Trading
Charts 101CandlesticksIndicatorsRisk managementAll chart patternsHead and shouldersInverse head and shouldersDouble topDouble bottomAscending triangleDescending triangleBull flagBear flagCup and handleFalling wedgeRising wedgeSupport and resistanceTriple topTriple bottomSymmetrical triangleRounding bottomPennantRectangleAscending channelDescending channelBroadening formationGolden crossDeath crossBart patternWyckoff accumulationWyckoff distributionWhat moves marketsTradingViewMarket cap vs price
The short answer
The single most useful concept on any chart, and the base for every pattern above.
What you are looking at
Support is a price where buyers keep showing up. Resistance is where sellers keep showing up. Both are zones, not exact lines.
How traders act on it
Most trades are placed near a level with a stop just beyond it, because that is where you find out quickly if you were wrong.
Closes, not touches
Wait for a close beyond the level, not a touch. Intraday spikes through a level that reverse before the close are extremely common, and they exist partly because so many stops sit just beyond.When it fails
Levels that break often flip. Old resistance frequently becomes new support, and the reverse.
Failure is normal and it is not a problem, provided you decided your invalidation level before entering and sized the position so that being wrong is survivable. See risk management.
Context that changes the odds
| Factor | Improves the setup | Weakens it |
|---|---|---|
| Higher timeframe trend | Pattern agrees with the daily or weekly direction | Pattern fights the larger trend |
| Volume | Expands on the breakout | Breakout happens on thin volume |
| Duration | Formed over many candles | Formed over three or four candles, which is mostly noise |
| Level confluence | Trigger sits at a well tested level | Trigger sits in empty space with no history |
| Market conditions | Trending, orderly market | Choppy range, where nearly every pattern fails |
Other patterns
Head and shouldersInverse head and shouldersDouble topDouble bottomAscending triangleDescending triangleBull flagBear flag
Common questions
How many touches make a level real?
Two makes it a line, three makes it a level worth respecting. More touches also mean more orders sitting there, which makes an eventual break more violent.
Why do levels stop working?
Because the orders that defined them get filled. A level is a memory of decisions people made, and once those people have traded, there is nothing left to defend it.
Where to go next
All 26 patternsThe full set with diagrams.Risk managementSizing and stops.CandlesticksThe building blocks.
Practice spotting these
We go through live charts together and separate the real setups from the shapes your brain wants to see. That second skill is the harder one.