[Tutorial] Basic Technical Analysis & Charting

[CryptoKas]

Written for traders who want real-world results—no fluff, just the exact steps to start spotting setups today.

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1️⃣ Why Technical Analysis Matters

You don’t need to predict the future—just identify where price is likely to go next. TA turns raw candlesticks into a roadmap:

• Shows momentum (are buyers or sellers winning?)
• Highlights key levels (where to enter or exit)
• Filters out noise so you can trade with confidence

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2️⃣ Pick Your Charting Platform

TradingView is free, browser-based, and packed with indicators and a huge public idea library.

1. Go to tradingview.com & sign up
2. Open a chart (e.g. BTC/USD)
3. Select a timeframe:
   • Daily for the big picture
   • 1-Hour for precise entries

Pro Tip: Save your layout (⇧+S), name it “My First TA Setup,” and you’ll never lose your drawings.

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3️⃣ Master Candlesticks in 60 Seconds

Each candle shows four data points:

• Open (where price started)
• High & Low (intraday extremes)
• Close (where price ended)

Action: Hover over a candle and read its OHLC in the top-left. Call out if it’s a “bull candle” (close > open) or “bear candle” (close < open).

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4️⃣ Draw Your First Trendline

1. Select the Trend Line tool
2. Click the most recent swing low (for an uptrend)
3. Drag to the next higher low
4. Extend into the future

When price bounces off that line twice, you’ve got a valid trend. A break below? Time to rethink.

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5️⃣ Add a Moving Average Filter

• Open Indicators, search “MA,” add a 50-period SMA.
• Add a 200-period SMA to see the long-term trend.

Rule:

• Price above both SMAs → bias long
• Price below both → bias short
• A 50/200 cross = potential trend shift

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6️⃣ Spot a Trade Setup

Look for confluence—when two signals align:

• Price hits your trendline bounce
• 50-SMA is trending up
• RSI (add via Indicators) is above 50

Plan your trade:

• Entry: 1–2 ticks above the bounce
• Stop-Loss: 1 ATR below the last swing low (add ATR)
• Target: 2× your risk (e.g., SL = 20 pips → TP = 40 pips)

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7️⃣ Practice and Refine

• Backtest: Scroll 30 candles back; count how many setups hit your rules.
• Journal: Log date, asset, timeframe, entry/exit, result, and one lesson learned.

“Entered long BTC at $30 000; SL $29 900; TP $30 200; +0.7%. Lesson: volume was low—skip next time.”

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Your Next Steps

1. Pin this tutorial in Technical Analysis & Charting.
2. Open TradingView and draw your first trendline now.
3. Share a screenshot in the subforum with your takeaways.

Repeat daily—soon you’ll go from “What’s an MA?” to “Here’s my setup.” Let’s see those charts!