Good evening! Trader Jim here. . .

Thanks for investing your time tonight with me and your fellow GBE Course Members! We have a lot to chat about this evening as several markets recently broke out of formations in strong fashion. These include December Soybean Meal; December Soybean Oil; September Canadian Dollar; September Euro FX; December Coffee; and November OJ to name a few.

To top it off, all of these markets have been featured in our nightly Premium Alert Service™ (PAS) videos.

Feel free to share your paper trading or real money trading experiences in any of the markets mentioned above, as well as any others. Discussing your market experiences lets others know they are not alone in this business and it's a great way for everyone to learn from one another. Please share your excitement, fevor and passion. It provides others with hope and insight of what's to come.

I'd like send a big "Thank You" to Ken Roberts. Ken started introducing folks to the Greatest Business on Earth™ over 20 years ago. I was fortunate enough to not only be a student of Ken's, but I also had the great pleasure to work for him for 12+ years. I'm happy to be able to share with you what I've learned over the years.

As we begin this evening's session, remember the reason these monthly chats are conducted is to provide you the opportunity to ask questions and to pick the brain of a 20+ year student of the markets.

It's not the best use of our limited time here together for me to define basic terms and explain introductory principles taught in your Course materials. Please contact one of our Course Counselors if you need assistance with any of the introductory principles. They can be reached Monday through Friday 8:30am to 5:00pm PT at 541-955-2885. This chat is the time for you to use me to help you apply the basics you're learning and to prepare you for what to expect once you're out in the market itself (either paper trading or with real money). And if we have some fun and laughter along those lines, so much the better.

NOTE!!! When commenting on one of the GBE strategies or US Charts, please identify WHICH STRATEGY AND/OR MARKET. Also, when relating trading experiences and/or results, please provide details: Futures contracts, options, option strike prices, options AND futures, real money or paper trading, and contrac month etc. This really helps your fellow Course Members follow along and learn from your experience.

From time-to-time you may notice that I'll use a bit of "chat short-hand." If you see LOL for example, it means Laughing Out Loud. Or TS which means Trend Seeker. Those are the two most promanient bits of short hand you'll see.

The chat will begin at 6:00pm PT!

Right now we're enjoying some fine Japanese cuisine!

Hi Neel R! Thanks for the kind words about the Premium Alert Service videos and the It's About to Happen (IAH). I'm focusing on doing an IAH every 2-3 weeks as long as there is a setup that I think justifies the message.

The Course Counselors help folks understand our trading methodology and basically anything to do with the markets. They are not licensed and therefore do not provide trading advice. 

Thanks for joining us tonight! 

Howdy Chris in Ohio! I'll check the markets maybe 2-3 times at night but that's just to see where things are situated. Generally speaking though, the day sessions get 100% of my attention.

Thanks for your question! 

Hi ickabod! The downside is once the market gets above the strike of the options sold, in this case the Wheat market, the trade begins to lose $50 of profit for each cent it moves above that strike. So it's best to liquidate once the market exceeds that strike and collect as much profit as you can. Be sure to check the printed strategy for more details.

Thanks! 

Hey Limit Up in Texas! Could you please try asking your question again? I'm not sure what video you're referring to.

Thanks! 

Glad you're so passionate about the biz, Chris in Ohio!

Sometimes weekends and holidays can be tough for sure. But remember, sometimes it's good to get away for 48 to 72 hours! It refreshes the mind and spirit.

Two things traderjules. . . 1.) Call a Course Counselor for assistance. 2.) Paper trade, paper trade, paper trade.  Once  you understand the basics it's just a matter of practice. Remember, this isn't a get rich quick scheme. Take it slow and easy and keep watching the Training Videos. There's a ton of stuff on the web site that can help too.

The Counselors are here for you, so let them help! Call them Monday through Friday 8:30am to 5:00pm PT at 541-955-2885.

Hey pipbill!

I will usually check the various markets during the trading day and can move stops then. That said, moving stops can be done anytime during the trading day, or after the markets have closed, or prior to the open the next day. 

Click here to learn more about our upcoming
GBE Trading Camp™ on
September 6 & 7. Seats are going fast!

Howdy daytona8!

US Charts will automatically calculate and update the 50% levels. It simply uses the 12 month high and low. Since you used the contract high and low your numbers may be different.

