Swing highs and swing lows

A swing high is a turn where price made a high with lower highs on either side. A swing low is a turn where price made a low with higher lows on either side. You choose how many bars must sit on either side. The choice matters less than using the same choice every time.

Once the turns are marked, the chart has a spine. Rising swing lows with rising swing highs is an uptrend in the plain meaning of the word: buyers have been willing to pay more, and sellers have not pushed the lows down. The opposite is a downtrend. A mix is a range.

Mark fewer swings, not more. If every other candle is a swing, you are describing noise. Zoom out, or require more bars on each side, until the turns match the moves a person could actually sit through.

• Pick a rule and write it on the chart: for example, a turn with two lower highs on each side.
• Do not move a swing after the fact to make an old idea look clever.
• A broken swing is information. It is not, by itself, an order.

Structure gives you a map. It still does not tell you the size of the trade. That belongs to the risk desk.