Field guide · market microstructure
The market has a structure. Learn to read it.
A free, plain-English course on how price actually moves — the same market-structure concepts the Quantreef engine reads. No jargon, no hype, no signals: just the mechanics, each chapter a one-page guide with a worked example you can follow candle by candle.
Foundations
Start here — the language of price.
Foundations
Candlestick anatomy
A single candlestick packs four prices into one shape.
Open · Close · Body
PDF · 1 pageRead →
Foundations
Support & resistance
The levels where price keeps reversing — and what happens when one finally breaks.
zones vs lines · polarity flips · fake breaks
PDF · 1 pageRead →
Foundations
Trend & market structure
Markets move in patterns of peaks and troughs.
swing high · swing low · higher high / higher low
PDF · 1 pageRead →
Foundations
Trendlines & channels
A trendline is a single straight line drawn through a series of rising lows.
Trendline · Higher low · Channel
PDF · 1 pageRead →
Foundations
Timeframes & top-down
The higher timeframe shows the big-picture bias; a lower timeframe shows the smaller moves inside it.
Higher timeframe · Lower timeframe · Bias
PDF · 1 pageRead →
Foundations
Volume basics
Volume is how many units trade in a period.
Volume · Expansion · Contraction
PDF · 1 pageRead →
Foundations
Moving averages
A moving average is the average price over a set number of recent candles, redrawn each candle into a smooth line.
Moving average · Lookback period · Dynamic support
PDF · 1 pageRead →
Foundations
Ranges & consolidation
Sometimes price stops trending and moves sideways, bouncing between a floor and a ceiling.
range · consolidation · support and resistance
PDF · 1 pageRead →
Indicators & tools
The classic indicators, and what they really measure.
Indicators & tools
RSI
The relative strength index is a momentum gauge that moves between 0 and 100.
oscillator · overbought / oversold · momentum
PDF · 1 pageRead →
Indicators & tools
MACD
MACD watches two moving averages of price pull apart and squeeze back together.
MACD line · signal line · histogram
PDF · 1 pageRead →
Indicators & tools
Bollinger Bands
Bollinger bands wrap price in three lines: a moving average in the middle and an upper and lower band a couple of…
Middle band · Standard deviation · Squeeze
PDF · 1 pageRead →
Indicators & tools
VWAP
VWAP is the average price weighted by how much volume traded at each level, measured from a chosen starting point.
VWAP · Anchor · Fair-value reference
PDF · 1 pageRead →
Indicators & tools
Stochastic oscillator
the stochastic oscillator asks a simple question: where did price close inside its recent range?
%k line · %d line · overbought / oversold
PDF · 1 pageRead →
Smart-money structure
How liquidity and institutional footprints move price.
Smart-money structure
Structure - BOS & CHoCH
Read trend from the sequence of highs and lows — and tell continuation apart from a turn.
HH/HL · break of structure · change of character
PDF · 1 pageRead →
Smart-money structure
Liquidation sweeps
Why price hunts stops — and who actually profits when retail gets liquidated.
liquidity pools · the flush · who pays whom
PDF · 1 pageRead →
Smart-money structure
Order blocks
The institutional candle just before a big move — and why price comes back to it.
bullish / bearish OBs · OB + FVG · origin range
PDF · 1 pageRead →
Smart-money structure
Fair value gaps
How imbalances form when price skips levels — and how they get filled later.
the 3-candle rule · 50% C.E. · mitigation
PDF · 1 pageRead →
Smart-money structure
Liquidity & inducement
Resting orders gather just above obvious highs and below obvious lows.
Liquidity pool · Inducement · Liquidity sweep
PDF · 1 pageRead →
Smart-money structure
Breaker blocks
A breaker block is an order block that failed — price broke clean through it.
order block · break of structure · retest
PDF · 1 pageRead →
Smart-money structure
Mitigation blocks
A mitigation block is the origin area of a strong move where some orders were left unfilled or offside.
Mitigation block · Mitigate · Origin candle
PDF · 1 pageRead →
Smart-money structure
Premium & discount
Traders mark a price range from its swing low to its high, then split it in half.
range · equilibrium · premium
PDF · 1 pageRead →
Smart-money structure
Market-maker model (AMD)
A lot of price action follows a repeating three-act shape: a quiet range, a sharp fake move that traps traders,…
Accumulation · Manipulation · Distribution
PDF · 1 pageRead →
Smart-money structure
Supply & demand zones
A supply or demand zone is an area price left in a hurry.