Markets cycle and so do the opportunities. Our job is to be patient and let the opportunities come to us. Good question though.

Thanks for stopping by tonight. 

Hi Bamajack, First know that I can't give you trading advice. Next, not knowing where you got in or what, if any, chart pattern you're trading, I wouldn't have a clue what to tell you.

I suggest you include in your trading plan for each trade exactly how, when, and where you'll moves stops once you're in a trade. Doing so relieves a lot of the emotions that can come into play once you're in a trade.

You bet, dumpy!

In fact, that's exactly why I have two channels on the chart! I mentioned on the PAS that aggressive paper traders might want to consider paper trading a breakout of the smaller channel. Those not so aggressive might want to wait for a breakout of the larger channel.

Thanks for the question. 

Awesome, slowmo! Glad you like it. You know by now that I like to keep things simple and the techniques on the How to Trade Chart Patterns with Early Entry Techniques does just that.

Thanks again for the nice words! 

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Hi mowgli!, Some brokers will allow you to do that but it's on a not held basis. This simply means they can set an alert or something similar for your account. When the alert goes off they can then execute the order but they can't guarantee the price you'll get.

Your best bet is to chat with your broker about this situation as each firm will handle it differently. I do know that our featured brokers at Daniels Trading will gladly help you with this situation. 

I'm not sure, keyman but I can pass your request along to the programmers.

Folks we appreciate your requests and actually do use them on the site. In fact, many of the improvements we've made during the last year or so have come from your requests! So keep them coming!

Thanks for the nice words, The Roach! The best answer I can give is to stick to your plan. It is paramount to your long-term success!

I'm not sure what you mean as far as "bleeding the money out", but if you do get stopped out you can always look to reenter if another chart pattern develops.  

Howdy Soybeans, thanks for the nice comments.

We are in the age of the large fund traders. But don't let that scare you. As you've seen there are still plenty of ways us little guys can make dough. We don't need sophisticated computer programs and staffs of 50-100 people.

Nope, all we need is time honored chart patterns and Trend Seeker. Our approach lets us actually ride the coattails of the BIG money. 

Thanks for joining us this evening. 

Great comments, Jerbear!

If I can send one comment your way. . . take it slow. Don't let your enthusiasm make your decisions. Stick to the principles that you've learned and made work for you! 

Hey Larry O! You didn't even have to ask your question cause you already knew the answer!

Yep, best case is the options expire with the furtures market just above 90.

Be sure to watch this coming Friday's training video as I'll have more about this strategy. In addition, I'm currently working on a new Master the Chart DVD set for advanced option strategies. The ratio spread will be part of this package and I'll share a couple cool things for this strategey as well. Hopefully the DVDs will be ready by the first of the year. 

Hey joeh55! Not sure when you entered your option but there hasn't been a Hi Lo setup in this market for quite sometime.

Remember, the Hi Lo triggers when the market closes below the contract low in this case (for an advancing market we'd want the market to close above the contract high). But this did not happen, so there was no entry triggered.

Be sure to read through the Hi Lo strategy again in the strategy section just to make sure you're clear about it. 

Hey Chad! I don't see a megaphone at this time. In fact, you're gonna love this if I get the code right. Check out the chart below and you'll see that the US Dollar Index has gone virtually straight up. We were never provided a chart pattern to trade.

Thanks toddman! Glad to see you're still in the biz after all these years.

Thanks for stopping by tonight and stay safe!

Hey alabama Kid, One thing I'd recommend is that you make sure you're completely comfortable with paper trading before moving on to real money.

If you're not sure, then keep paper trading!  

Don't be in a hurry to give your money away. Take it slow and easy and make unemotional decisions. 

Hey Jim!

The Premium Alerts were designed to follow paper trades from beginning to end. If you started watching while we were in the midst of a paper trade, then just keep watching and waiting for the next setup. We just completed paper trades from start to finish in several markets, such as Dec. Bean Oil, Meal, Copper, Cotton and Coffee to name a few.

The setups come quite often, it's just a matter of being patient. 

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Hey danielW, You can't alphabetize the markets in the Chart Book but you can put them in your chart book in the order you want. Once you've moved the market to your version of My Chart Book, simply plug in the order number in the white box to the left of the market name and then click the Reorder link at the top of the column.

