Good luck to you Dave!

Yep. Ditto. My point exactly. That is what I do too.

It's not a question of whether TA is "true" or not, clearly it is. It is a case of where and to what extent you can trust it with your hard earned cash.

At the end of the day charting measures something; and that something is the sentiment of traders. I am just saying that I believe it is only as reliable as the basis for that sentiment is reliable, that it accurately reflects reality. The charts do not cause or determine the prices, there are no "laws of physics" involved, but they can provide a model to show how those prices respond to shifts in the sentiment of buyers and sellers, including taking into account the sentiment of those that are doing the charting, and some of the buying and selling. But when they begin to do so that is called feedback. And feedback is by definition is a distortion of the true signal. Of course you can use that if you understand it.

The problem is that such predictions take no account of new events that impact the value of the company. And with a speculative stock such unpredictable events are not uncommon. AKP itself is a classic illustration of that. Once the event has occurred the response is subject to charting. But no chart can say if or when such an unannounced and unexpected event will occur before it does so. And that is what has determined AKP's price for years now.

But anyone who can make sense out of taking the pulse of trades is wise to do so - as I do. Just not on its own.

Good luck to you Dave!