A trendline is just structure drawn with a ruler: connect two (better: three) pullback extremes in a trend and you get the rhythm of the pattern — WHERE buyers have been showing up. It works not because lines are magic but because trends are rhythmic and other traders see the same line.
Rules for lines worth trading
- Three touches minimum before you trust it; two touches is a hypothesis.
- Draw from wick extremes OR bodies — pick one convention and never mix per-chart. Redrawn lines are lies you tell yourself.
- Steep lines break constantly and mean little; shallow, long-tested lines breaking is real information.
- A parallel channel (clone the line to the other side) frames both the entry AND the profit-taking zone.
When price breaks a mature trendline, the trend isn't automatically over — the RHYTHM is. Expect a flatter trend or a range next, not necessarily a reversal. Trade structure (highs and lows), not the line itself.