Demand zone · Supply zone · Base
PDF · 1 pageRead →
Smart-money structure
Wyckoff method
The Wyckoff method describes how large players may quietly build a position inside a sideways range before a trend…
Accumulation · Spring · Test
PDF · 1 pageRead →
Crypto & derivatives
The mechanics that make crypto move differently.
Crypto & derivatives
Perpetual futures
A perpetual future ("perp") is a contract that tracks an asset's spot price but never expires.
perpetual future · funding rate · leverage
PDF · 1 pageRead →
Crypto & derivatives
Leverage & liquidation price
Leverage lets a small deposit control a larger position.
Leverage · Margin · Liquidation price
PDF · 1 pageRead →
Crypto & derivatives
Funding rates
A perpetual contract has no expiry, so a small recurring payment between longs and shorts keeps its price tethered…
Perpetual (perp) · Funding rate · Premium
PDF · 1 pageRead →
Crypto & derivatives
Open interest
Open interest counts the derivative contracts still open right now.
open interest · rising oi with price · falling oi
PDF · 1 pageRead →
Crypto & derivatives
Liquidation cascades
In leveraged markets, each borrowed position has a price where the platform auto-closes it.
leverage · liquidation · liquidity pool
PDF · 1 pageRead →
Crypto & derivatives
Basis & term structure
Futures and spot rarely print the exact same price.
Spot price · Futures price · Basis
PDF · 1 pageRead →
Patterns & execution
Recurring shapes, and how to manage a trade.
Patterns & execution
Breakout & retest
Price pushes through a level it kept bouncing off, then often drifts back to touch that level again before moving on.
breakout · retest · support and resistance flip
PDF · 1 pageRead →
Patterns & execution
Fakeouts & traps
A fakeout is a break that does not hold.
Fakeout · Bull trap · Bear trap
PDF · 1 pageRead →
Patterns & execution
Double top & bottom
A double top forms when price reaches a high, pulls back, then hits a second high near the same level and fails again.
Double top · Double bottom · Neckline
PDF · 1 pageRead →
Patterns & execution
Head & shoulders
A head & shoulders is a three-peak shape some traders watch near the end of an uptrend: a peak, a taller peak, then…
left shoulder · head · right shoulder
PDF · 1 pageRead →
Patterns & execution
Risk-to-reward & expectancy
Every idea has a distance to where it would be wrong (risk) and where it would be right (reward).
R (risk unit) · Reward-to-risk · Win rate
PDF · 1 pageRead →
Patterns & execution
Stop placement & sizing
Two decisions that work together: the stop goes where the trade idea would be proven wrong, and position size is…
structural stop · risk distance · account risk
PDF · 1 pageRead →
Patterns & execution
Triangles
A triangle forms when price swings shrink and two trendlines squeeze together.
Symmetrical triangle · Ascending triangle · Descending triangle
PDF · 1 pageRead →
Patterns & execution
Flags & pennants
A flag or pennant is a short pause after a sharp move.
pole · flag · pennant
PDF · 1 pageRead →
Patterns & execution
Wedges
A wedge forms when both trendlines slope the same way and squeeze together.
Rising wedge · Falling wedge · Convergence
PDF · 1 pageRead →
Patterns & execution
Cup & handle
The cup and handle is a chart shape: a slow rounded dip that recovers to where it started, then a small shallow…
cup · rim · handle
PDF · 1 pageRead →
Patterns & execution
Confluence
Confluence is when several independent reasons point at the same price at once.
confluence · independent reasons · fib retracement
PDF · 1 pageRead →
Mindset & risk
The part that decides whether any of it works.
Mindset & risk
Trading psychology
Prices move on data, but people react with feelings.
fear of missing out · revenge trading · capitulation
PDF · 1 pageRead →
Mindset & risk
Trading plan & journaling
A trading plan writes down your rules before you act: where you'd enter, how much you risk, the price that proves…
Entry rule · Invalidation · Risk-reward
PDF · 1 pageRead →
Prefer one file?
Download the complete Market Structure Field Guide — all 43 chapters in a single PDF, ready to print or share.
Educational only. Quantreef provides informational market-structure education — not financial, investment, or trading advice, and not a solicitation to trade. Examples are illustrative, not predictions. Crypto and leverage trading carry a high risk of loss.