# Case: mark up a chart and write the plan

> Mark the trend and the levels on a Pebble chart, then write when you would enter, where the stop goes and when you stay out, without forecasting.

- Course: [Trading Basics: How It Works, How Not to Lose Everything](https://productovi.com/courses/trading.md)
- Module: What is a price chart telling me?
- Lesson 20/32, ~40 min
- Source: https://productovi.com/courses/trading/mark-up-a-chart

## Nora's chart

**Alex Tutor:** Back on your Pebble practice account, today you do the whole job yourself: read a chart, mark it up and write a plan. Nora is the client.

![Nora reaches for the buy button on her phone while Alex writes a plan in front of a chart with two marked bands and an empty next week with a calendar; Marc waits calmly.](https://productovi.com/courses/trading/diagrams/m5-l4-scene.png)

**Nora:** Northwind Foods, the calm shop chain. 80 days, ending Friday 2026-09-18. It's been going up all summer, so it'll go up more. When do I buy?

**Alex Tutor:** Two rules for today. First: no forecasts. We describe what the chart did and write "if this happens, then I do that". Second: the plan must say when you stay out, not only when you get in.

**Sofia:** And if the plan says "stay out" all week?

**Alex Tutor:** Then the plan is working. A week without a trade costs nothing. A forced trade costs the spread, the fees and often a loss.

**Alex Tutor:** Before the chart, check the two rules. Which of these lines belongs in a plan?

> **Exercise:** Which line belongs in a trading plan for Northwind Foods?

**Dataset (CSV):** [Northwind Foods, 80 daily candles](https://productovi.com/datasets/trading/mark-up-a-chart/m5_nwf_case.csv)

Practice market data on Pebble, 2026-06-01 to 2026-09-18. Prices in dollars, volume in shares.

