TradeGlean
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Price Action: Trends, Pullbacks & Reversals

Read the structure beyond individual candles: pullbacks, channels, range breaks, and trend reversals, with visual identification rules and practical price examples.

18 articles89 min totalComplete
Start with the first article

Begin with trends, channels, and trading ranges. Then connect candle relationships to pullbacks, breakouts, and reversals. The later articles cover more complex structures. Each method explains its trigger and what would contradict it; a pattern is never a guarantee.

Follow the suggested order, or open the technique you need. Examples are for learning, not trade signals.

Your learning path

Start with the market structure

  1. Trend Lines and Price Channels: Draw the Right BoundariesIdentify rising and falling channels, distinguish trend lines from channel lines, and use shallow or deep pullbacks to judge the strength of a move.Beginner · 5 min read
  2. Spike-and-Channel and Stair-Step Trends: Read the ProgressDistinguish a fast impulse followed by a channel from a trend built through successive ranges, and recognize when directional progress starts to weaken.Beginner · 6 min read
  3. Trading-Range Edges: Read Rejections and ReversalsIdentify a trading range, distinguish its edges from the middle, and read bullish rejections at the floor or bearish rejections at the ceiling.Beginner · 5 min read

Compare adjacent candles

  1. Inside and Outside Bars: Read the Full Candle RangeIdentify inside and outside bars using complete highs and lows, distinguish them from body engulfing, and use context to choose a directional setup.Beginner · 5 min read
  2. ii, iii, and IOI Patterns: Recognize Candle CompressionCount nested inside bars and inside-outside-inside sequences, mark their inner and outer boundaries, and connect a breakout to the surrounding trend.Intermediate · 5 min read

Find a pullback entry

  1. Simple Pullbacks: Find a Clear Trend RestartRecognize an orderly pullback in a strong trend, locate a compact pause, and wait for a closing break before treating it as a trend restart.Beginner · 6 min read
  2. High 1, High 2, Low 1, Low 2: Count Pullback AttemptsLearn to count first and second attempts to resume a trend, distinguish a trigger from a swing high, and reset the count when the pullback ends.Intermediate · 5 min read
  3. First Break vs. Second Break: Trade the Pullback RestartDistinguish FB and SB pullback setups, identify first and second trend-recovery attempts, and compare their confirmation, location, and failure boundaries.Intermediate · 6 min read
  4. Complex Pullbacks and Two-Legged CorrectionsIdentify a complex pullback, compare it with a simple correction or reversal, and read ABC legs, confirmation levels, and remaining reward versus risk.Intermediate · 7 min read

Distinguish inner and outer breaks

  1. Range Breaks: Read the Squeeze Before the BreakoutIdentify a range-break squeeze, read rising lows or falling highs near the boundary, and separate the directional setup from a confirmed breakout.Intermediate · 5 min read
  2. Inside Range Breaks: Read Nested Price StructuresRecognize an inside range break, distinguish inner and outer boundaries, and use a shallow handle without mistaking it for a full range breakout.Intermediate · 4 min read

Read a trend reversal

  1. Major Trend Reversals: Read the Break, Test, and TurnIdentify a major trend reversal through a broken trend, a test of the old extreme, and renewed opposite movement, with a precise EMA gap-bar definition.Intermediate · 4 min read
  2. Double Tops and Bottoms: Identify the Test and NecklineRecognize double tops and double bottoms, distinguish a second test from a completed reversal, and locate the neckline that confirms the direction.Beginner · 4 min read
  3. Head and Shoulders: Identify the Shape and Neckline BreakIdentify head-and-shoulders tops and bottoms through their pivots and neckline, then distinguish the completed reversal from an unfinished outline.Intermediate · 4 min read
  4. Wedges and Three Pushes: Identify the Reversal SetupIdentify rising and falling wedges, count three pushes with intervening pullbacks, and distinguish a confirmed reversal from a failed reversal attempt.Intermediate · 4 min read
  5. Final Flags: Identify the Failed Last PushRecognize a final-flag reversal through a pause, one more trend extension, and a confirmed return through the flag's opposite boundary.Intermediate · 4 min read
  6. Contracting and Expanding Triangles: Read the BoundariesDistinguish contracting and expanding price structures, identify their actual boundaries, and read the confirmed breakout without guessing from the outline.Intermediate · 5 min read

Estimate target space

  1. Measured Moves: Calculate Targets from Price StructureCalculate range-height, equal-leg, and head-height projections with clear starting points, then compare each target with the nearest visible obstacle.Intermediate · 5 min read

Need an introduction to day trading first?

Read the beginner’s guide