Good evening! Trader Jim here. . .

Thanks for joining me and your fellow GBE Course Members tonight! There's been a lot going on in the markets lately. For instance, December Soybean Oil; December Soybean Meal; December Eurodollar; December Corn; and December Wheat to name a few.

One of the neat things is all of these markets have been featured in our nightly Premium Alert Service™ (PAS) videos.

Please share your paper trading or real money trading experiences in any of the markets mentioned above, as well as any others you may have traded. When you discuss your market experiences it helps others learn that they are not alone in this business and it's a great way for everyone to learn from one another. Feel free to share your excitement, passion and enthusiasm! It helps provide others with hope and insight of what can happen.

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™. These are the two most promanient bits of short hand you'll see within our chats.

Hi Neel R!

Congrats on the Canadian Dollar trade. Make sure to protect the position now! I'll be doing an It's About to Happen when I see something I really like. I don't want to do one just to do it. I like to have all signs pointing that the setup has a good chance of working out. Thanks for joining us again tonight!

Good question, Alabama Kid! And it's not the first time it's been asked.  The reason you haven't found the other two parts is because I haven't written them yet. My initial thought was to place a part in the blog each quarter. I think I'm behind the eight-ball with that schedule right now.

Once I get through with the project I'm working on right now I'll put together part two. That said, it probably won't be until November. I'm working on my newest Master the Chart DVDs about advance options strategies.

Hey WayneinLA! I have traded the forex before but do not at this time. The bid/ask spread is something I don't care for. I prefer the Currencies that we follow at US Charts.

You can trade them opposite one another. For instance, you can buy the US Dollar Index and sell the Euro Currency. They usually move opposite one another.

Hope this helps.

Hey Jasper! Extreme means the trend is at its most powerful point. A strong rating is a notch below extreme.

I don't focus much on these Trend Signal Rankings. I prefer to give my attention to a bit longer-term format. Thus, I focus on the Trend Seeker Trend Ratings. Be sure to check out the Trend Seeker video I produced that covers all aspects of Trend Seeker. You can find the video by clicking on this link.

Thanks for the comment about my wife, Bama Jack! Generally speaking that is the norm in regards to the Dollar versus other markets.

Thanks for stopping by tonight.

Hey Goldbug! I try not to guess what the markets are going to do. Rather I try to trade what I see. In other words, I let the charts/markets tell me what to do. That said, it's quite possible that someday gold will be back to 1000 and such movement would likely take silver with it. But I have no idea if or when that might happen.

Put your focus on the charts, you'll find that swimming with the current is a lot easier than going against it.

Thanks for joining us tonight. Good to see you here.

Good question! I think that the best patterns are those that form when a trend is visual. In other words, it's a trend you can easily see on the chart.

I think the pennant in Dec. Corn tends to be a little more in the middle of the chart. Take a look at the graphic below to see what I mean.

I hope this helps.

Hi mack4! We don't do that publicly because we are not an advisory service. So we leave it up to each individual. I think this is best because everybody is different in their risk tolerance and pocketbooks.

That said, we are currently working on something up that alley so to speak. I can't say more than this, but stay tuned. You'll know it when you see it in your email box, but probably not til after the first of the year.

Thanks for your comments.

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Absolutely Alabama Kid! It's probably the most overlooked part of trading. That's why I spent several month putting together the Targets, Stops and Money Management Made Easy DVDs.

As a trader you have to be much like an insurance company. You have to be a master of risk management. Once you've figured this part out, it can make a HUGE difference in your bottom line.

LOL, Jess of the Future! I like the ring-tone idea. Nice job!

You could surely use the Robo calculation for exits. Good job, I like that you are thinking outside the box. Let me know how it works for you.

Hi Wayne, I don't. The idea is to set a profit target and trail stops. If the target isn't hit, the stops will be. If you just randomly decide to exit a position you'll hurt yourself in the long run as you'll miss many of the opportunities that provide big moves to your targets.

Bottom line. . . have a target and trail protective stops. Some trades will hit the targets, others will trigger the stops.

Hi Marsha! I don't really expect the govt to do anything to speak of in the commodity markets. But who's to say? I mean who out there expected an $85 billion dollar bailout of insurer AIG?

Glad to read that you're getting yourself back on track. Trading what you think rather than what you see is an easy trap to fall into. Take it slow and easy, just like you would if eating an elephant!

Btw, I appreciate the notes you send to the Course Counselors about my blog. Thanks!

Hi Jimmy C! Prior highs and lows make up the bulk of the profit targets I set. This could be a high/low made 3 months ago or 3 weeks ago. But there is nothing special about these areas of support and resistance. You just have to be able to recognize them on the chart.

Check out the Training Videos with these dates: 07/28/06, 08/04/06 and 11/17/06. They should help you a lot.