**Northwind Foods, daily high, low and close**

| date | High | Low | Close |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-06-01 | 30.26 | 29.88 | 30.17 |
| 2026-06-02 | 30.39 | 30.14 | 30.35 |
| 2026-06-03 | 30.82 | 30.26 | 30.79 |
| 2026-06-04 | 30.93 | 30.75 | 30.81 |
| 2026-06-05 | 31.02 | 30.73 | 30.9 |
| 2026-06-08 | 31.18 | 30.83 | 31.08 |
| 2026-06-09 | 31.15 | 30.89 | 30.96 |
| 2026-06-10 | 31.31 | 30.92 | 31.24 |
| 2026-06-11 | 31.39 | 31.12 | 31.34 |
| 2026-06-12 | 31.43 | 31.18 | 31.27 |
| 2026-06-15 | 31.36 | 31.19 | 31.29 |
| 2026-06-16 | 31.39 | 31 | 31.08 |
| 2026-06-17 | 31.14 | 30.84 | 30.94 |
| 2026-06-18 | 31.22 | 30.87 | 31.14 |
| 2026-06-19 | 31.3 | 31.1 | 31.21 |
| 2026-06-22 | 31.39 | 31.16 | 31.34 |
| 2026-06-23 | 31.79 | 31.25 | 31.68 |
| 2026-06-24 | 31.87 | 31.58 | 31.81 |
| 2026-06-25 | 32.38 | 31.72 | 32.28 |
| 2026-06-26 | 32.35 | 32.08 | 32.21 |
| 2026-06-29 | 32.25 | 32.16 | 32.2 |
| 2026-06-30 | 32.51 | 32.07 | 32.46 |
| 2026-07-01 | 32.68 | 32.33 | 32.6 |
| 2026-07-02 | 32.8 | 32.5 | 32.75 |
| 2026-07-03 | 32.97 | 32.64 | 32.85 |
| 2026-07-06 | 32.93 | 32.52 | 32.57 |
| 2026-07-07 | 32.74 | 32.5 | 32.7 |
| 2026-07-08 | 33.27 | 32.61 | 33.22 |
| 2026-07-09 | 34.04 | 33.15 | 33.93 |
| 2026-07-10 | 34.37 | 33.83 | 34.26 |
| 2026-07-13 | 34.53 | 34.16 | 34.4 |
| 2026-07-14 | 34.77 | 34.36 | 34.71 |
| 2026-07-15 | 35.01 | 34.62 | 34.87 |
| 2026-07-16 | 34.96 | 34.74 | 34.82 |
| 2026-07-17 | 35.18 | 34.79 | 35.04 |
| 2026-07-20 | 35.1 | 34.99 | 35.06 |
| 2026-07-21 | 35.59 | 34.97 | 35.45 |
| 2026-07-22 | 35.87 | 35.41 | 35.73 |
| 2026-07-23 | 35.91 | 35.58 | 35.81 |
| 2026-07-24 | 35.95 | 35.57 | 35.66 |
| 2026-07-27 | 35.79 | 35.2 | 35.33 |
| 2026-07-28 | 35.37 | 34.9 | 34.94 |
| 2026-07-29 | 35.14 | 34.89 | 35.07 |
| 2026-07-30 | 35.68 | 34.93 | 35.68 |
| 2026-07-31 | 35.75 | 35.53 | 35.71 |
| 2026-08-03 | 35.71 | 35.46 | 35.57 |
| 2026-08-04 | 35.61 | 35.41 | 35.48 |
| 2026-08-05 | 36 | 35.38 | 35.7 |
| 2026-08-06 | 35.77 | 35.63 | 35.63 |
| 2026-08-07 | 35.72 | 35.58 | 35.72 |
| 2026-08-10 | 35.8 | 35.39 | 35.46 |
| 2026-08-11 | 35.59 | 35.41 | 35.59 |
| 2026-08-12 | 35.79 | 35.45 | 35.75 |
| 2026-08-13 | 35.76 | 35.61 | 35.67 |
| 2026-08-14 | 35.71 | 35.57 | 35.71 |
| 2026-08-17 | 35.81 | 34.5 | 34.85 |
| 2026-08-18 | 35.05 | 34.74 | 34.95 |
| 2026-08-19 | 35.74 | 34.84 | 35.74 |
| 2026-08-20 | 35.74 | 35.37 | 35.47 |
| 2026-08-21 | 35.66 | 35.43 | 35.62 |
| 2026-08-24 | 36.25 | 35.52 | 35.65 |
| 2026-08-25 | 35.65 | 35.55 | 35.59 |
| 2026-08-26 | 35.68 | 35.23 | 35.37 |
| 2026-08-27 | 35.51 | 35.31 | 35.41 |
| 2026-08-28 | 35.56 | 35.28 | 35.5 |
| 2026-08-31 | 35.6 | 35.33 | 35.46 |
| 2026-09-01 | 35.58 | 35.1 | 35.19 |
| 2026-09-02 | 35.34 | 34.55 | 34.9 |
| 2026-09-03 | 35.28 | 34.85 | 35.22 |
| 2026-09-04 | 35.63 | 35.15 | 35.57 |
| 2026-09-07 | 35.62 | 35.44 | 35.47 |
| 2026-09-08 | 35.8 | 35.37 | 35.71 |
| 2026-09-09 | 35.71 | 35.55 | 35.55 |
| 2026-09-10 | 35.79 | 35.51 | 35.71 |
| 2026-09-11 | 35.77 | 35.68 | 35.77 |
| 2026-09-14 | 35.77 | 35.61 | 35.61 |
| 2026-09-15 | 35.79 | 35.51 | 35.79 |
| 2026-09-16 | 35.79 | 35.67 | 35.68 |
| 2026-09-17 | 35.74 | 35.58 | 35.74 |
| 2026-09-18 | 35.74 | 35.7 | 35.74 |

**Marc:** Here are the same 80 days in two-week blocks, the way I like to start.

**Alex Tutor:** Good habit. Blocks show the shape; the daily candles show the details. Shape first, details second.

**Dataset (CSV):** [Northwind Foods, 8 two-week blocks](https://productovi.com/datasets/trading/mark-up-a-chart/m5_nwf_blocks.csv)

> **Exercise:** Match each stretch of Northwind Foods' two-week blocks with what the blocks show.

## Marking the levels

**Sofia:** So "it went up all summer" is only half true. Since late July it's been going sideways.

**Alex Tutor:** Yes. Resistance: the highs stopped at 36.00 on 2026-08-05 and near 35.80 many times. Support: 34.50 on 2026-08-17 and 34.55 on 2026-09-02. Mark both as zones, not single cents.

![Blocks 1–4 climb with higher highs and higher lows to 35.66; blocks 5–8 go sideways between the support zone 34.50–34.55 and the resistance zone 35.80–36.00.](https://productovi.com/courses/trading/diagrams/m5-l4-blocks.png)

*Shape first, details second.*

**Nora:** Why zones? 36.00 is right there.

**Alex Tutor:** Because the highs stopped at 35.80, 35.81, 35.95 and 36.00. Draw one exact line and you'll argue over every cent. A zone says "around here", which is all the data can support.

