Trading concepts. Explained.
Detailed lessons, worked examples, practical exercises and videos for every concept.
Order Flow. The story inside every level.
From the order book to footprint, delta and absorption. A complete 30-day learning path with diagrams, practice and supporting videos.
Explore Order Flow →Total 300 · Ask 220 − Bid 80 = Delta +140
Numbers describe executions, not pending orders.
foundations
One candle. An entire story.
A candle summarizes an interval with open, high, low and close (OHLC). Its body joins open and close; the remaining range forms the wicks. Colour is a display choice, not a forecast.
Learn the full concept →Market structure: rhythm and direction
Market structure describes successive swings. Higher highs and higher lows describe an uptrend; lower highs and lows describe a downtrend. Overlapping swings may describe a range.
Learn the full concept →A level is a zone, not a promise
Support and resistance are areas of possible price reaction. Liquidity concerns the size and cost of execution. A chart line does not prove visible orders or guaranteed support.
Learn the full concept →Momentum and participation
Momentum measures the rate of price change; volume records trading activity. RSI is a bounded closing-price momentum measure. Volume comparisons require matching venue and units.
Learn the full concept →Timeframes: different perspectives
A timeframe groups observations into intervals. Aggregation uses the first open, maximum high, minimum low, last close and the sum of compatible volume. Session boundaries affect grouping.
Learn the full concept →Know the exit before the entry
Invalidation defines when a trading idea is wrong. A stop is an execution instruction. Stop-market fills can differ from the trigger; stop-limit orders may remain unfilled.
Learn the full concept →Position sizing
Sizing converts a risk budget into quantity: quantity = budget / estimated loss per unit. Futures require multipliers, tick values and currency conversion. Margin and trade risk differ.
Learn the full concept →Reward and expectancy
Reward-to-risk compares planned target and stop distances. Expectancy also includes probabilities and realized payoffs: p × average win − (1−p) × average loss − costs.
Learn the full concept →Drawdown and exposure
Drawdown is a decline from peak equity. Exposure describes positions, leverage and shared risks. After loss fraction d, recovery requires d/(1−d); this is arithmetic, not a promise.
Learn the full concept →Test, review, repeat
Testing turns an idea into explicit rules, data and a review process. Simulated decisions must use information available at the time. Future closes and later-confirmed pivots can leak into results.
Learn the full concept →advanced
Marubozu: full-bodied candles
An ideal marubozu's body covers its range. Bullish: open=low, close=high. Bearish: open=high, close=low. Near-marubozu requires an explicit tick-size tolerance.
Learn the full concept →Body versus full range
Body is absolute close minus open. Range is high minus low. Their ratio describes shape, not the direction of a future return; wicks preserve intrabar movement.
Learn the full concept →Engulfing versus a previous-low close
Body engulfing compares body endpoints. A close below the previous low compares a close with the full candle's low. These are distinct conditions.
Learn the full concept →Break of structure
A structure break crosses a predefined confirmed swing. Wick-based and close-based definitions differ. The label describes a rule, not a guaranteed trend change.
Learn the full concept →Liquidity sweep and reclaim
A sweep label describes a move beyond a reference level followed by a reclaim under a specified rule. OHLC alone cannot prove whose stops traded or participant intent.
Learn the full concept →Rejection wicks
A long wick records excursion away from the body and a close away from an extreme. Rejection is an interpretation; future direction remains uncertain.
Learn the full concept →Fair value gap
A three-candle gap convention can mark non-overlap between the first and third candle's extremes. It is a chart definition, not proof that price must revisit the area.
Learn the full concept →Order block conventions
An order-block label often marks a selected candle before an impulse. Definitions vary. A price candle cannot prove institutional orders or a universal profitable zone.
Learn the full concept →ATR and volatility
True range is the maximum of high−low, absolute high−previous close and absolute low−previous close. ATR smooths true range over a chosen length; it measures movement, not direction.
Learn the full concept →Multi-timeframe context
Higher timeframes summarize broader intervals while lower timeframes provide more granular observations. A higher bar's final values are unknown before it closes.
Learn the full concept →Spread and slippage
Spread is the difference between ask and bid. Slippage is the difference between a reference execution price and actual fill. Fees and market impact add further costs.
Learn the full concept →Portfolio exposure
Gross exposure sums absolute positions; net exposure considers direction. Shared factors can make different tickers move together. Equal notional hedges need not match beta.
Learn the full concept →Validation and journaling
Validation tests frozen rules on unseen data with realistic execution. A journal records what was known, what action was taken and why. Live signals and historical hit rates are different outputs.
Learn the full concept →Hedging: a practical exposure guide
A hedge is an offsetting position designed to reduce a specified risk. Start with the exposure you already own, then identify a contract whose price changes offset it. A hedge does not guarantee profit or remove every risk.
Learn the full concept →candles
Bullish candle
A bullish candle closes above its open: C>O. Colour is configurable. Its shape describes a past interval rather than guaranteeing the next candle's direction.
Learn the full concept →Bearish candle
A bearish candle closes below its open: C<O. The body's upper endpoint is open, lower endpoint close. Display colour does not change this definition.
Learn the full concept →Doji and small bodies
Doji-style candles have nearby open and close. Exact equality differs from a small-body tolerance. Define thresholds in ticks or as a fraction of range before testing.
Learn the full concept →Hammer anatomy
A hammer-style candle has a long lower wick with its body near the upper range. Ratio conventions vary; shape alone does not establish a win rate.
Learn the full concept →Previous candle: strict low close break
This custom rule requires a completed bullish candle, followed by a completed bearish candle closing below the previous low. It is not a body-engulfing rule; equality and wick-only breaks do not qualify.
Learn the full concept →