, vega, theta, gamma, rho…). These terms are intimidating and my experience suggests that at least half the folks you hear talking about them do not really understand very much about them.

Option pricing is a mystery to most traders. They struggle to comprehend terms like implied and historical volatility or intrinsic and time value, or the "Greeks" (Delta, vega, theta, gamma, rho…). These terms are intimidating and my experience suggests that at least half the folks you hear talking about them do not really understand very much about them.

In Part I of this article, I taught you to trade momentum that occurs after an earnings announcement. In this article, I am going to go into some of the chart patterns we can use to trade momentum that is unrelated to earnings or news.

Momentum can make a stock move quite far in a short period of time and create spectacular money making opportunities for us. Sometimes stocks will move well for no particular reason (as you learned in the previous article) but other times it is a news headline that gets these stocks moving.

Do You Want Increased Profits? Then Go After Decreased Losses! Read This Article Then

I like maxims and quips. Little phrases that tell a big story. I like the parables in the Bible because a child can say "I get it," and an aged student can say "Oh… now I get it." The principle of keeping it simple is a good one for most of life's situations including trading. And while trading skills are not easy to master, they involve simple principles.

I am chartist and a technical trader. I believe that the first line of analysis is to find patterns. Line drawing and straight line analysis is the standard. It has been and continues to be the base line tool. Moving averages and range bands are more recent developments and are observatory. Straight line charting has modeled and been used to define patterns and set targets for an awfully long time, and I believe that you can't throw a pile of lumber of a cliff and have it land in the shape of a house. If it looks like a house, some one has manipulating the lumber.

The market, like a lighthouse, will send signals and it is incumbent on us to listen and to blend with the market. In a collision, the lighthouse (market) always wins.

With the Fed lowering interest rates and setting a good tone to the markets along with earnings season coming up next month, there has never been a better time to learn to read price charts to pinpoint the best entries and exits for your trades.

Due to an overwhelming request of questions about Day Trader Status I have decided to write this newsletter to look at these issues. Whether you know about it or not, you don't want to accidentally learn about Day Trader Status by a notice from your brokerage firm saying that you are now tagged as a Day Trader!