Most traders focus on price.
They watch charts, look for breakouts, and react to movement as it happens. But there is a fundamental problem with this approach:
Price is the result—not the cause.
Price moves because of an imbalance between buyers and sellers. That imbalance doesn’t begin at the moment price moves. It begins earlier, during phases of accumulation and distribution.
When large participants build positions, price often moves very little. Volume may increase. Activity may shift. But to most traders, nothing appears to be happening.
Then, once enough positioning has taken place, price begins to move—and that is when most people finally react.
By that point, the underlying move is already underway.
This is why relying on price alone leads to late entries and inconsistent decisions. You are always reacting to what has already happened.
A more effective approach is to focus on what drives price:
- Where accumulation is taking place
- Where supply is being absorbed
- Where demand is increasing beneath the surface
These are the conditions that exist before price moves.
This is the foundation of how I read the market.
The goal is not to predict every move, but to recognise when the underlying structure begins to shift.