A chart shows what happened, not what will
Every honest thing that can be said about technical analysis starts here. A chart is a record of decisions people already made. It is genuinely useful, and it is not a prediction machine.
What charts are actually good for is defining risk. They show you where a lot of people previously decided to buy or sell, which gives you a level where you can say clearly: if price goes past here, my reasoning was wrong.
That is the real value. Not forecasting, but knowing in advance what would prove you wrong and how much it costs when it does.
Candlesticks
What a single bar tells you about the fight between buyers and sellers.
Read candlesticksChart patterns
Twelve recurring shapes, each with a diagram, a trigger and an invalidation level.
See all twelveIndicators
RSI, moving averages and volume. What they measure and where they mislead.
Learn indicatorsRisk management
The part that determines whether you are still here in a year.
Manage riskWhat you are looking at
| Element | What it shows | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Price axis | The vertical scale | Log scale is better for long timeframes because it shows percentage moves evenly |
| Time axis | The horizontal scale | Each candle covers one period. A daily chart shows one candle per day |
| Candles | Open, high, low and close for the period | The shape carries information about who won the period |
| Volume | How much traded | A move on low volume is fragile. On heavy volume it reflects real participation |
| Timeframe | The period each candle represents | The same asset looks bullish and bearish at once on different timeframes |
The one concept everything else is built on
Support is a zone where buyers have repeatedly appeared. Resistance is where sellers have. They are zones rather than exact lines, and they work partly because so many people are watching the same levels.
When a level breaks, it frequently reverses role. Old resistance becomes new support and the other way around. That flip is one of the more reliable observations in technical analysis.
Learn to read a chart properly
A session covers candlesticks, trend, support and resistance, and how to define your risk before you enter. Using your own charts, at your own pace.