Hope this helps. 

Hi barryLuchtel! Thanks for stopping by tonight!

I don't want this to sound wrong, but the only resource I use is. . . me!

Seriously though, I simply use US Charts and Trend Seeker. I don't pay attention to outside sources cause they really don't know anything more than you or I do. Besides, there are so many opinions that in my mind it's virtually impossible to integrate them all into your own trading.

So I let the charts tell me what to do. Charts don't lie and price pays. That's the bottom line.

Thanks again for stopping by tonight. 

Hey Bonita Joe!

Thanks for visiting us tonight! I know you love trading the java! Looks like your account has been percolating too!

Luck is a small part of this business. Remember, you had to do the work and pull the trigger to make the money you did. So bottom line. . . luck + preparation = success!

Keep up the great work! 

Hey ginksd! You can certainly do that, I just prefer not to. It's not one of my favorite strategies. When you buy an option to protect a futures position you immediately are in the red. In other words, the futures market has to move $XXX just to offset the cost of the option. To me it just seems like another obstacle that a trader has to overcome to make a profit.

That said, I suggest that you paper trade the strategy and see if it works for you! 

Learn to Paper Trade!

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our full two-hour guide (on two DVDs) entitled
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danielw, You're not doing anything wrong. I get the questions as they come in. I just scroll down the list and write my answers.

Btw, I just answered one of your questions.

That's the $64,000 question, Marsha!

It takes practice and understanding. I suggest you read the books by Mark Douglas that we have at 4 Star Books.

Also, we are in the process of putting the finishing touches on our newest Master the Chart DVD, Master Your Inner Trader, with Dr. Ellen Dickstein. We'll be releasing more about this two DVD set in a couple weeks, but I think this product will also go a long way towards helping answer your question. 

Howdy Jess of the Future!

Thanks for joining us and thanks for the nice words about our staff!

Keep on keepin' on! 

Hey Cliff in Utah!

Thank you for the nice comments on the DVD.

Yes, in the advance strategy DVDs I'm currently working on there will be one long-term type of strategy. I think most folks will see the power behind it as well as the safety it provides. Like I mentioned earlier, look for these to be available sometime around the first of the year.

Thanks again! 

Easy E, the doji bar and inside bar are simply days of indecision. They could also mean that a short-term trend reversal is on the horizon.

I point these price bars out so that you can be aware of the indecision or possible reversal. I wouldn't get too hung up on them though, remember we are usually looking at the bigger picture.

Good trade in the US Dollar Index, just stick to your plan -- whatever it is -- and you'll be doing the right thing! 

Hey Russ, I think you're making this more complicated than you need to. Your max profit potential is the difference between the strike of the call you bought and the strike of the calls you sold. If prices exceed the strike of the calls you sold simply liquidate the positions. Exit the entire trade. If prices are above the strike of the call you sold you'll simply be eating into the profits you've acquired from the market advancing. No need to let this happen. Simply unwind the positions and take the profits you have. Then move on to the next setup. Ideally you'd unwind the trade if prices approach the calls you sold. 

I hope this helps. This is a tough forum to try to answer this question with limited time.

Hey john! Yep, right now the cycle is lots of opportunities. We had a couple "dryer" months but that's to be expected. It's all part of the biz.

Keep me posted on your stop placement. I'm always curious to know what is working for folks. 

You can Jess, remember, it's your business. I prefer not to do it that way because I want confirmation of the close for that day. Just because you place a market on close order, it doesn't mean you'll get filled outside of the formation. Prices may dip back into the formation. Remember, you'll be getting filled "at the market" price.

Hope this helps. 

Well that's it for this month. Keep in mind, that you're not alone in your trading journey. US Charts Online, myself, and our wonderful Course Counselors (541-955-2885) are here to help you become the best you can be. On that note, be sure to check out our weekly video training lessons at: US Charts Online. This is a fantastic teaching tool and free to all GBE Members and US Chart Online subscribers!

Finally, make sure you have a plan prior to entering any trade and use stops to protect your trading capital. As a trader your capital is THE most valuable asset you have!

Plan your trade and trade your plan!

My next chat will be on Tuesday, September 23, 2008. God Bless and I look forward to seeing you then!