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William Delbert Gann was born on a farm outside of Lufkin, Texas on June 6, 1878.  Gann never graduated from grammar school or attended high school, but he did become one of the world’s best known and most successful traders.  Gann initially worked in a brokerage in Texarkana, and moved to New York City in 1903.   He started publishing his first daily market letter in 1919, called The Supply and Demand Letter.  His first book – The Truth of the Stock Tape – was published in 1924.  Gann thrived during the depression era, when most other investors and speculators were losing big.   Recounts of his trading success show him reporting profitable trades 85-90% of the time.

For a more detailed view of his biography, and legendary “Gann Trading System”, check out the following book.  Despite its age, Gann theory is still a legendary system that all top traders need to know.

Gann Simplified by Clif Droke

Gann Theory uses three simultaneous indicators to predict future market direction – pattern, price and time.  The pattern portion is based on a view of specific geometric price patterns and angles. Gann Theory was at the crossroads of what is now technical analysis.  But despite the numerous indicators develped since the time of Gann, knowledge of Gann Theory is still highly sought after.  As a sign of the popularity of Gann Theory even today, you can look to the number of new volumes on Gann, including summaries of his work and trading courses.  Such volumes include:

W. D. Gann Treasure Discovered: Simple Trading Plans for Stocks & Commodities (Book and DVD) by Robert Krausz

How to Make Profits In Commodities by W. D. Gann

Gann also was well known for his trading psycology expertise.  He outlined the four qualities essential to successful traders more than 50 years ago.

1. Patience - This is the number one quality for trading success.  There are always good opportunities for trading, but the key is to wait for them to occur.  But Gann also recognized that amateur traders are to quick to close out profitable positions.  The key is to close down losing trades and let the winners ride to higher profits.
2. Knowledge - The professionals may make it look easy, but trading is a serious and difficult business.  The successful trader is always learnings something new, and continually analyzing past trades for lessons.  Knowledge is crucial for all areas of trading – money management, fundamentals, technicals, psychology, and more.  There is ALWAYS more to learn.  Paper trading is an excellent way to help gain and test your knowledge.  But paper trading should be taken as serious as real money trades, or the exercise is a waste.  Trading real money should only be done when you are comfortable with the strategy being utilized.  And new strategies and techniques should be learned.  There are numerous great books at the Geldpress Bookstore to get you started.
3. Guts - Patience is still the number one quality, but without guts, that patience is wasted.  When the time is right, it is time to pull the trigger.  If the trigger backfires, you have to get up and try again.  If you don’t have the guts, then you should pick a new game.
4. Health and Rest – Watching and playing the markets is exhausting.  And with exhaustion comes bad decisions.  Health and rest is key.  Figure out what your concentration limits are, and stop playing when you are not ready.