Module 04 · Intermediate

Technical analysis

Trends, candles, support, indicators, volume and responsible testing.

9 chapters · Concepts, worked examples and self-checks

Study it. Test it. Write it down.

A chart pattern is a testable claim

Would another person identify the same setup without seeing the future?

A fictional breakout rule is tested on 100 observations. Sixty “wins” mean little without entry rules, average win, average loss, costs, sample selection and the meaning of a win. Choosing the best moving-average length after testing 50 alternatives creates a selection problem: the winning backtest benefited from many chances to look good. A later holdout period is needed to assess whether the effect survives outside the selection sample.

Your research task

Define the market, timeframe, information available at entry and the exact invalidation rule. Do not use a candle close that had not occurred at the decision time.
Keep corporate-action adjustments, missing observations and transaction-cost assumptions explicit. Preserve the original data and record every rule variant tested.
Evaluate trend and range periods separately, then a chronological out-of-sample period. Explain why the test does not prove the market will keep behaving that way.

What you should produce

Produce a rule that someone else can reproduce, a trade ledger and an out-of-sample result with an adverse-cost scenario.

The trap to avoid: Annotating support after the bounce and calling the annotation predictive evidence.

Original hypothetical study exercise. Pair it with the chapter sources below; verify current contract rules and product terms separately.

Advanced learning · Research before execution

Build a process you can test.

Study operating rules, portfolio risk and strategy validation. Then work through five playbooks with explicit triggers, invalidation, sizing and no-trade conditions.

Explore the advanced track →Download the paper-trade log ↓

Chapters in this module

0 of 9 completed on this browser

01Trends, timeframes and market structureDefine a trend consistently and distinguish a visual description from evidence of a usable forecasting rule.3 min read 02Support, resistance and failed breakoutsTreat reference zones as hypotheses about past activity, and examine how a failed breakout changes the interpretation.3 min read 03Candlesticks and price-action contextRead candle bodies, wicks and gaps without assigning a universal probability to a familiar shape.3 min read 04Moving averages and trend filtersCalculate simple and exponential averages and understand lag, whipsaws and parameter sensitivity.3 min read 05Momentum, RSI and indicator limitationsUnderstand rate of change, relative-strength calculations and why overbought does not automatically mean a price must fall.3 min read 06Volume, open interest and robust chart studiesDistinguish activity from outstanding exposure and build tests that account for missing securities, costs and information timing.3 min read 07Chart construction, Dow-style trends and honest reference pointsRead line, OHLC and candlestick charts while defining trends from information available at the time.2 min read 08Reversal and continuation patterns: make the picture testableStudy double tops, head-and-shoulders, triangles, flags and ranges without assuming the shape predicts the outcome.2 min read 09Indicator workshop: SMA, EMA, MACD, RSI and volatility bandsCalculate common indicators correctly and understand why several indicators can repeat the same price information.2 min read

← All learning modules · Calculators

Keep exploring

Learning beyond this page.

Follow Orchid Research for more educational perspectives.

YouTube ↗Instagram ↗X / Twitter ↗Telegram ↗