Support and resistance are the most important concept in charting. They are the price levels where buying or selling has repeatedly appeared — the map every other tool decorates.
What they are
Support is a level where falling price has previously found buyers and bounced. Resistance is where rising price has met sellers and stalled. They mark zones of remembered supply and demand.
Zones, not exact lines
Treat them as areas, not precise prices. Markets are messy; a level is 'holding' or 'breaking' as a zone. Drawing thick zones rather than thin lines keeps you from being shaken out by a few pips of overshoot.
Role reversal
When support breaks, it often becomes resistance, and vice-versa. This flip is one of the most reliable behaviours in price and underpins many entry techniques covered later.
Key takeaways
- Support = remembered buying; resistance = remembered selling.
- Draw them as zones, not exact lines.
- Broken support often flips to resistance and vice-versa.