Trend lines done right

Connect swings, not candles

A rising trend line joins two or more swing lows — lows with higher lows on both sides — where each is higher than the last. A falling line joins descending swing highs. Connecting arbitrary candles produces lines that mean nothing.

Two points define a line, but only the third touch tests it. Until price comes back and respects the line, it is a hypothesis.

Live chart · Binance spot data. Drag to pan.

Bodies or wicks?

There is no universal answer, only consistency. Drawing through wick extremes captures every touch; drawing through bodies ignores brief spikes. Pick one approach and use it on every chart, otherwise you will unconsciously pick whichever version agrees with your view.

Angle matters

Very steep lines break quickly because no trend keeps that pace for long. Very shallow lines are almost horizontal levels. Lines at moderate angles, touched several times, tend to be the ones worth keeping.

Remember that angle depends on how the chart is zoomed and on linear versus logarithmic scale. On long histories, a line that looks straight on a log scale can curve away on a linear one.

When a line breaks

One wick through the line is not the same as a close beyond it, and one close beyond it is not the same as a sustained move. Decide in advance what counts as a break for you. When a line is clearly broken, redraw rather than nudging the old one to fit — a line adjusted after every candle describes nothing.

On Velqorena

Press Alt+T for a trend line or Alt+R for a ray that extends into the future. Select a line to drag its handles; the price of each end appears on the axis. Use the Parallel channel (Alt+C) when the opposite side of the trend is also well defined. The higher-lows study shows the rules above applied automatically.

Velqorena articles explain how tools work using past price data. They are not investment advice and do not suggest any trade.