Price never moves in a straight line. It moves in swings: a push, a pullback, another push. The pattern of those swing highs and swing lows is called market structure, and it tells you who's in control.
- Uptrend: higher highs (HH) and higher lows (HL)
- Downtrend: lower highs (LH) and lower lows (LL)
- Range: roughly equal highs and lows
What counts as a swing?
A swing high is a candle whose high is higher than the candles on both sides of it. The more candles on each side, the more significant the swing. The Swing Points indicator uses 5 candles on each side, so a swing is only confirmed 5 candles later. That's why it never repaints in the backtester.
When does the trend change?
An uptrend is intact until price closes below the last higher low. That's the first sign of a shift, and the Smart Money track calls it a Change of Character (CHoCH).
Rules you can use today
HH + HL = only look for longs. LH + LL = only look for shorts.
Buy near a new higher low, not after a big green candle.
A close below the last HL ends the uptrend idea.
Drill
Turn on Swing Points & ZigZag (or mark swings by hand with the H-line tool). For each session, write the current structure (up, down or range) before taking any trade. Only trade in that direction for 20 trades, tagged "BOS continuation".