CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 63% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
Charting at an expert level isn’t about slapping on more indicators—it’s about seeing the market’s pulse through price, volume, and time in ways most traders miss.
For advanced traders, high-level charting methods unlock deeper insights, refine entries, and sharpen exits, whether you’re dissecting forex pairs, stocks, or crypto. These techniques demand skill and practice, but they can turn a good trader into a great one. Here’s how to master the art of expert charting.
At this level, price action isn’t just spotting a head-and-shoulders—it’s decoding intent. Focus on wick analysis: long upper wicks at resistance (rejection) or lower wicks at support (absorption) signal big players stepping in.
On a 4-hour EUR/USD chart, a pin bar at 1.1300 with a 20-pip upper wick and rising volume? Sellers are defending—short it. Pair this with inside bars—a candle nesting in the prior range—showing consolidation before a breakout. If it’s near a trendline, wait for the break, then pounce with a tight stop.
Zoom into multi-candle sequences. Three declining highs at resistance with shrinking wicks? Momentum’s fading—anticipate a drop. This beats waiting for textbook patterns; it’s real-time market psychology.
Volume is your lie detector. Use Volume-Weighted Average Price (VWAP)—the day’s average price adjusted for volume—to gauge value. Price above VWAP on a 1-hour SPY chart with steady volume? Buyers dominate—hold longs. A breakout above resistance on low volume? Fakeout—wait for VWAP confirmation. Reset VWAP daily for stocks; weekly for forex or crypto swings.
Layer in Volume Profile: a histogram of traded volume at each price. On Bitcoin at $60,000, a “high-volume node” (HVN) at $58,500 shows heavy trading—support. A “low-volume node” (LVN) at $59,500? Weak zone—price flies through. Enter near HVNs, exit at LVNs, stops just beyond. It’s like x-raying the chart.
Markets breathe in cycles—expert charting catches the rhythm. Use time-based Fibonacci extensions: from a major low (say, USD/JPY at 145.00) to a high (150.00), project 61.8% or 100% of that time forward. If it lands near a key level—like 149.00 support—it’s a reversal window. Gold’s 34-day cycle often pivots at Fibonacci dates; mark them, then check momentum.
Add Gann angles: draw a 45-degree line (1:1 price-to-time) from a pivot. Price riding above on a daily crude oil chart? Trend’s strong—buy dips. Crossing below? Fade it. Gann’s geometric, but it nails turning points when paired with volume.
Elliott Wave theory maps impulse and corrective waves—five up, three down. On a weekly AUD/USD chart, wave 3 (the strongest) breaks 0.7200 with high volume—ride it to the 161.8% Fibonacci extension (0.7400). Wave 4 pulls back to 0.7300—buy the dip, stop below 0.7250, target wave 5 at 0.7500. Count waves on multiple timeframes: a 1-hour correction aligns with a daily impulse.
Mistakes happen—waves morph. Cross-check with RSI: overbought at wave 3’s peak, oversold at wave 4’s base. It’s not guesswork; it’s structure.
For platforms with order flow data (like NinjaTrader), footprint charts show buy/sell aggression at each price. On a 5-minute Nasdaq futures chart, heavy buying at $18,000 with delta (net buying) spiking? Bulls are in—go long. A “stacked imbalance”—consecutive buy orders dwarfing sells—near support screams reversal. No order flow? Mimic it with tick volume spikes on breakouts—close enough for retail.
The magic’s in layering. Say GBP/USD nears 1.3500 on a daily chart: VWAP sits at 1.3480, Volume Profile shows an HVN, a Gann 1:1 angle crosses, and wave 3 peaks with RSI divergence. Short it—stop at 1.3550, target 1.3350. Multiple signals at one spot isn’t luck; it’s the market shouting. Test confluence historically—did it hold on USD/CAD last month? Data builds trust.
Use TradingView or Thinkorswim—customize with VWAP, Volume Profile, Gann tools. Backtest: run that Elliott setup on 50 trades—60% winners at 2:1? Golden. Patience is king—wait for setups, not signals. Over-charting muddies the water; pick three methods, master them. Journal every trade—“Entered at VWAP, exited at LVN, +30 pips”—to refine.
Bitcoin’s at $62,000, daily chart. Volume Profile pins $61,500 as HVN, a pin bar rejects $62,500, RSI diverges, and a Gann angle slopes down. Short 0.1 BTC, stop $62,700 (2x ATR), target $60,500 (LVN). It drops, you bank $1,000—confluence nailed it. That’s expert charting: precision over prediction.
High-level charting spots what others miss—turning points, traps, momentum shifts. A basic trader grabs 20 pips; you’re sniping 50 with half the risk. Mastery takes time, but markets reward the skilled.
Ready to master expert charting techniques and dominate the charts? Start learning today with Pipup Academy’s expert-led courses—they’ll take your analysis to the top tier!
