Keep Price Action Simple: Trend, Levels and the Morning Session

This lesson is a case study in simple, repeatable price action trading in a GBP cross around the Frankfurt–London open. The entire approach is built on three pillars: candlestick trend structure, key horizontal levels, and a fixed daily pip objective. No indicators, no Fibonacci clusters, no complex overlays—just higher highs and lows, engulfing candles, and prior highs acting as resistance-turned-support.

The example shows how a trader can come back after a month away from screen-recording and still be trading exactly the same method. The emphasis is not on new “setups” but on the value of doing the same thing every day: identify the trend on H1, mark the key levels, wait for a clean break with some room to the next level, take 8–10 pips, and then walk away.

Section 1 – Market Context & Setup

The market in focus is a GBP cross (think levels like 137.00 and 139.37) during the European morning. The key time window is between 06:00 and 07:00 platform time, which corresponds to the pre-Frankfurt/Frankfurt open and runs into early London participation. This is the period the method is designed for: the first burst of directional flow as Europe comes online.

On the higher timeframe, H1 shows a clear bullish trend: rising candles with a sequence of higher lows and higher highs. Yesterday’s candles already printed a strong bullish structure; today is continuing that pattern, with no technical justification to look for shorts when the candles are viewed in isolation. This “candlestick trend analysis” is Darren’s baseline: if H1 is printing higher lows and higher highs, the working assumption is long-only until that structure changes.

News is acknowledged but not embraced. A recent sharp pullback was driven by an announcement about British elections in June. Price was pushed down, stops were hunted below, and then price was ramped back up. This kind of move is a reminder of what “naughty bankers” can do around news, and why the method avoids being in the market during such releases. The result is simple: accept that news will spike price, but build the daily routine around calmer periods.

The daily trading plan is straightforward: aim for 8–10 pips each morning during the Frankfurt–London window, then stop. The method is intentionally narrow in time and scope. That narrowness is what keeps the approach executable: the trader knows when to sit down, what to look at, and when to stand up again.

Section 2 – Core Tools Used in This Session

Several core tools appear in this lesson. None of them are indicators in the traditional sense; they are all price-based

H1 Candlestick Trend Analysis
The first step is reading the H1 candles as a trend line made of bodies and wicks. The chart shows sequences like “low–high, higher low–higher high,” with only small inside bars interrupting the sequence. This defines a bullish candlestick trend.
The rule is simple: when H1 is clearly bullish, short setups are ignored. Every decision on the lower timeframes is filtered through this higher-timeframe bias.
Engulfing and Outside Bars as Strength Signals
Darren distinguishes between
- Engulfing bar: the body of the current candle engulfs the body of the previous one.
- Outside bar: the high and low of the current candle are outside the high and low of the previous one.
  These large bullish candles that engulf or sit outside the prior candle’s range signal strong continuation. They are not a standalone “system” but add weight to the trend narrative. When such candles appear in the direction of the trend, they reinforce the bias to trade with that direction.
Horizontal Support and Resistance Levels
Levels like 137.00, 139.369–139.372, and intermediate “25” and “75” numbers are treated as key structure. Price has repeatedly reacted at these levels—stalling, rejecting, or breaking cleanly through them.
Each prior high of a red candle in an uptrend is its own resistance. When a new candle breaks and closes above several of these highs, it is a strong sign that resistance is being removed, layer by layer.
Ascending Trendline as a Visual Filter
An ascending trendline is drawn under the swing lows on H1. As long as this line is intact and price continues to respect it, only longs are considered. The trendline is not used for precision entries; it is a visual confirmation that the market context remains bullish.
Timeframe Cascade: H1 → M30 → M5
Execution follows a strict top-down process
- H1: define trend and major structure.
- M30: set alerts at key highs or levels, watch for strong candles breaking those highs.
- M5: zoom into the “internals” of the move once the level breaks and closes, and fine-tune entry and stop placement.
  The M30 alert ensures the trader does not have to stare at the screen constantly. Once triggered, the M5 chart is used to manage the actual trade.
Room to the Next Level (“Clear Air”)
A key concept is not just whether a level breaks, but how much room there is to the next opposing level. For example, a long may be taken just above the 0.25 level with “plenty of room” to the next resistance around the 0.75 or round number level. The trade needs a clean gap where price can travel without immediately colliding with new resistance.

Section 3 – Trade Examples from the Session

Trade 1 – Today’s Morning Long

The first example is the current day’s trade. The process unfolds as follows

Trend Check on H1
H1 shows a strong uptrend: higher highs and higher lows, with bullish engulfing candles driving the move. There is “definitely no reason” to consider shorts as long as this structure holds. The trader’s job is simply to find a long entry that fits the rules.
Identify Key High and Mark Alert on M30
On M30, a clear swing high is visible—an intraday resistance level where price had previously turned. An alert is placed at or just above this high. The plan is to consider a long only when price breaks and closes above this resistance in line with the trend.
Drop to M5 for the Internals
When the alert triggers and M30 shows a strong candle breaking the high, attention shifts to M5. The trader looks at the internal structure: smaller bullish candles stepping up, each breaking the high of the previous candle in the direction of the trend. The level between roughly 0.25 and the next resistance above offers enough room for the target.
Entry, Stop and Target
The entry is taken just above the chosen level (for example, just above the 0.25 line), with the stop placed below that same level. The target is set at the next logical resistance, providing the planned 8–10 pips.
In this specific case, the move reaches the target with only a fraction of a pip to spare before pulling back slightly. This shows both the precision and the ruthlessness of the market: level placement matters.
News as Background Noise, Not a Signal
An earlier sharp pullback, caused by the British election announcement, is treated as a separate event. The method avoids trading during such spikes. Once the spike is over and the trend reasserts itself, the usual rules apply again. The news is acknowledged as a stop-hunt mechanism but not traded directly.

