Beginner's guide to trading and indicator terminology in SmartK

Term

Definition and note

Long

A bullish direction based on the expectation that price may rise. A long label in SmartK indicates that the current indicator conditions lean bullish. It does not mean a position has been opened.

Short

A bearish direction based on the expectation that price may fall. A short label is a chart reference, not an automatic sell or short order.

Buy/Sell

Directional labels shown by an indicator when certain rule conditions are met. Structure, price location, candle-close confirmation, and risk should still be considered.

Entry

A reference price or area where an entry may be considered. It is not a guaranteed fill price or an order button.

Stop loss (SL)

A reference exit level used when a trade plan is invalidated or risk needs to be limited. A stop loss can help manage individual trade risk but cannot eliminate slippage, price gaps, or liquidation risk.

Take profit (TP)

A reference target for taking profit. TP1, TP2, and TP3 represent progressively farther targets. There is no guarantee that they will be reached or reached in sequence.

R/R multiple

Uses the distance between entry and SL as 1R. If a TP is twice that distance from entry, it is 2R. R describes the planned risk-to-reward relationship, not the actual return from a trade.

ATR

Average true range, a measure of recent price volatility. A higher ATR generally indicates larger price movements but does not indicate direction. SmartK may use ATR when calculating reference SL, TP, or risk distances.

Trade plan

A reference plan combining elements such as direction, entry, SL, TP, and invalidation conditions. It supports decision-making but does not automatically manage a position.

Signal

A prompt displayed when an indicator's conditions are met. A signal is not an order and does not guarantee an outcome.

Setup

A group of market conditions that are forming or have been met, such as direction, structure, volume-price behavior, and momentum. A setup does not automatically mean a trade should be placed.

Trigger

A specific event that moves a potential setup into its next state, such as a candle closing beyond a level or a score crossing a threshold.

Breakout

Price moving beyond an important structure, support, or resistance area. A brief move beyond a level may not represent a confirmed breakout. Candle close, volume, and whether price quickly returns to the range should also be considered.

Retest

Price returning to test a key area after a breakout. A successful retest does not guarantee that the move will continue.

Invalid/Invalidation

The conditions supporting the original trade plan are no longer valid, such as price moving through an invalidation level or an opposing market structure appearing. The plan should then be reassessed rather than treated as still active.

No signal/No setup

The current indicator rules have not identified sufficient conditions. This does not indicate bullish or bearish conditions. It simply means there is no clear result.

Wait/Await

Conditions are not yet sufficiently developed or still require confirmation. A wait state is a valid result and does not necessarily indicate a system issue.

Term

Definition and note

K-line/Candlestick

A chart element showing the open, high, low, and close prices for a specific period. The amount of time represented by each candlestick depends on the selected timeframe.

OHLCV

Open, high, low, close, and volume. Most SmartK calculations primarily use OHLCV data from closed candlesticks.

Open

The price at the beginning of a candlestick period.

High/Low

The highest and lowest prices reached during a candlestick period.

Close

The price when a completed candlestick period ends. Many structures and signals require a closed candle before they can be confirmed.

Volume

The trading volume recorded during a candlestick period. Volume data may differ between exchanges, contracts, and data sources.

Closed candle

A candlestick whose time period has ended and whose values no longer change with current trading activity. SmartK mainly uses closed-candle data to avoid relying on values that can still change while a candle is forming.

Unclosed/Live candle

The current candlestick that is still forming. Its price and volume continue to change, so indicator values based on it may also change.

Timeframe/Period

The amount of time represented by each candlestick, such as 1m, 15m, 1h, or 1D. Changing the timeframe changes the input data and may change indicator values or signals.

Price change

The percentage change in price relative to a defined starting point or observation period. Check the interface to confirm the exact comparison basis.

Volatility

The magnitude and speed of price movement. High volatility does not indicate a particular direction. It means price movements are larger or faster.

Last price

The price of the most recent trade. It may differ from mark price and index price.

Mark price

A reference price designed to reduce the impact of abnormal price movements and commonly used for calculations such as unrealized P&L or liquidation.

Index price

A reference price generally calculated from multiple external spot markets. Switching price sources may change the candlesticks and corresponding indicator values or signals.

Historical replay

A feature that reveals historical candlesticks one at a time for learning and review. It is not a complete strategy backtest and does not indicate future performance.

Warm-up

The period during which an indicator collects enough historical data to calculate its full output. An empty indicator immediately after it is added does not necessarily mean something is wrong. S-01 requires approximately 69 valid historical candles, while M-03 also needs data from multiple timeframes.

Loading/Warming

The required data or historical samples are still being prepared. These states should not be interpreted as neutral market conditions.

Ready

As a data status, ready means the required data is available. In some indicator panels, ready may also be used as a setup or strategy status. Neither meaning guarantees a profitable outcome.

