Commodities and Futures trading is one of the most traditional and time-honored methods of profiting through investment and speculation. For more than a hundred years, speculators have been profiting on the movements of these markets.

There are hundreds of thousands of people out there either making a living or supplementing their income by trading commodities. Hundreds of thousands of contracts change hands every day.

These investors and speculators are making money in (what we have been told) are "confusing" and "risky" markets.  These same investors who are profiting in these markets weren't born with the skills it takes to protect themselves and prosper.  Skills can be learned.  We all know that.

So I began to investigate.

I first became interested in Commodities and Futures when I stumbled on a fragment of a Ken Roberts Video Course while helping a friend move. Ken Roberts is that guy with the cowboy hat in the infomercials.

Once I began to understand what was going on out there, I began to realize the possibilities for profit. In light of the dismal investment opportunities generally available, I very quickly realized that there was a lot, I mean ALOT of money to be made if you knew what you were doing. You've probably heard this yourself at one time or another.

Consider this: A penny move in the price of most of the grains (corn, soybeans, etc.) means $50. in your pocket. Corn can easily move at least 1 to 2 cents in a day. If you take out multiple contracts, that $50. multiplies. I don't care what other kind of investment you compare it with. $50. per contract, in a day is a terrific return on your money!

I had always considered trading Commodities and Futures to be "confusing" and "dangerous". We've all heard the markets categorized in this manner. But how many of us ever understood the very markets that we were taught to be afraid of?

It doesn't take alot of learning to understand how it all works and how you can profit from it. However, it does take some time to assimilate the skill sets required and develop your trading style.

The reason you don't hear much about this kind of investing is because it takes a learning curve of skill development. The skills are learnable and not difficult to grasp. However, there is more to it than buying shares of a mutual fund and hoping it goes up.

Forget the Stock Market! When you are trading Commodities & Futures your money is nowhere near the murky issues of the Stock Market. The Futures markets can't lie about their value. There are no crooked CEOs in the markets.

These commodities are traded in huge quantities all over the world for the last century! Its just you, your broker and the markets!

When I was reading a lot about Stock Market investing, I learned that even the more skilled investors call themselves successful from a 20% ANNUAL return on investment.  A 20% return on your money can be realized in a single day if you have chosen a good position in the markets.

In the stock market, if prices go down, your money goes away. Because of the nature of the futures markets, you can make money on "either side" of the market.

You do one kind of trade if you determine that the market will go up, another if you think it will go down. Its a beautiful thing!