Playbook

From zero to the chart. A book in three levels, told through everyday things, one chapter at a time. Nothing is locked: start wherever you want.

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Level 1 · 8 chapters

The market

"The market isn't a monster that decides to go up or down. It's the reflection of millions of people trading at the same time."

Sam
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About this level

This level has no chart, no strategy and no formula. It only has the start of it all: what the market is, what gets bought and sold in it, and how a price is born.

If you've never invested a single real, you're in the right place. If you already trade, read it anyway. Almost every expensive mistake starts in one of these eight chapters.

What you'll know by the end of this level:

  1. Why the market looks more like a street market than a casino.
  2. What you really buy when you buy an asset.
  3. What the market's shelves are.
  4. Who decides the price (spoiler: nobody).
  5. What liquidity is, with help from a delivery rider.
  6. Why each market has its own rhythm.
  7. Who to ask to take the first step.
  8. That the chart exists, and what comes in Level 2.

AThe street market

By the end: I know where the price comes from.

  1. 1 What the market is 2 min
  2. 2 What an asset is 2 min
  3. 3 The menu 2 min
  4. 4 How a price is born 2 min

BShelves and rhythm

By the end: I know the shelves and the rhythm of each one.

  1. 5 Liquidity 2 min
  2. 6 Each market has its own rhythm 2 min
  3. 7 Where to start 2 min
  4. 8 The chart exists 2 min
Quiz for Level 110 questions, every answer explained. Try as many times as you want.

Level 2 · 9 chapters

The chart and time

"And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music."

Attributed to Friedrich Nietzsche
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About this level

In Level 1 you saw that the chart exists. Now you'll learn to read the markets.

The chart is a symbol. It isn't the market, it's the drawing of what people did in the market. But it's the most honest drawing there is, because nobody can buy or sell without leaving a mark on it.

The most important part of this level is time. Almost nobody understands that the five-minute chart and the monthly chart are the same chart. Once that makes sense to you, the rest gets easy.

What you'll know by the end of this level:

  1. Why the chart only shows the price, and why that's enough.
  2. How to read a candle without memorizing any names.
  3. That there are many timeframes, and that you can use all of them.
  4. Why they're the same chart, with a comparison to music: the note and the chord.
  5. How to tell if there's a trend, using the moving average.
  6. How to draw a trendline.
  7. How the RSI measures fear and euphoria.
  8. How to set up your chart.
  9. Who moves the chart, and what comes in Level 3.

CCandle and time

By the end: I can build and read a candle.

  1. 1 What the chart draws 2 min · Build the candle
  2. 2 The candle 2 min · Build the candle
  3. 3 Timeframes 2 min
  4. 4 Fractals: the note and the chord 2 min · Build the candle

DTrend and mood

By the end: I can set up the book's chart.

  1. 5 Trend and the 20 EMA 2 min · Draw the pattern
  2. 6 Trendlines: the tree 2 min · Draw the pattern
  3. 7 RSI: fear and euphoria 2 min · Match the names
  4. 8 Set up your chart 2 min
  5. 9 Who moves the chart 2 min
Quiz for Level 210 questions, every answer explained. Try as many times as you want.

Level 3 · 21 chapters

The utility belt

"If I had eight hours to chop down a tree, I'd spend the first six sharpening the axe."

Attributed to Abraham Lincoln
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About this level

Now you know what the market is and you know how to read a chart. It's time for the tools.

A comparison: think of a utility belt. Each chapter in this level is one more tool hanging from it. No tool solves everything on its own, and none of them is a recommendation. What makes the difference is knowing which one to pull off the belt in each situation.

What changes in Level 3. Up to now the question was "what is the chart showing?". From here on the question is "how do traders use this?". That's why this level has patterns, entries, exits, stops and psychology. Everything here is a guide for you to study, not an order to follow.

How to read it.

  1. Chapters 1 to 14 are the tools: support and resistance, the classic patterns (2 to 6) and the setups.
  2. Chapters 15 and 16 put it all together: the most likely scenario, the entry and the exits.
  3. Chapters 17 to 19 protect you: risk, psychology and day trading.
  4. Chapter 20 is about options and how the big money protects itself.
  5. Chapter 21 closes the book: finding your edge.

One idea before anything else. Every setup in this level is shown in three parts: where to enter, where the stop goes and where to exit. It's not a rule. It's a way of thinking: if you know all three before you get in, you know what you're doing.

Every figure in this level is a drawing, including the entry and exit ones. None of them shows a real asset, date or price.

Do your own research. The entries, stops and exits in this book are examples drawn to teach how a setup works. They are not a recommendation to buy or sell. Everyone has their own money, their own timing and their own stomach. Study, test it on past charts and decide for yourself.

Patterns are people. A pattern isn't a magic drawing. It's the trail of people who are scared, in a hurry or patient, always in the same places. That's why it repeats, in any market and on any timeframe. Chapters 2 to 6 explain each pattern through the people, not the numbers.

When the pattern dies. Remember the tree comparison in Level 2? As long as the price grows in the shape of the pattern, the pattern is alive. When a different shape shows up, a different fruit, it's not the same tree anymore. The pattern has been invalidated, and the idea behind the trade is over.

Watch

EPatterns

By the end: I know where the pattern dies.

  1. 1 Support and resistance 2 min
  2. 2 Bull flag and bear flag 2 min · Draw the pattern
  3. 3 Cup and handle 2 min · Draw the pattern
  4. 4 Head and shoulders and the inverse 2 min · Draw the pattern
  5. 5 Ascending triangle 2 min · Draw the pattern
  6. 6 Double top and double bottom 2 min · Draw the pattern
  7. 7 Wedges 2 min · Draw the pattern

FSetups

By the end: I can describe entry, stop and exit.

  1. 8 Back Burner 2 min
  2. 9 Stair Step 2 min
  3. 10 EMA Rider: surfing the moving average 2 min
  4. 11 Fibonacci 2 min
  5. 12 Gaps 2 min
  6. 13 Advanced RSI: divergence 2 min
  7. 14 Correlation and relative strength 2 min

GPlan and protection

By the end: I have a plan before I go in.

  1. 15 The most likely scenario 2 min · Who reads the chart better?
  2. 16 Entries and exits 3 min · Who reads the chart better?
  3. 17 Risk management 3 min · Who reads the chart better?
  4. 18 Trading psychology 3 min · Myth or truth?

HSpecialization

By the end: I know what my edge is.

  1. 19 Day trading basics 3 min · Myth or truth?
  2. 20 Options, protection and the big money 6 min
  3. 21 Finding your edge 2 min
Quiz for Level 310 questions, every answer explained. Try as many times as you want.
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