Unavailable

The current data source, trading pair, timeframe, or available sample cannot support the calculation. Unavailable does not mean zero or neutral.

Overlay/Main chart

An indicator displayed directly over the candlestick chart, including elements such as entry, SL, TP, structure lines, and zones.

Oscillator/Sub-chart

An indicator displayed in a separate panel below the main price chart, commonly used for volume-price behavior, momentum, divergence, and relatively extreme readings.

Oscillator/Lower panel

SmartK allows up to one main-chart indicator and one lower-panel indicator at a time. Hiding an indicator may still occupy its slot. Removing it or selecting another indicator to replace it frees the slot.

Term

Definition and note

Bullish

Current conditions lean toward an upward direction. It describes market direction and does not mean you should automatically buy.

Bearish

Current conditions lean toward a downward direction. It describes market direction and does not mean you should automatically sell.

Neutral

Bullish and bearish evidence is balanced, conflicting, or insufficient. Neutral does not mean there is no risk.

Bull/Bear/Range

Three market-environment states shown in certain panels: bullish, bearish, or range-bound. Range means there is no clear directional advantage, not that price will stop moving.

Trend

A relatively sustained directional movement in price over time. Different timeframes may show different trends at the same time.

Structure

The way price forms highs, lows, breaks, and turning points. Market structure can help assess whether an existing move is continuing or changing.

Pivot high/Pivot low

A local high or low relative to surrounding candlesticks. A pivot requires closed candles to its right for confirmation, so its label may appear several candles after the actual turning point.

HH/HL/LH/LL

Higher high, higher low, lower high, and lower low. These are common labels used to describe market structure.

BOS

Break of structure. Price confirms a break of an existing structure point and may provide evidence that the existing direction is continuing. Price location, candle close, and risk should still be considered.

CHoCH

Change of character. Price breaks an important part of the previous market structure, suggesting that direction may be changing. It is an early warning, not a guarantee of reversal.

Support/S

An area where buying interest may appear or a decline may temporarily slow. Support can fail and is generally better treated as an area rather than one exact price.

Resistance (R)

An area where selling pressure may appear or a rally may temporarily slow. Resistance that is broken may later act as support.

S/R zone

A support or resistance area combining nearby key prices. This helps avoid treating market structure as precise to one exact price.

Supply/Demand zone

An area where relatively strong selling or buying pressure appeared historically. It can be used as a potential reaction area but does not guarantee a reversal.

Order block (OB)

A potential supply or demand area identified by an indicator using price structure. A SmartK order block is an algorithmically identified chart area and does not mean SmartK has detected actual institutional orders.

Bullish OB/Bearish OB

Bullish or bearish order block areas. Weak means the indicator assigns relatively lower strength or supporting evidence to the area. It does not necessarily mean the area is invalid.

Trend line/Trend rail

A line or rail used to summarize trend direction or dynamic support and resistance. Price crossing a single line does not by itself confirm a trend reversal.

Regression channel

A statistically fitted center line with upper and lower boundaries that describes price direction and dispersion. It updates as new data becomes available.

Proximity

How close the current price is to an important structure, area, or trade-plan level. A higher proximity score generally means price is closer, not that the directional view is more likely to be correct.

Session

In entry score, a factor describing whether the current trading period meets the indicator's configured conditions. It does not refer to a login session and is only one component of the overall score.

Smart levels

Reference price levels derived from structure, volume distribution, or indicator rules. They provide additional context and are not guaranteed support or resistance.

Fresh/Valid/Stale

Describes how recent a structure or signal is relative to the current candle and whether it remains within its reference period. Stale does not necessarily mean wrong; it means the information is less recent.

Liquidity

The ability of a market to absorb trades without causing a large price impact. Chart-based liquidity areas are estimates and do not represent the live order book.

Term

Definition and note

Entry score

A combined score based on conditions such as structure, proximity, session, and momentum. It is not a win probability. An entry Score of 80 does not mean an 80% chance of profit.

Confidence

In M-03, the absolute value of the composite directional score, used to show the degree of agreement between factors. It is not a historical win rate or probability of profit.

A/B/C grade

A signal classification based on different combinations and strengths of indicator conditions. A higher grade does not guarantee a profitable outcome or replace risk management.

Prime

A status indicating that multiple conditions show relatively strong alignment. It does not mean the market is at the "best" entry point or that price should be chased.

Active

Indicates that the relevant indicator conditions are currently active, but price location and invalidation levels should still be reviewed.

Watch

Conditions are developing but have not reached a stronger state. It indicates that the setup may be worth monitoring rather than acting on immediately.

Wait

Evidence is insufficient, direction is unclear, or additional confirmation is required. Wait indicates that no action is currently suggested by the indicator.

