Let’s be honest, I love trendlines. Always have.
There’s something satisfying about connecting those perfect swing points and watching price respect them like clockwork. But here’s the catch: trendlines aren’t absolute truth. They’re interpretation.
Most traders don’t realize this, they don’t draw trendlines, they justify them. I used to do it too. I’d stretch a line until it “fit,” then wonder why the market broke it hours later. Turns out, the issue wasn’t the market, it was me forcing structure on chaos.
Here’s the real truth behind them:
1. Everyone Draws Them Differently
Try to ask ten traders to draw a trendline, and you’ll get ten different results. Some connect wicks, others stick to candle bodies. Some zoom out, some zoom in.
There’s no single right way, and that’s the beauty and the danger. Trendlines work because traders believe in them. But belief creates liquidity. When too many stops sit below the same line, guess where the market hunts first?
2. The Break Isn’t Always a Break
Ever panic-sold the moment price sliced through your trendline… only to see it snap right back up? Yeah, me too. That’s not a break that’s a test.
True breaks come with confirmation, a retest, momentum follow-through, or structure shift. Until you see that, it’s just noise. The market loves to fake traders out before showing its real hand.
3. It’s Not About the Line, It’s About the Story
A trendline by itself means nothing. It’s the context that matters, where it forms, how it aligns with higher-timeframe structure, and what liquidity sits around it.
Personally, I start on the weekly and daily charts to spot the broader flow, then drop to the 15-minute or 5-minute for entry timing. That’s where trendlines actually earn their value as part of a bigger narrative, not a standalone signal.
Here’s the Takeaway
Trendlines aren’t walls they’re whispers. They don’t tell you where price must go, only where it might react.
The real skill isn’t drawing the line, it’s knowing what it means.
So stop redrawing every time the market fakes you out. Let your lines breathe, let context guide you, and you’ll start to see what most traders miss: the market’s rhythm isn’t defined by lines, it’s revealed through patience.