What It Is
Price action is the study of raw price movement on a chart without relying on indicators. It focuses on candlestick patterns, support/resistance, trend structure, and the behavior of price at key levels to make trading decisions.
Key insight: Every indicator is derived from price. RSI, MACD, Bollinger Bands — they're all mathematical transformations of the same underlying price data. Price action traders go directly to the source, arguing that the cleanest signal comes from price itself.
Price action is the foundation of classical technical analysis. Dow Theory, Edwards & Magee, and Wyckoff methodology are all price-action-first approaches. Indicators can supplement price action, but they should never replace it.
Trading Pure Price Action
Each candle tells you something about the battle between buyers and sellers. A long lower wick shows buyers stepped in aggressively. A small body with long wicks shows indecision. String these stories together to understand market narrative.
A hammer at a key support level after a downtrend is meaningful. A hammer in the middle of nowhere is not. Always evaluate candlestick patterns within the context of trend, structure, and key levels.
Strip your chart to just candles and key levels. No indicators. Learn to read what price is telling you directly. Once you can do this, you can add indicators for confirmation — but price action should always be your primary input.
Apply this concept in combination with others. No single concept tells the whole story - confluence is key.
Continue through core concepts
Compare this reference with related structures and readings before applying it to a live chart.