By Kerry Szymanski of Harmonic Edge*
Posted: Jul 10, 2009

There are numerous approaches to successfully trading the markets. Some methods attempt to capture trends while others seek to capture trend reversals. There is a time and a place for both. Some traders follow carefully scripted trading systems that leave nothing to chance whereas other "free spirits" have varying degrees of discretion within their approach to the market.

It takes some time to become familiar with the different approaches or methodologies out there and find one that is suitable for you. The context of our discussion here is pattern recognition trading. That is a fairly broad category because there are any number of patterns that can be traded (chart patterns, oscillator patterns, patterns in volume, announcements, time, astro-cycles, and so forth).

By Guy Bower of www.guybower.com* 

Price gaps are a common occurrence on charts, and, yet, all too often, the technician glosses over their significance or misinterprets their meaning. Let’s first begin with a definition: A price gap is an area on a chart (bar or candle) in which there are no trades. Gaps (“open spaces”) can occur for a variety of reasons and should be watched carefully because they may be an indication of a significant change in the underlying market conditions or psychology of the market.