![Daily candles since late July: the highs stopped at 35.80–36.00 and the lows at 34.50–34.55, so both levels are zones; one day, 2026-08-24, poked above.](https://productovi.com/courses/trading/diagrams/m5-l4-zones.png)

**Marc:** And look at 2026-08-24: high 36.25, close 35.65. One poke above 36.00 already failed. Anyone buying every move above 36 has been caught once.

> **Exercise:** How wide is the range from support (34.50) to resistance (36.00), in dollars?

**Sofia:** 1.50 doesn't sound like much room.

**Alex Tutor:** For a calm share it's enough to plan with. A share that swings much more could cross the same box in one day. Always compare a level's distance with the usual daily move.

**Nora:** And that tall candle on 2026-08-24?

> **Exercise:** What happened on 2026-08-24 (high 36.25, close 35.65)?

## Where we are now

**Alex Tutor:** The last close, 2026-09-18, was 35.74. That's close to the top of the range. How close?

**Sofia:** 36.00 minus 35.74 is 26 cents.

**Alex Tutor:** And over the last 20 days, Northwind Foods travelled 0.31 a day on average from low to high. So one ordinary day can reach the top of the range or fall back from it. The chart doesn't say which.

**Alex Tutor:** Write that distance down as a number; the plan will need it.

> **Exercise:** Northwind Foods last closed at 35.74 on 2026-09-18. The top of the resistance zone is 36.00. How far below it is the last close, in dollars?

**Nora:** One more thing. Northwind reports its quarterly results on Tuesday, 2026-09-22. Does that matter?

**Marc:** A lot. On report days a calm share can open far from Monday's close, a gap. A stop doesn't help when the price jumps right past it.

**Nora:** So I wait until Wednesday?

**Alex Tutor:** At least until the report is out and the price has settled. The report could push it either way, and we don't guess which.

**Alex Tutor:** Let's pin down why a stop doesn't help on report day. True or false?

> **Exercise:** A plan holds Northwind Foods with a stop at 35.30. Even if the quarterly report on 2026-09-22 comes out overnight, the loss can't be bigger than the distance to 35.30.

> **Exercise:** Which of these are good reasons to stay out of Northwind Foods this coming week? Choose all that apply.

**Alex Tutor:** One last check before the plan: the stop and the size. Use the numbers from the plan template.

> **Exercise:** A plan enters Northwind Foods at about 36.10 after a close above 36.00, with a stop at 35.30, below the last two weeks' low of 35.37. The account risks 1% of 10,000 = 100 dollars per trade, and a round trip costs about 3 dollars. How many shares? Shares = (risk − costs) ÷ distance to the stop, rounded down.

**Nora:** So I just sit and wait? That's boring.

**Marc:** Most of my journal is boring. The trades I regret are the ones I took because I was bored.

## Your plan

**Alex Tutor:** Now write a plan Nora could follow. Before the case, one short warm-up.

> **Exercise:** Nora says: "It went up all summer, so it will go up more." In 2–3 sentences, describe what the chart actually shows since late July, with numbers, without a forecast.

**Alex Tutor:** Now the full plan. You can use a risk of 1% of the 10,000 account, 100 dollars, and about 3 dollars of costs per round trip.

**Alex Tutor:** A tip for the stop: put it where the idea is proven wrong, then size the position from that distance. Shares = (risk in dollars − costs) ÷ distance to the stop, rounded down.

![The marked-up chart: enter only if a day closes above 36.00, put the stop where the idea is wrong, and stay out in the middle of the range and until the 2026-09-22 report.](https://productovi.com/courses/trading/diagrams/m5-l4-plan.png)

*If this happens, then I do that.*

**Nora:** And please, numbers I can check.

> **Exercise:** Mark up the Northwind Foods chart and write Nora a plan.

> **Key ideas**
>
> - Describe first: Northwind Foods trended up in June–July, then moved sideways between about 34.50 and 36.00.
> - Mark levels as zones from the data, before you think about your own position.
> - Write the entry as "if…, then…": a daily close above the level, not a poke.
> - Put the stop where the idea is wrong, and size it so the loss with costs stays near 100 dollars.
> - Stay out around reports and in the middle of a range. A plan is a set of choices, not a forecast.

> **Educational, not advice**
>
> This course explains how trading works; it never tells you what to buy or sell. Most people who trade lose money, and you can lose all of it. For taxes and rules, ask a licensed professional where you live.

- Previous lesson: [Support, resistance and breakouts](https://productovi.com/courses/trading/levels-and-breakouts.md)
- Next lesson: [Moving averages](https://productovi.com/courses/trading/moving-averages.md)

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