Price Action methodology: journey from $1000 loss to market mastery

Hey everyone, today I want to share about price action - the methodology that completely transformed how I view markets. From a 20-year-old girl from Pleiku who lost $1000 in forex to building Crypto Central Vietnam, price action was the key that unlocked everything.

The $1000 loss and fateful encounter with Al Brooks

At 20 years old, I lost $1000 - my entire savings accumulated over months of part-time work. Back then, I traded forex completely based on intuition and confusing indicators that I didn't understand at all. That loss wasn't just money, but a shock that forced me to stop and ask: "what did I do wrong?"Instead of giving up, I decided to learn properly. And fortunately, I found "Trading Price Action" by Al Brooks on YouTube. The first time I read it, I was completely overwhelmed - it was like someone was teaching me to read the psychology of each candlestick.Al Brooks' book didn't just teach techniques, but completely changed my thinking about markets. From chasing news and indicators, I learned that price itself is the market's language - and once you understand that language, everything becomes clear.

What is price action? not just reading charts

Price action, according to what I learned from Al Brooks and Bob Volman, isn't simply looking at price charts. It's the art of reading the story that markets tell through each candlestick, each volume bar, each pattern.

Basic definition

Price action is a market analysis method based entirely on price movement and volume, without using auxiliary indicators. I like to compare it to reading body language - you can understand someone's mood just through their movements, without them saying anything.

Core philosophy

"Price action doesn't lie - markets do." I learned this after years of observation. Price reflects all information: news, psychology, policies, even the manipulations I've discovered in forex markets.What's special is that price action doesn't care about why price moves, but only focuses on how price moves. And that's its power - because price always reflects crowd psychology most truthfully.

Market structure: the backbone of all analysis

Market structure is the first concept Al Brooks taught and also the most important. I understand market structure like reading a map - it tells you where you are and which direction you're heading.

Three basic market states

Al Brooks teaches that markets only have 3 states:

• Uptrend: continuous higher highs and higher lows
• Downtrend: continuous lower highs and lower lows
• Sideways: market moves sideways, no clear trend

Sounds simple but correctly identifying market structure has helped me avoid hundreds of losing trades. When the market is sideways but I keep trying to trade trends, I'm guaranteed to lose.

Importance of trend identification

Identifying trends doesn't just help me know whether to buy or sell, but also determines which strategy is appropriate. In uptrends, I look for opportunities to buy dips. In downtrends, I look for opportunities to short rallies. In sideways markets, I trade ranges or wait for breakouts.

Support and resistance: market psychology boundaries

Support and resistance aren't just straight lines on charts. They are psychological zones where crowd psychology is most clearly expressed. When price tests a support zone multiple times without breaking, that's a strong signal about the market's bullish psychology.

How I identify support/resistance

I don't draw rigid straight lines. Instead, I look for zones - areas where price has previously reacted strongly. These zones often coincide with:

• Important previous highs/lows
• Round numbers (like $50k for Bitcoin)
• Major moving averages (200MA, 50MA)
• Important Fibonacci levels

Psychology behind support/resistance

When price tests support, it's a battle between buyers and sellers. If buyers win (price bounces), support is confirmed. If sellers win (price breaks), support becomes resistance. Al Brooks taught me to read this battle through price action.

Candlestick patterns: market language

Each candlestick tells a story. Al Brooks taught me to read each candlestick like reading psychology:

Basic patterns and meanings

• Doji: market is indecisive, no one has advantage
• Hammer: selling pressure weakening, buyers starting to step in
• Shooting star: buyers losing control, sellers taking over
• Engulfing: momentum changing strongly, signaling reversal potential

Context is everything