📖William Gann

Know Your Limits

🌱 Beginner★★★★★

Stay within your circle of competence.

💬

The most successful investors stay within their circle of competence. Know what you understand well and resist the temptation to venture outside it.

— 45 Years in Wall Street,1949

🏠 Everyday Analogy

A process is like a pilot checklist: discipline prevents simple mistakes when pressure rises and keeps outcomes more repeatable.

📖 Core Interpretation

W.D. Gann advocates a repeatable process: define criteria, execute consistently, and review decisions against evidence. Process quality drives outcome consistency.
💎 Key Insight:Self-awareness about knowledge limits prevents costly mistakes.

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❓ Why It Matters

Without process, there is no reliable feedback loop. Structured execution and review improve decision quality over time.

🎯 How to Practice

Run a decision loop of research, thesis, execution, and post-mortem; document assumptions and update playbooks with evidence, not hindsight bias.

⚠️ Common Pitfalls

Having opinions without execution criteria
Reviewing outcomes but not decisions
Abandoning rules during volatility spikes

📚 Case Studies

1
Post-Crash Accumulation (1932)
After the 1929–1932 bear market, Gann used square-of-9 time and price levels to signal a long-term bottom in the Dow Jones.
✨ Outcome:He accumulated quality stocks near the lows and benefited from the ensuing multi‑year recovery rally.
2
Railroad Stock Forecast (1909)
Gann reportedly applied Gann Angles to predict turning points in several railroad stocks, including Union Pacific, correctly forecasting price reversals based on angle support and resistance from key swing lows.
✨ Outcome:Executed multiple short-term trades with favorable risk-reward, compounding returns over several months.

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