📖William Gann

Wait for the Right Opportunity

🌿 Intermediate★★★★★

Wait for exceptional risk-reward opportunities.

💬

The stock market is a no-called-strike game. You don't have to swing at every pitch. Wait for the fat pitch — the opportunity that offers exceptional risk-reward.

— 45 Years in Wall Street,1949

🏠 Everyday Analogy

Risk control is like a seatbelt. It does not make the ride faster, but it keeps you alive when conditions suddenly turn against you.

📖 Core Interpretation

W.D. Gann treats survival as the first objective. Limiting permanent capital loss, controlling leverage, and avoiding single-point failure are prerequisites for long-term compounding.
💎 Key Insight:Selectivity dramatically improves investment outcomes.

AI Deep Analysis

Get personalized insights and practical guidance through AI conversation

❓ Why It Matters

A single large drawdown can erase years of progress. Risk control is not timidity; it is the operating system that keeps compounding alive.

🎯 How to Practice

Define downside scenarios before entry, cap position size, avoid fragile leverage, and maintain liquidity so mistakes remain survivable.

⚠️ Common Pitfalls

Equating volatility with all forms of risk
Oversized positions without an exit plan
Using leverage to compensate for uncertainty

📚 Case Studies

1
Pre-Crash Distribution Pattern (1929)
Gann observes repeated geometric and cyclical signals of exhaustion in leading industrials before the 1929 crash, aligning with his natural law timing cycles and price angles.
✨ Outcome:Reduces long exposure and initiates short positions, profiting significantly as the market collapses into 1932.
2
War-Time Low and Cyclical Turn (1942)
Amid WWII pessimism and panic selling, Gann’s time cycles and natural law of vibration signal a major low in U.S. equities around April–May 1942.
✨ Outcome:Accumulates quality stocks near the lows, capturing the early phase of the long post-war bull market.

See how masters handle real scenarios?

30 real investment dilemmas answered by legendary investors

Explore Scenarios →