Market Structure

Highs, lows, liquidity and timeframes: a precise vocabulary for describing what price has done.

• 1

  Highs, Lows and Trend Structure

  A trend can be described precisely as a sequence of higher highs and higher lows, or the reverse. That description is objective, testable and — crucially — silent about what happens next.

  8 min read

• 2

  Liquidity and Order Flow Basics

  Liquidity is the ability to transact size without moving price much. Where it pools, price tends to travel — not because of manipulation, but because that is where large orders can actually be filled.

  8 min read

• 3

  Timeframes and Context

  Higher timeframes describe the environment; lower ones describe the moment. Trouble starts when you analyse on one and act on another without noticing you have switched.

  7 min read

• 4

  Ranges, Consolidation and Breakouts

  A range is a period in which buyers and sellers keep agreeing on price inside a band. Breakouts fail often because crossing a level and being accepted beyond it are two different events, and only the second one changes anything.

  8 min read

• 5

  Market Sessions and When Liquidity Appears

  The same order costs different amounts at different hours, because the number of participants willing to take the other side changes through the day. Sessions are a map of that, not a schedule of opportunity.

  8 min read

• 6

  Volatility and Average Range

  Volatility measures how much price has moved, not how likely you are to lose money. Average range is useful because it sets a sensible stop distance — and stop distance is what determines position size.

  9 min read