The Complete A-Z Technical Analysis Masterclass

Understand candlestick charts as a tool for summarizing price action across time frames, for day trading, swing trading, and long-term investing, revealing patterns and supply and demand with line-chart switches.

Identify the four components of candlesticks—open, high, low, close—and show how the real body and upper and lower wicks reflect price action across timeframes.

Explore how supply and demand drive price movements using candlesticks, with long upper or lower wicks signaling reversals and opportunities to buy, sell, or short sell in short-term trades.

Explore how support and resistance define entry and exit points, and how candlestick confirmation distinguishes true breakouts from false ones for high-probability moves.

Explore standard doji, gravestone doji, and dragonfly doji candlesticks to spot indecision and potential reversals, using near-equal open and close and long upper or lower wicks in uptrends and downtrends.

The dragonfly candlestick signals a bullish reversal at the bottom of a down move, with a long lower wick and a real body at the top, indicating demand overtakes supply.

Learn how the gravestone doji forms after an uptrend, with a long upper wick and a bottom body, signaling a bearish reversal and profit-taking or short selling.

Identify bullish and bearish engulfing candles, two-candle patterns that fully engulf the prior body to signal reversals across any time frame, from day trading to long-term investing.

Explore the morning star and evening star reversal patterns, three-candle formations signaling bullish and bearish reversals, and how to identify buy and short opportunities.

Discover hammer and hanging man candlesticks as reversal patterns. The hammer marks a bottom bullish reversal; the hanging man marks a top bearish reversal after an up move.

Learn the mat hold, a five-candle continuation pattern signaling trend continuation, with bullish form two tall green candles, three red candles, and a final green close above the high.

Spot the bullish and bearish three methods pattern, a five-candle continuation setup where three middle candles stay within the first candle’s range, culminating with a breakout.

Explore candlestick gaps formed by extended hours moves, premarket or after-hours news, and their appearance on daily charts, highlighting gap-trading opportunities including the gap-close reversal.

Learn to trade gaps with the gap close reversal strategy, using daily charts to buy on pullbacks after a gap and short on fills near resistance.

Explore trendlines as slanted lines of support and resistance that identify uptrends and downtrends, connecting highs or lows to guide buying, selling, or shorting with the trend.

Learn the head and shoulders pattern, a bearish reversal after an uptrend, and how to use the right shoulder, break of support, and selling or shorting opportunities.

Use the inverse head and shoulders pattern as a bullish reversal at the end of downtrends, signaling to exit shorts or buy on a breakout above shoulder resistance.

Explore the bull flag continuation pattern, identifying buy opportunities at trimline support or on breakout above resistance as prices continue their upward move.

Identify bear flag as a bearish pattern after a strong down move, with the vertex acting as a key support or resistance, guiding short sale entries and cutting losses.

Use the abcde pattern as a bullish intraday setup to buy the dip at point c or on the breakout above d, using support near b to manage risk.

Develop practical pattern practice techniques to master the complete technical analysis from a to z.

The RSI is a momentum indicator on a 0–100 scale that flags overbought (above 70) or oversold (below 30) conditions, and it should confirm price action rather than drive trades.

Discover how volume is measured by shares traded, how volume bars appear on price charts, and how average and relative volume identify liquidity and trading opportunities.

Discover how to add volume indicators to charts on thinkorswim (desktop and mobile), including searching, applying, and customizing indicator colors, and learn about a custom volume indicator via included code.

Master intraday trading with VWAP, the volume weighted average price, focusing on the middle band to gauge trend, and use VWAP as support or resistance for entries and exits.

Use on balance volume to gauge whether volume flows into or out of an asset, signaling supply and demand, and avoid false breakouts by confirming with OBV rising with price.

Learn how the volume profile shows volume at price levels across timeframes, and how points of control, high and low volume notes create support and resistance.

Understand how supply and demand and trading volume drive stock price movements. Learn about float, the shares available to trade, and how low floats increase volatility and risk.

Learn to trade stock breakouts safely using volume analysis to confirm resistance breakouts and avoid false breakouts. Watch volume strength and time in sales for demand.

Explain volume exhaustion in stock moves, highlighting buyer and seller exhaustion, how spikes trigger pullbacks or bearish reversals, and how traders use volume candles with candlestick patterns to time entries.

Analyze intraday charts of top percent gainers and losers using volume indicators like on balance volume and volume profile to confirm breakouts and resistance levels.

Compare level one and level two to understand real-time stock data, focusing on level two's order book, bid/ask sizes, and exchange routes to visualize supply and demand for tape reading.

Learn how supply and demand drive stock price movements, read level two bids and asks, spot imbalances, and combine level two with time and sales for actionable tape-reading insights.

Time and sales provides real-time transaction data—price, time, and size for every trade—and cannot be manipulated, complementing level two to reveal price action and entry or exit opportunities.

Master tape reading by analyzing price and volume with level two and time and sales to identify hidden buyers and sellers, avoid manipulation, and profit alongside big traders.

Learn why tape reading, via time and sales and the level, is the premier edge for short-term traders, revealing real-time activity by large traders and market momentum.

Learn to spot hidden buyers using level two and time and sales data, and use that insight to identify large demand imbalances and trade opportunities.

Spot hidden sellers using level two and time and sales data to anticipate price moves, and learn to profit from declines through short selling.

Explore tape reading tactics to spot manipulation by fake bids and fake masks on level two, understanding how large orders can entice retail traders and how to respond.

Identify stock reversals by reading the tape and level two data, focusing on spread changes, demand imbalance, and volume spikes to spot buyer and seller exhaustion.

Create a trade plan with defined risk and reward levels using support and resistance. Maintain a two-to-one reward-to-risk ratio and cut losses promptly on long and short trades.

Master breakout trading by recognizing breakouts, avoiding false signals, and buying after resistance becomes support on intraday charts for low-risk, high-accuracy entries.

Identify market momentum with trend lines, then buy at trend line support in an uptrend or short on resistance in a downtrend, using a defined risk level.

Learn to set up Thinkorswim with TD Ameritrade, customize the sidebar and charts, link tools, use scans, and place orders with the Active Trader and bracket orders.

Learn to practice trading without risking real money using paper trading on Thinkorswim by TD Ameritrade, including setting up paper money, buying power, and quick orders.