cheap as chips, page-32

hey Jaydog,
shows a few things.. in the basic sense it shows a trading pattern called a pennant (also similar to flags). when it comes to the tip it's normally timed with an announcement which causes the stock to find another new value range. ( say 2-2.40 or .80-$1 like on some terrible news)...
don't focus on that too much, I rarely discuss chart patterns..

it shows a struggle to agree on a fair value after a period of growth, basically the horizontal movement is the struggle between buyers and sellers to maximise profit without the stock price moving(could be the same person buying them taking profit). this happens after there's a rally as experienced traders know there is likely to be a period where there is no news and they can take advantage of the fluctuations of theoretical "fair stock value"..

but if you want to excel in the markets you need to combine your ability in timing trades (trading graphs) with your ability to intelligently judge a stock and its intrinsic value, to see where there is VALUE in the purchase for future gains.

just remember even once you think you knew the answers, there's inefficiency and irrationality in the markets. with any given stock it will go to the most pessimistic and irrational discounted valuation (minimal risk and time to buy) to the most optimistic premium valuation (time to skim the cream $$) . set your emotions aside and look at refining the ability to see when these opportunities come up..

also read
technical analysis using multiple timeframes - Brian Shannon
and
the intelligent investor by Benjamin Graham

these aren't the be all end all but read them over and over to instill the fundamental ideas, find other books, and build on all this with what your own mind can come up with.

good luck!!
saucy