Risk/Risk off

Indicates that current conditions may no longer support the existing plan or that risk exposure may need to be reduced. It is not an automatic instruction to close a position.

Entry window

A state where price and indicator conditions are relatively close to the requirements of the reference plan. It means the setup may warrant further review, not that an entry is required.

Watchlist

A state indicating that conditions are worth monitoring but have not yet reached the entry window.

No entry

Current indicator rules do not support an entry reference. It is not an opposite-direction signal.

Current state/Bias

A panel summary of the current directional environment. It may change as new candles are completed or the selected timeframe changes.

Confirm

Indicates that a lower-panel indicator or another set of conditions supports the main-chart direction. Confirmation means the information is aligned, not that the outcome is guaranteed.

Conflict

Indicates that different indicators, factors, or timeframes are pointing in different directions. This generally suggests lower confidence or a need for further confirmation.

Confluence

Multiple timeframes or factors pointing in the same direction. For example, 3/6 means three out of six are aligned. Even 6/6 does not guarantee continued price movement in that direction.

Strong/Weak

A relative classification of the strength of a state or supporting evidence, such as strong bullish confluence or weak OB. It is not a probability of profit.

Term

Definition and note

Volume-price pressure

Positive or negative pressure estimated using both price movement and volume, helping assess whether price movement has support from volume.

Order flow

Generally refers to how buying and selling activity influences price. In M-01, order flow is estimated from closed OHLCV data. It is not actual tick-by-tick trade data, order-book data, or footprint data.

Delta

The estimated difference between buying and selling pressure. A positive value generally indicates stronger buying pressure, while a negative value indicates stronger selling pressure. SmartK's delta is an OHLCV-derived estimate rather than actual trade-side data.

Aggregate delta

The accumulated estimated delta over a selected period, used to observe whether buying or selling pressure is persisting. The result depends on the starting point and observation window.

Buyer/Seller

Buyer and seller values shown in M-01 are proxy estimates derived from candlestick data. They do not represent actual buyer- and seller-side trading volume.

Total volume

The total recorded volume within the observation window. It is best interpreted by comparing it with historical volume for the same trading pair and timeframe.

Strength

A relative summary of the current strength of volume-price or directional evidence. The calculation may differ between indicators and should not be interpreted as a probability of success.

VDO

The main S-01 oscillator value representing positive or negative volume-price pressure. It is used to assess direction, strength, and relatively extended conditions.

Fast/Slow signal

Smoothed versions of an indicator value using different speeds. The fast signal responds more quickly, while the slow signal is more stable. A crossover indicates a change in state and should not be treated as a standalone trade signal.

Histogram

Bars used to show the difference between two values or the relative strength of momentum. Larger bars indicate a larger difference but do not guarantee that price will move in the same direction.

Zero axis

The dividing line between positive and negative indicator values. Crossing zero changes the sign of the indicator and should be interpreted together with trend and structure.

Adaptive midline

A dynamic S-01 reference line based on recent data. It shows the relative position of current pressure and is not fixed support or resistance.

Distribution bands

Layered S-01 reference bands derived from historical volume-price pressure. They show relative dispersion and more extended readings. They are not probability ranges or guaranteed reversal areas.

Volume profile

Volume grouped by price level rather than by time, used to identify price areas where trading activity has been concentrated.

OBV

On-balance volume, which accumulates volume based on whether candles close higher or lower to help assess whether volume supports a trend. Its usefulness is limited when valid volume data is unavailable.

Order book

The collection of currently resting buy and sell orders. The initial SmartK indicators do not use the live order book to generate the order flow and delta estimates described above.

Tick trades

Each individual trade recorded in the market. OHLCV-based estimates cannot reconstruct the complete direction of every trade.

Footprint

A chart that displays buying and selling activity at individual price levels. SmartK's current volume-price estimates are not footprint data.

Term

Definition and note

Momentum

The speed and strength of price movement. Increasing momentum indicates stronger movement. Weakening momentum does not mean an immediate reversal.

Moving average (MA)

A line that smooths price over a selected period to help show direction and market rhythm. Moving averages are lagging indicators.

SMA

Simple moving average. Gives equal weight to each value within the selected period.

EMA

Exponential moving average. Gives greater weight to more recent data and therefore generally responds faster than an SMA.

MA ribbon

A group of moving averages with different periods, used to observe their alignment, compression, and expansion. M-03 currently uses a six-timeframe matrix rather than a traditional MA ribbon.

RSI

Relative strength index, which measures the relative strength of recent upward and downward price momentum. A high or low reading does not mean price must immediately reverse.

MACD

Moving average convergence divergence. Uses the relationship between faster and slower moving averages together with a signal line to assess trend and momentum. Crossovers can lag and should not be used as a standalone trade signal.