Trade 2 – Previous Day’s Long

The second example is the prior day’s trade, again in line with the prevailing uptrend.

H1 Engulfing / Outside Bar as Confirmation
After a pullback, H1 prints a big bullish candle that may even qualify as an outside bar, with its high and low outside the previous candle’s range. At minimum, it engulfs the previous body decisively. This shows strong buying returning to the market.
M30 Alert Before the Trade
Before this big candle, an alert had already been placed around a key high. The break of this high on M30 aligns with the appearance of the strong bullish candle. This is not a random long; it is the planned trigger being hit.
Breaking Multiple Red Candle Highs
The bullish candle on M30 not only breaks the last high, it breaks the highs of several preceding red candles. Each of those highs functioned as micro-resistance. Clearing all of them in one move is a powerful signal that supply in that area has been absorbed.
M5 Trend Stepping Through Level 137.00
On M5, the trend is composed of many small candles, each breaking the high of the previous one. Price has tested the 137.00 level multiple times—acting as resistance here, here, and here—before finally closing through it after 06:00. Once the level is broken and used as support, the path to the next resistance into the 07:00 window is open.
Banking the Plan, Not the Maximum
The move had more potential beyond the initial 8–10 pips. It could have delivered 15–20 pips, effectively two days’ target in one trade. Sometimes, when the week has already been strong, Darren may extend the target a little. But the core rule stands: the primary job is to bank the daily bread-and-butter profit. Chasing an extra pip or two and missing the target is far more frustrating than leaving some pips on the table.

Section 4 – Practical Rules & Checklist

From this lesson, a concrete checklist emerges

Mark the H1 trend using candle highs and lows; trade only in the direction of a clear sequence of higher highs/higher lows or lower highs/lower lows.
Treat each prior red candle high in an uptrend as resistance; a strong candle breaking several of these highs is a powerful long signal.
Use M30 to place price alerts at key swing highs or lows; let the alert bring you to the screen instead of staring at every tick.
After an alert, drop to M5 to inspect the internals and confirm that the lower timeframe structure supports the trend direction.
Enter just beyond a key level (e.g., just above a 0.25 or 0.00 level for longs) and place the stop on the other side of that level.
Ensure there is “clear air” between entry and target—room to the next meaningful level—so the trade does not immediately collide with new resistance.
Avoid being in trades during major news announcements, especially when they can trigger violent stop-hunts around visible levels.
Set a modest daily pip target (e.g., 8–10 pips), hit it in the morning session, and then close the platform and live life.
Only “stretch” targets when the week’s results justify taking extra risk; do not make target-stretching the default behaviour.
Keep the toolkit minimal: trend structure, support/resistance, candle strength, and time-of-day. Resist the urge to add new indicators every few months.

Section 5 – Darren’s Mindset in This Lesson

The dominant mindset in this session is radical simplicity. After more than a decade of studying charts, moving from one tool to another—indicators, Fibonacci clusters, and assorted “systems”—Darren ends up with a stripped-down method: pure price action, pure levels, pure trend. The long, wandering journey through tools mainly served to prove that a simple approach suits him best.

There is also a strong emphasis on consistency. The method does not change just because weeks or months pass. Trend and levels are the constants. The trader’s job is to show up in the same time window, apply the same logic, and execute the same type of trade over and over again. The edge comes from that repetition, not from finding a new pattern every quarter.

The lesson also clarifies the role of the 2B pattern in his thinking. The 2B concept was pivotal in convincing him that markets can behave with remarkable precision around levels. But he does not trade the 2B pattern as a standalone system anymore. Instead, he treats it as another tool in the toolbox—a way to appreciate how precisely price can respect highs, lows, and closes.

Finally, there is a very grounded view of market psychology. Trends work not because of obscure magic, but because of the collective behaviour of participants: the way traders respond to higher highs, higher lows, and broken resistance. There is no need to fully explain “why” trends work. It is enough to observe that they do, and to structure a simple, disciplined method around them.

Optional Section – Applying This Framework on Your Own Charts

This lesson can be translated into a repeatable workflow

Start from the H1 chart and

Identify whether the market is clearly trending via higher highs/higher lows or the reverse.
Mark major swing highs/lows and round-number levels that price has reacted to repeatedly.
Look for large bullish or bearish candles that engulf prior bodies or break several previous highs or lows.

Then move down the timeframes

On M30, set alerts a few pips beyond the key swing highs (for longs) or lows (for shorts) in the direction of the H1 trend.
When an alert triggers, check if the M30 candle is strong and aligned with the trend.
On M5, verify that price is stepping through levels cleanly and that there is clear room to the next logical target.

Execution rules

Enter just beyond the breakout level, with a stop on the other side of that level.
Aim for a modest, predefined pip target tied to the distance to the next level.
Once the daily target is reached, close the trading platform and step away.

The core message is blunt: the method does not need to be clever to be effective. A simple, price-based routine—applied at the same time each day, with strict trend and level rules—can be more powerful than any complex indicator stack, provided it is executed with discipline.

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