William D. Gann was pioneer in the area of time and price analysis of market activity.  Born in Lufkin Texas in 1878, Gann's basic premise was the future is just a repetition of the past and that time governed all market movements.  Gann traded with and taught time and price analysis methods that could predict market highs and lows.  Gann reputedly had the knowledge to forecast the price and time of the yearly high and low for commodities and stocks.

Some quotes from the late W.D. Gann (the Guru of Technical Analysis, in 1928 he published a forecast of the date of the September 1929 US Stock Market High and that a Black Friday would occur A FULL YEAR IN ADVANCE) taken from his last book, How to Make Profits In Commodities :

"TIME TO STAY OUT OF THE MARKET: This something important for everyone to know.  You cannot make money by trading in the market every day or by getting in and out everyday.  There comes a time when you should stay out, WATCH and WAIT until you determine a DEFINE CHANGE IN TREND.  Long periods of rest and relaxation protect your health and help your judgement which will result in profits later."

"THE BEST WAY TO TRADE: The most money is made by swing trading, or in the long pull trades, that is following a definite trend as long as the market trend is up or down, you must learn by rules to wait until the market gets out of a rut or a trading range.

Wait for a definite indication that it is going higher or lower, before you take a position for a long pull trade.  Always figure that YOU CAN BE WRONG and that the market could reverse.  Therefore, follow your profits up with a STOP LOSS ORDER, or get out when you get a definite indication that the market has reached a turning point and that the trend is changing."

Gann taught students to face the facts and eliminate hope and fear.  For instance, if a trader receives a margin call, he should close the position immediately, for the chances are he is wrong.  He also taught that a successful trader studies human nature and does the opposite of what the general public does.  Most traders lose money because they are too greedy, they over trade, they expect abnormal profits in normal markets.

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