Let’s make it simple
Imagine a school fair with a pretend sticker stall. A sign asks for 10 tokens. Someone offers 9. Nothing has been exchanged yet. When both people agree on 9, a trade happens. Our course uses imaginary tokens and invented charts, so nobody needs to spend money.
Understand the idea
A market connects people willing to buy with people willing to sell. An asking price and a completed trade are different things. A price chart usually summarizes a selected stream of market prices. Check the chart provider to learn what its data represents.
Every completed trade has a buyer and a seller. A rising price does not mean the number of buyers is larger. It shows that the prices at which trades occurred moved higher. The chart cannot identify everyone or explain every decision.
Time runs from left to right. The price scale runs from low to high. Before reading any shape, find the market, date, time period and units. Our invented sticker prices help us practise this habit.
Read exact candle values
| Candle | Open | High | Low | Close |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | 9 | 10 | 8 | 10 |
| B | 10 | 11 | 9 | 11 |
| C | 11 | 12 | 10 | 11 |
A small worked example
The last three completed sticker trades are 9, 10 and 11 tokens. The prices rose. We still cannot tell how many people watched, what they believed or what the next price will be.
Your turn
Draw two axes. Label the bottom TIME and the side PRICE. Plot the completed prices 9, 10 and 11. Write one fact and one unanswered question.
Compare your exercise with a model response
Plot three points rising left to right. Fact: the completed prices rose. Unknown: the next price.
Pause & think
Check your understanding
Write an answer, then compare it with the explanation. This is self-study, not an automatically graded test.
Compare all three answers to unlock the review button.
Fictional examples. Education only; no pattern guarantees a result. Course information