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Hey Jasper! The Dec. Eurodollar has been crazy! It actually broke out of the channel to the upside, then two days later it broke out to the downside! To crazy for me!

I wrote about the craziness in this market last week in my notes on the chart. I also chatted about it on the Premium Alert Service videos. To crazy for me. . .

Hey eld40! Thanks for stopping by this evening. I don't see a flag, but I do see a channel. I've had this channel marked in the Chart Book for awhile now. Originally we were watching for a paper trading entry to the downside. But the TS trend rating recently changed after prices broke out to the upside. So the paper trading entry was out of the channel to the upside.

Here's the chart:

Good question Momof6! Yep, we had a paper trading trigger last week and then prices rallied to hit the stops I was focusing on. Once that happened I redrew/moved the lower line to encompass all of the recent price data.

That said, you should stick to your plan! You are exactly right in saying plan your trade and trade your plan. Nice job!

Hey Manny! Well I'm not too proud to say that somehow I didn't transfer that trade within my personal paper work! So this is a good lesson for everyone. Make sure you keep good records! I keep a hand written journal and somehow I didn't transfer the trade from one page to another. Just goes to show that it doesn't matter how long you're in this business you will make a mistake from time-to-time.

That said, the paper trade is still active. Here's the chart.

Howdy Jess of the Future! A 1-2-3 bottom will look much like a "W". A 1-2-3 top will look much like an "M". If you visulize either of these on the chart in question you should be able to see the difference between the "W", "M", and "V".

Thanks for the nice comments on the DVD!

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Well shorty, I think all of this type of thing is purely speculation at this point. I'm not going to comment because my response is just gonna be a guess. I know the CFTC recently held a meeting, the government types in D.C. are now starting to get interested. So I'm not sure. But there is one thing I'm sure about and that is this is an election year! So who really knows what's going to happen at this point.

Until we find out something in one fashion or another, let's stick to our charts and Trend Seeker!

Thanks for the question.

Hey grampacharlie! Thanks for the nice comment. In regards to your option. . . this is where a good broker can really help. Remember there is no guarantee your limit order will be filled. So the broker should work with you to help determine a possible exit price based on where the option is currently trading as well as what the underlying futures market is doing. These all fit together. A limit order is the right order to use. But one thing I recommend people do is consider taking less on the exit. That way you're much more apt to get a fill. I don't think a market order should be used. It's the type of order you want to use in a worst case scenario only. At least that is my opinion.

I encourge you to develop a rapport with your broker and get him/her to help you exit the trade at a realistic price.

jazman, sorry to say this but I have no idea. Seriously, I don't follow any fundamental thought of the markets. In fact, I had no idea about any "upcoming high demand and low supply" until you mentioned it.

I simply follow the charts and Trend Seeker. I keep stuff as simple as possible. For me to try to keep up on possible fundamental issues is an impossibility.

Thanks for the nice comments, Kelowna! Software, schmoftware. . . I'll tell you right now where the stops are and then you can use the information for your future trading.

The majority of stops are placed above resistance levels and below support levels. That's it! Folks have a tendency not to want to believe it, but it is the case.

Hi Axel from Texas! That's a great question. I try do when I can but unfortunately I'm limited to the amount of time I have for the daily videos. Typically they tend to run 10-12 minutes right now, and most of the time I only have time to discuss setups based on the chart patterns themselves.

While I can't promise it, I'll see what I can do though. I sincerely appreciate your interest.

Carlos_T, awesome dude! As wrestler Ric Flare would say. . . whoooooooooooo! Glad you stopped by tonight and glad you recognize the power of the GBE methodology.

I look forward to seeing you at future chats. Have a great evening!

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No stats that I know of cdrfs. But I think a lot of folks jump into real money trading before they are really ready. Folks take it slow!

I think from what you've stated you seem to be on the right track. It's fantastic that you've figured out the importance of having a plan! You are leaps and bounds ahead of those that haven't!

Thanks for the comments about the blog, Susan from Missouri!

I will look to get back in but only if a chart pattern is in place. If there is not a chart pattern that I can visualize and paper trade, I'll wait until there is. Hope this helps.

Hey Axel! The entire TS process is completely automated. Once the day session of the markets closes the data is analyzed by TS and then uploaded to the site. Keep in mind that thousands upon thousands of pieces of data is analyzed. It just takes the computer a few hours to do it's thing. Bottom line is it gets there as soon as possible.

Good question.

Hi Debbie B! Welcome aboard!

Don't be in a hurry to jump in the markets. Be sure you are totally comfortable with the strategies and understand how the markets work. Only you'll know when the time is right. But don't force your way into the markets for fear of missing opportunities. There will always be opportunities.

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, October 14, 2008. God Bless and I look forward to seeing you then!