KDJ

A momentum oscillator derived from the stochastic oscillator. Its K, D, and J lines describe price position and momentum within a recent range. Extreme readings can persist and do not guarantee reversal.

WaveTrend

The momentum oscillator used by S-02. It uses a main line, signal line, momentum zones, and divergence to help assess changes in momentum.

Main line/Signal line

The main line responds more quickly to changes in momentum, while the signal line is generally smoother. Their relationship helps show changes in momentum state rather than automatic entry signals.

Momentum cloud

The filled area between the main line and signal line. Its color and width help show momentum direction and the difference between the two lines.

Zero pulse

An S-02 prompt displayed when momentum is close to the zero axis or when the difference between the main line and signal line is relatively small. It is not a buy or sell signal.

Divergence

A difference between the direction of price and momentum. For example, price may make a new high while momentum does not. Divergence can indicate changing momentum but does not guarantee an immediate reversal.

Bull div

A common bullish divergence where price forms a lower low while momentum forms a higher low, suggesting that downside momentum may be weakening. Main-chart structure, price location, and risk should still be considered.

Bear div

A common bearish divergence where price forms a higher high while momentum forms a lower high, suggesting that upside momentum may be weakening. It is not an automatic short signal.

Overbought/Oversold

A relatively high or low oscillator reading indicating more extended momentum conditions. During a strong trend, these conditions may persist for an extended period.

±60/±80 zones

S-02 reference levels for relatively extended momentum. Reaching these zones does not mean a reversal trade is required.

Term

Definition and note

Multi-timeframe (MTF)

Viewing multiple chart timeframes together. When several timeframes point in the same direction, this may be described as confluence. When they disagree, conditions may be described as mixed or conflicting.

Current timeframe

The timeframe currently selected on the chart. M-03 selects six consecutive timeframes around it for comparison.

Composite

An overall direction or state calculated from multiple factors. A composite result does not mean every underlying factor points in the same direction.

AI learning

M-03 uses historical OHLCV features to identify similar market patterns. It does not use account information, positions, or trading history, and it is not an LLM-based price prediction or personalized investment advice tool.

Energy

An M-03 factor summarizing recent price strength and volatility to help compare directional conditions. It is a chart-based factor, not an account metric.

Chip

An M-03 price-volume positioning factor derived from candlestick price and volume data. It does not represent user account positions, on-chain holdings, or the live order book.

Strategy

An M-03 rule-based summary of the current composite direction, such as long or short. It is not an automated trading strategy.

6 factors

The six factors used by M-03: AI learning, energy, chip, MACD, OBV, and KDJ. Some may use related data and should not be treated as six completely independent sources of evidence.

Strong bullish/Bearish confluence

Multiple factors within the same timeframe show relatively strong alignment in one direction. Strong indicates a high degree of current alignment, not guaranteed continuation.

Mixed/Neutral

Timeframes or factors disagree or do not show a clear directional advantage. These conditions generally suggest greater uncertainty or a need for further confirmation.

10m aggregation

M-03 can construct a 10-minute timeframe from completed 5-minute candlesticks. The resulting data still depends on the completeness of the underlying source data.

Term

Definition and note

Length/Period

The number of historical candlesticks used in a calculation. Smaller values generally make an indicator more responsive to short-term changes but may also produce more short-lived signals. Larger values generally produce smoother results but react more slowly.

Lookback

The number of historical candlesticks used to calculate distributions, structures, or statistical reference points.

Threshold

The level that must be crossed before an indicator changes state or displays a signal. Lower thresholds generally increase sensitivity and may produce more frequent signals.

Multiplier

A factor used to multiply ATR, volatility, or another reference value, such as a stop ATR multiplier. A larger multiplier generally increases the resulting distance.

Pivot left/right

The number of candlesticks compared to the left and right of a potential pivot. A larger pivot right generally requires more time for confirmation but applies stricter confirmation criteria.

Cooldown bars

The minimum number of candlesticks required between similar signals, helping reduce repeated labels appearing close together.

Display density

Controls how much structure, labeling, or supporting information appears on the chart. Higher density means more information is displayed; it does not make the underlying indicator stronger.

Max labels

Limits the number of historical labels displayed to reduce chart clutter. It changes the display, not the underlying market data.

Extend bars

Controls how far structure lines, zones, or reference-plan lines extend into the empty area to the right of the chart. This is a display setting and does not predict future prices.

Source

The price field used in a calculation, such as close, open, high, or low. Changing the source may change the indicator result.

Show/Hide

Controls whether a chart layer or indicator is visible. Hiding is not the same as removing an indicator and may still occupy its SmartK indicator slot.

Default/Preset

A predefined set of product parameters. New users may want to begin with the default or preset settings. When making adjustments, consider changing one group at a time and using historical replay to compare the results.