Course › Level 2: How traders read a chart

Trend: up, down, or sideways

The first question for any chart: which way is this market moving? There are only three answers.

• Uptrend, price keeps making higher highs and higher lows. Stairs going up.
• Downtrend, lower highs and lower lows. Stairs going down.
• Range, price bounces between a ceiling and a floor, going nowhere.

How to check in 10 seconds

Open the H1 or D1 chart, lean back, and look at the last 50–100 candles. Don't squint at individual candles, look at the shape. If you can't tell within ten seconds, it's probably a range, and ranges are where beginners donate money. When in doubt, stay out.

Beginners trade with the trend. Counter-trend trading is real, but it's an advanced game, later.

Mark lesson complete