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Price Action Trading

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What is Price Action Trading?
Price Action Trading means making trading decisions based on the actual price movement on the chart—nothing else. No RSI, no MACD, no fancy indicators. Just candlesticks, structure, support/resistance, and patterns.

Think of it like this: If the market is a language, price action is learning to read, write, and speak it fluently.

🤔 Why Use Price Action?
Because indicators are lagging. They react after the move has happened. Price action is real-time, showing what’s happening right now.

Benefits:
Helps identify real support/resistance zones

Tells you the story of buyers vs sellers

Works on any time frame (1-min, 5-min, daily, etc.)

No dependency on tools—just your eyes and chart reading skills

🔍 Key Elements of Price Action
1. Market Structure
This is the foundation of price action. Market moves in three ways:

Uptrend (Higher Highs, Higher Lows)

Downtrend (Lower Highs, Lower Lows)

Range (Sideways, Consolidation)

If you understand structure, you already know:

Where the trend is

When it's changing

Where you can enter/exit

2. Support and Resistance
These are areas where price reacts repeatedly. In price action, these are called zones, not exact lines.

How to Identify?
Look for areas where price bounced or reversed multiple times.

These become decision zones for future trades.

Support = Price zone where buyers come in
Resistance = Price zone where sellers push price down

3. Trendlines & Channels
Drawing trendlines connecting swing highs/lows gives you:

A guide to trend strength

Breakout/breakdown points

Dynamic support/resistance

Channels help identify range-bound moves and reversal points at the edges.

4. Breakouts & Fakeouts
Price often breaks out from:

Ranges

Trendlines

Chart patterns

But not all breakouts are real. Some are fakeouts to trap retail traders.

A good price action trader waits for confirmation (like a strong candle close) before reacting.

📘 How to Trade Using Price Action – Step-by-Step
Let’s now apply this knowledge in a live trading-style thinking process.

✅ Step 1: Understand the Trend (Structure)
On a clean chart (no indicators), mark recent swing highs/lows

Ask: Is the market making Higher Highs and Higher Lows (uptrend)?

If yes → look only for buy opportunities

✅ Step 2: Identify Key Zones
Mark:

Major support and resistance

Previous day’s high/low

Intraday breakout zones

These are your action points.

✅ Step 3: Wait for Price Reaction
At those zones, wait for:

Reversal patterns like pin bar, engulfing

Breakout candles with strong body (not doji)

Volume spike (optional)

✅ Step 4: Entry and Stop-Loss
Entry: After confirmation candle closes (not before)

Stop-loss: Just below/above the zone or candle wick

Target: Use recent structure zones or risk-reward ratio (e.g., 1:2)

✅ Step 5: Trade Management
If price moves in your favor, trail SL (e.g., to break even)

Watch for reversal signs to exit manually if needed

Never hold hoping for miracle recovery

🎯 Price Action Trading in Intraday (Example with Bank Nifty)
Check 5-min and 15-min chart.

Mark:

Opening range high/low

Pre-market support/resistance

Day’s high/low from yesterday

Wait for price to reach these zones.

Watch for:

Rejection candles (pin bar, inside bar)

Breakout retests

Place trade with small SL and clear RR.

Example Scenario:

Bank Nifty opens near yesterday’s high

You see a bearish pin bar on 5-min rejecting resistance

You short with SL above the high, target recent swing low

Risk = 30 pts, Reward = 70 pts → good setup

🧠 Psychological Side of Price Action
Trading price action requires:

Patience (waiting for setups)

Discipline (following rules, not emotions)

Chart reading skill (comes with time and practice)

Don’t try to force trades. If price doesn’t reach your zone or give confirmation — stay out.

No trade is better than a bad trade.

🧪 Tools That Help (Optional)
Although price action is tool-free, these tools can support your analysis:

TradingView – for clean charts

Volume – to confirm strength of moves

Sessions Indicator – mark Asia/Europe/US zones

❗ Mistakes to Avoid
Trading every candle — wait for context + confirmation

Ignoring market structure — never go against strong trend

Jumping in during volatile news — sit out

Not marking clean zones — messy chart = messy trades

No stop-loss — one big loss can kill weeks of gains

✨ Summary – Price Action Trading Blueprint
Component Role in Trading
Market Structure Understand the trend
Support/Resistance Identify key decision zones
Candles Watch for rejection/confirmation
Entry Rules Confirm with candle close
SL & RR Define before entry
Patience Only trade A+ setups

💬 Final Thoughts
Price action trading is a skill, not a hack.

It takes practice, patience, and screen time. But once you understand it deeply, you don’t need indicators or news. The chart will tell you everything.

You’ll start seeing things others can’t:

Why that candle reversed exactly there

Why the market faked out and then reversed

Where buyers/sellers are hiding

And most importantly—you’ll gain confidence in your own decisions.

Disclaimer

The information and publications are not meant to be, and do not constitute, financial, investment, trading, or other types of advice or recommendations supplied or endorsed by TradingView. Read more in the Terms of Use.