Trends: Trading With the River, Not Against It
Risk warning: Trends can break without warning. This is education, not financial advice.
A trend is the river's direction. Trade with it, not against it.
Three directions
- Uptrend — price makes higher highs and higher lows. Buyers control.
- Downtrend — price makes lower highs and lower lows. Sellers control.
- Sideways — price moves flat between support and resistance. No clear control.
Look left on the chart. If price climbs in the afternoon (London/New York overlap 1pm–5pm WAT), that is often the trend. For example, you risk $0.10 on a $10 account.
How to see it simply
- Draw a line through the highs or lows.
- If price stays above the line, trend is up.
- If price stays below, trend is down.
Do not fight it. If you sell in a strong uptrend, you often get stopped out.
Use support/resistance to find pullbacks. See Support and Resistance: The Floors and Ceilings of Price.
Trade the trend with a stop loss and small size. See The 1% Rule.
More in Best Time to Trade: Sessions in Plain Time.
Bottom line: Trade with the trend and buy pullbacks to support in busy hours, or you risk fighting the river and hitting stop. Related guides: Starting Forex as a Beginner.